Udinese owner's Watford takeover 'journalistic rumours' (From Watford Observer)

Well rumours start somewhere!

No Jase but we may get Cappello and all bonuses paid in Fiats!
Bet If this has legs Bas would sell!

Not exactly a denial!

Get rid of Bassini and Dyche in one fell swoop, fingers crossed !!!

Bassini due to fact he has done nothing wrong but his intentions are unclear and Dyche because the style of football is the worst since Bassett. At least Boothroyd's style had end product.

Bring it on, got to be better than what we have now ! dodgy dell boy bassini. Lets get someone in who is serious about taking this club forward and out of the 19th century .This club will never move forward until we replace the horrific main stand and put down a decent pitch .I am sure with serious investment we would be back up to 16-20,000 attendances and all concerned would be happy and we can realize the potential of the academy and the support of the surrounding areas .
Bring it on !!

Warfordborn31 must be over 80 years ago so I'll be gentle with him. Dyche has, on the whole, done a good job, particularly recently, with hardly any resources. Given the money Boothroyd had at his disposal, I think SD is better than AB. I know we got into the Premier League with Boothroyd but, after then, he made mistake after mistake, on the field and, even more so, on the buying and selling fronts. Bassini? Yes, put him into Room 101.

Sorry - Watfordborn31, and not Warfordborn31. Interesting error!

No way Bassini would sell, he loves the club and it's close to his heart (wallet) ! Could turn that 2 bob pub refurbishment into a pizza joint! Please bye bye Bas!

Someone's taking the pizza surely?

Dyche is now doing pretty well with limited resources, Jury still out on Baz but other than the fact he is not an over generous billionaire he's seems ok.
If an ambitious Italian buys out Baz and promises investment in players and the ground he may well want to bring in his own (Italian?) manager. Or it may be a load of old toffee! COYH

can only hope there is some truth in this anything to get rid of Bassini

Just what has he done that is moving the club forward , nothing has changed apart from yet more selling of our better players

no ground improvements whatsoever
oh sorry need to wait for the tenders to come in !!!!

must be the longest tender search in the history of tenders and anyway i know for a fact they were in last march 2011 ready for selection !

Anyway no doubt we will be hearing from bassini soon, that 3CR radio phone in must be due it was said he would do it in January LOL

Maybe the club can arrange that fans forum with him in attendance LOL

Sorry but wake up everybody the bloke has no means to move our club forward DO NOT RENEW YOUR SEASON TICKETS IN APRIL when they will want your money until you see signs of forward moving impovements and the owner spending money first !

BASSINI OUT !!!!

Keith mercer
I don't recall us ever averaging 20k and if it was only 16k why would anyone spend a fortune just to get from say 12k to 16k. Doesn't make financial sense and would probably end in tears----again!
There is a fair chance that QPR might prove my point in the next few months---hopefully.

thanks for your positive comments Frankie Frazer , your insults and abuse say a lot about you !!
Sorry for wanting good things for Watford, obviously you know better and I should leave it to you and Baz to run the club !! NOT !!

Nice that the fantastic journos at Wobbly picked up on my post last night .... what kept you boys ......

Bigthunder while I respect your views and some of your comments may be true. Not buying season tickets is the worst thing we can do, as this means less money for the club.
Bas has invested money.
The reason why the SW corner has not started yet was he wanted the Redlion pub done (which was daft) and there has been some restraining on him by the Board to get things done propoerly.
Who ever bought the club we are going to sell our best assets and if you think selling to another person would be any different think again.
As for getting things done:
Kept the club afloat by £3.5m in April and another £1m in December.
Lodged £2.2 m with solicitors to pay off the bond holders.
Cleared c£500k in outstanding invoices the club owed.
Replaced some of the seats in the Rookery
New PA system
New Screen and a deposit on a new one
Deposit on the new pitch
Moblile flood lights to help the grass grow
appointed maintenance company to keep the pitch up to some sort of playing standard.
While his PR and communication skills are not what we have or are acustomed too, I prefer have a person who is quietly getting things sorted out in his own way than bleeting that he is or isn't doing this or that every 5mins.
If you don't like what you see vote with your feet, don't go and go and support L*ton.

bigthunder wrote:
can only hope there is some truth in this anything to get rid of Bassini

Just what has he done that is moving the club forward , nothing has changed apart from yet more selling of our better players

no ground improvements whatsoever
oh sorry need to wait for the tenders to come in !!!!

must be the longest tender search in the history of tenders and anyway i know for a fact they were in last march 2011 ready for selection !

Anyway no doubt we will be hearing from bassini soon, that 3CR radio phone in must be due it was said he would do it in January LOL

Maybe the club can arrange that fans forum with him in attendance LOL

Sorry but wake up everybody the bloke has no means to move our club forward DO NOT RENEW YOUR SEASON TICKETS IN APRIL when they will want your money until you see signs of forward moving impovements and the owner spending money first !

BASSINI OUT !!!!

Change the record Mr Thunder. We've heard it all before, there is no need to repeat these such opinions every week. Your repetitive posts are boring.
The bigger picture is that we nearly went out of business not much over a year ago. The last few years and the next few years are about consolidating our league and financial position, not necessarily moving forward leaps and bounds. WE ARE A SKINT CLUB, HAVE YOU NOT NOTICED? WE HAVE ALWAYS EEN A SELLING CLUB, HAVE YOU NOT NOTICED?
I dont really give two hoots if we have a 3 sided ground! why does it really matter right now when we have no money? If it means so much to you, and if you want a club with a nice ground, maybe you should go and support Arsenal or someone else.

QUINNPT wrote:
Bigthunder while I respect your views and some of your comments may be true. Not buying season tickets is the worst thing we can do, as this means less money for the club.
Bas has invested money.
The reason why the SW corner has not started yet was he wanted the Redlion pub done (which was daft) and there has been some restraining on him by the Board to get things done propoerly.
Who ever bought the club we are going to sell our best assets and if you think selling to another person would be any different think again.
As for getting things done:
Kept the club afloat by £3.5m in April and another £1m in December.
Lodged £2.2 m with solicitors to pay off the bond holders.
Cleared c£500k in outstanding invoices the club owed.
Replaced some of the seats in the Rookery
New PA system
New Screen and a deposit on a new one
Deposit on the new pitch
Moblile flood lights to help the grass grow
appointed maintenance company to keep the pitch up to some sort of playing standard.
While his PR and communication skills are not what we have or are acustomed too, I prefer have a person who is quietly getting things sorted out in his own way than bleeting that he is or isn't doing this or that every 5mins.
If you don't like what you see vote with your feet, don't go and go and support L*ton.

Yer yer yer nothing of any substance done at all! As for the screen it's worse and when ads are shown its so bright it blinds you, if your near it! You just keep that blanket over your knees and stamp up and down when you get really excited! One last thing if Bas is so great how comes when he walks round the pitch not one supporter claps or in fact even acknowledges the creep?

I have been watching Watford for 25 years, I'm not sure in that time I have ever seen us average 16-20k attendances. I also think Dyche is doing a pretty good job with the funds he has available. As for Bassini, I can't really work him out as yet, but I wouldn't say he has done much wrong. As for Watford selling players, this will always be the case..I have never known us be anything but a selling club. If we can cement a place in mid table this season who knows what we might be able to achieve next year?

I agree with robbo3. Bas is very difficult to work out and seems to play his cards very close to his chest which is very different to the Watford way that we are used to. But to be honest I can't say that he's done much wrong and find it difficult to understand all the anti bas comments. Also I think that SD has done rally well with very limited resources. If we finish in a better league position than last season (particularly if we can get into the top half of the table) then he's worked bloody miracles in my eyes considering he's had to sell Danny Graham, Don Cowie and Marvin Sordell. Get real people what do you expect with the limited resources he's had to deal with.

Do people not realize that these owners like Abramovich that have pumped millions into clubs can, at any point in time, turn round to the clubs and say they want the money repaying? The only way clubs are safe from this is in cases like Sunderlands where the owner has signed a legal document waiving his right to ask for the money back by saying it is a gift to the club.
With new regulations from the football authorities about financial standards coming into force a lot of teams will be spending vastly smaller amounts.
I don't get the fixation with building a new stand when they can't fill the 3 they have.....wouldn't you rather they spent money on players and existing facilities?

if these people r like QPR's shareholder then take em up. then we could possibly get promoted if not screw em. SD is mastering our squad hes a good manager. bassini has cleared most of the 10m debt we own. if possible could they both own watford fc? bass and new possible shareholders

BooRaider wrote:
Do people not realize that these owners like Abramovich that have pumped millions into clubs can, at any point in time, turn round to the clubs and say they want the money repaying? The only way clubs are safe from this is in cases like Sunderlands where the owner has signed a legal document waiving his right to ask for the money back by saying it is a gift to the club.
With new regulations from the football authorities about financial standards coming into force a lot of teams will be spending vastly smaller amounts.
I don't get the fixation with building a new stand when they can't fill the 3 they have.....wouldn't you rather they spent money on players and existing facilities?

Boo it is the usual muppets that keep using the fact we have a 3 sided ground as a justifiable reason why Bassini is crap and needs to go, when the East stand is eventually done these same muppets will be moaning that their is not enough investment in the team because we have no money left and a 1/3 empty stadium. If these muppets know better than the current owner in how to run Watford FC why the hell did they not buy the club? Oh I know because they are not rich business moguls, but they still think they know better.

wow, best news I've heard in ages!

ok, it's not a done deal, but it's a clear statement of interest.

we're coming for you, Citeh!

This will all just be paper talk.

I think Bas is doing an alright job, things are moving forward albeit slowly with the stadium and he's supported Dyche in the transfer market.

Dyche has made us very difficult to beat this season which I particularly like. If he can add a bit of quality into the midfield and another striker to get on the end of it we'll have a very good team.

Sorry, but compare us to Portsmouth. Both have old grounds and small attendances, the only difference is that Portsmouth spent money to get into the prem and win the FA cup. Now look at them - would you want Watford to go the same way and end up with the huge debts, with the prospect of being liquidated?

I am amused by some of the writing here. I feel some people would not be happy with Watford even if we had a 60.000 seat stadium which was full every match we had Sir Alex Ferguson as executive director, Jose Mourinho as coach and a team beating everyone every week. We do not so be happy. At least the club has not gone into administration or is playing in the pub league with the team from Bedfordshire.

I am silly the light has just gone on. These posters are WUMs from along the motorway.

Like everyone on this site, I have no idea whether there is any truth in this story whatsoever. However, I think it's a case of "Be careful what you wish for".

Whilst I remain unsure of where we are going under Baz (and his real motives) and would like us to have additional funding to enable both the ground and team to be upgraded, I do not want the "Watford way" to be completely lost due to an influx of footballing mercanries (eg Tevez, Ballotelli, Barton, etc) attracted by easy money from foreign investors like at QPR , Man City ....

I enjoy watching young players we have developed from scratch (or brought in cheaply to develop) and don't want to see wholesale changes in the way we operate.

Perhaps a better model for us to seek to emulate would be the likes of Norwich or Brighton who both have a combination of strong local support and funding from backers with long-term ties to the clubs.

We had exactly this situation back in the late 70's & 80's with Elton John's backing, when we enjoyed a sustained period of success but didn't lose sight of our heritage in the process.

We are not and never will be a big city club and need to rely on local support and the development of players to sustain and hopefully progress.

Sean Dyche and the squad are doing an incredible job this season and deserve our respect and unconditional support for what looks like being a successful season under difficult circumstances.

I will follow developments with interest and hope that it may bring in some additional funding, but will be hoping that we do not sell our soul in the process. In the meantime be careful what you wish for ... Clap, Clap Clap!

I have asked a journalist friend in Italy and he said don't get too excited but also said that this guy has been on the look out recently. He was linked to Portsmouth in December. He does seem to have a bit of success (selling players with massive profits) but also in his early years some controversy. His team relegated by the Italian FA for a betting scandal and docked 9 points the following season. Can't find out how much he's worth but it's fair to say it's a little more than Bas (who, by the way, I think is doing a decent job).
With regards to the East stand, it's not if we can fill it every week but more of what the space underneath can be used for. Originally there was to be a gym, conference rooms, restaurant which could used on more than just matchdays thus bringing in decent revenue during non football days. Add this to the fact our ground has probably disuaded a few players from coming to Watford as it's doesn't look an attractive place to come then we can see why it's so important to get this done. We all know this should have been done in the past when we were last promoted but we can't change history. My worry is where the money is going to come from to do this. I've no idea how much it would cost these days but I thought around £6m was banded around when we first looked at this a few years ago but maybe wrong.

Redevelopment of the ground will be linked to Health Campus IMHO. No doubt the hospital redevelopment and the new road, will make the stadium more attractive for non match day use. For example conferences, etc. Not sure what the market is like for that with several hotels offering the same. But surely you would tag on conference facilities to the existing Rous Stand as that faces into hospital site. I would think you would do a very basic stand on the east stand site, with the Rous redeveloped as the corporate standard. Maybe the reason for levelling the pitch is to make Lower Rous a bit bigger. But you probably want £15 - 20 million to rebuild the East and refurbish the existing standards and the pitch. Not sure where that will come from.

Reality check - Our manager is doing a pretty good job considering the resources available and his experience. We were dead certs for relegation according to most pundits in August. As I write Watford are gradually climbing up the table - 12 points clear of the bottom 3 and 12 from the top 6. If anyone saw the performances against Leeds, Cardiff or Tottenham at home and a few away ones as well, then you'll know that the football can be superb - it isn't just long ball hit and hope, there is some backbone (at last) and a mix of styles including some superb quick passing as well as the less attractive break it up/stop em playing stuff. The spirit and togetherness in the squad is also strong. Overall, I think there is much to be hopeful about...regardless of Italian take over rumours...U ORNS!!!!

BooRaider wrote:
Do people not realize that these owners like Abramovich that have pumped millions into clubs can, at any point in time, turn round to the clubs and say they want the money repaying? The only way clubs are safe from this is in cases like Sunderlands where the owner has signed a legal document waiving his right to ask for the money back by saying it is a gift to the club. With new regulations from the football authorities about financial standards coming into force a lot of teams will be spending vastly smaller amounts. I don't get the fixation with building a new stand when they can't fill the 3 they have.....wouldn't you rather they spent money on players and existing facilities?

You can even spend £50m on a striker who hasn't scored in the last 19 games!

Emmer Green Hornet wrote:
watfordborn31, keithmercer, bigthunder and buckler you really are a tedious lot aren't you?

I guess because it's half term next week you will be on here constantly with your pathetic trolling.

Why don't you go and support a club that is bankrolled by a multi-billionaire? That is obviously the only kind of chairman you would find acceptable and will never happen at Watford. Not quite sure why if you are long standing WFC fans you STILL don't understand that we have never been and will never be a big club.

Whenever we have done well it has been because we have punched above our weight not because we are rich or a big club. WFC will never make you happy and probably never have so why not just eff off and support Man City you mindless morons...

Emmer Green Hornet !
sorry I have not responded to your bile sooner but I have just got back from work, which negates your first assumption that I am a schoolchild. If you take wanting my club to be as big and the best that it can be as "trolling" then you bemuse me at best.
Maybe your too young to remember when we finished 2nd in the now premier league and went to FA cup finals and competed in Europe! well I am not and have supported the club for 40 years and was a ball boy at the club in the days of Mike Keen and Ron Rollit so have seen the 4th division as well.So I do not appreciate being called a "mindless moron" and told to "eff off and support Man City".
If your life is so sad that you are happy with the state of the ground and tthe complete lack of funds and all that goes with it, then thats your problem !! and probably explains why you are up at midnight writing vile abusive messages.
When you say that we have never been a big club!! and never will be ! please define what you call a big club ? If being an established Premier league club with a ground that has four stands is all to much for you to possibly aspire to, then maybe its you who needs to find another club to support! as you obviously have no ambition or passion whatsoever !! thats begining to sound about right all too familiar I am afraid.

KeithMercer wrote:
Emmer Green Hornet !
sorry I have not responded to your bile sooner but I have just got back from work, which negates your first assumption that I am a schoolchild. If you take wanting my club to be as big and the best that it can be as "trolling" then you bemuse me at best.
Maybe your too young to remember when we finished 2nd in the now premier league and went to FA cup finals and competed in Europe! well I am not and have supported the club for 40 years and was a ball boy at the club in the days of Mike Keen and Ron Rollit so have seen the 4th division as well.So I do not appreciate being called a "mindless moron" and told to "eff off and support Man City".
If your life is so sad that you are happy with the state of the ground and tthe complete lack of funds and all that goes with it, then thats your problem !! and probably explains why you are up at midnight writing vile abusive messages.
When you say that we have never been a big club!! and never will be ! please define what you call a big club ? If being an established Premier league club with a ground that has four stands is all to much for you to possibly aspire to, then maybe its you who needs to find another club to support! as you obviously have no ambition or passion whatsoever !! thats begining to sound about right all too familiar I am afraid.

Good riposte Merc
I too come From the same era as you, days when we made noise and dared to dream

'A baby wailing, stray dog howling'....sounds like the noises made on these message threads, it certainly keeps me entertained! Someone should publish this stuff. See you at the Vic tomorrow!

lutondown wrote:

KeithMercer wrote:
Emmer Green Hornet !
sorry I have not responded to your bile sooner but I have just got back from work, which negates your first assumption that I am a schoolchild. If you take wanting my club to be as big and the best that it can be as "trolling" then you bemuse me at best.
Maybe your too young to remember when we finished 2nd in the now premier league and went to FA cup finals and competed in Europe! well I am not and have supported the club for 40 years and was a ball boy at the club in the days of Mike Keen and Ron Rollit so have seen the 4th division as well.So I do not appreciate being called a "mindless moron" and told to "eff off and support Man City".
If your life is so sad that you are happy with the state of the ground and tthe complete lack of funds and all that goes with it, then thats your problem !! and probably explains why you are up at midnight writing vile abusive messages.
When you say that we have never been a big club!! and never will be ! please define what you call a big club ? If being an established Premier league club with a ground that has four stands is all to much for you to possibly aspire to, then maybe its you who needs to find another club to support! as you obviously have no ambition or passion whatsoever !! thats begining to sound about right all too familiar I am afraid.

Good riposte Merc
I too come From the same era as you, days when we made noise and dared to dream

LOL...

Are you two celebrating valentines day tomorrow?

Glad I've annoyed some of the pessimistic non-supporters on here! It gets pretty depressing reading all the comments along the lines of 'Dyche/Bas out' and 'I've supported the club longer than you' after every news story...

lutondown wrote:

KeithMercer wrote: Emmer Green Hornet ! sorry I have not responded to your bile sooner but I have just got back from work, which negates your first assumption that I am a schoolchild. If you take wanting my club to be as big and the best that it can be as "trolling" then you bemuse me at best. Maybe your too young to remember when we finished 2nd in the now premier league and went to FA cup finals and competed in Europe! well I am not and have supported the club for 40 years and was a ball boy at the club in the days of Mike Keen and Ron Rollit so have seen the 4th division as well.So I do not appreciate being called a "mindless moron" and told to "eff off and support Man City". If your life is so sad that you are happy with the state of the ground and tthe complete lack of funds and all that goes with it, then thats your problem !! and probably explains why you are up at midnight writing vile abusive messages. When you say that we have never been a big club!! and never will be ! please define what you call a big club ? If being an established Premier league club with a ground that has four stands is all to much for you to possibly aspire to, then maybe its you who needs to find another club to support! as you obviously have no ambition or passion whatsoever !! thats begining to sound about right all too familiar I am afraid.

Good riposte Merc I too come From the same era as you, days when we made noise and dared to dream

summed up perfectly Keith Mercer i too from same era and not that i have to justify myself but for the record Emmer Green i have been a season ticket holder for some 34 years and very rarley miss an away game !

got to get back to work now so no not on half term posting with the kids you keep clapping mate why our club slowly dies , happy valentines day !

We all want to get back into the prem but some of you seem to demand it and resent the fact that we can't match the spending of our bigger opponents in this league. We have a smaller playing budget but that doesn't mean the more realistic fans (aka "clappers") don't want to get back to the prem. We just accept its tougher for us than most due to lower income.

To suggest that our club is slowly dying when we sit 12 points above relegation zone in the second tier is laughable.

Mickey Quinn, not so thin wrote:
We all want to get back into the prem but some of you seem to demand it and resent the fact that we can't match the spending of our bigger opponents in this league. We have a smaller playing budget but that doesn't mean the more realistic fans (aka "clappers") don't want to get back to the prem. We just accept its tougher for us than most due to lower income. To suggest that our club is slowly dying when we sit 12 points above relegation zone in the second tier is laughable.

behind the scenes mickey quinn it is dying on its feet no direction, i will leave it at that for now but just keep watching as the next few months unfold !

i applaud sean dyche for what he is achieving with the backdrop of what is going on behind the scenes was not his biggest fan but have to say well done to him

I am sure when we were in the old 1st Division around 83/84 we used to average 18k to 22k at Vicarage Road. I bulieve we should be looking to emulate clubs like Norwich and Swansea as far as infrastructue and ambition are concerned, that should be our long term aim. Even clubs like the MK Dons have the infrastructure in place ans aspire to eventually compete in the Premier League. If we are not careful, we are in danger of being overtaken by up and coming clubs like Stevenage for example. The club is crying out for some serious investment and I for one would welcome a takeover by a wealthy backer such as this Udinese chap.

Just to make it clear Bassini flying out to Italy has nothing to do with this story - He is going to watch his team play Milan.

Andrew1963 wrote:
Just to make it clear Bassini flying out to Italy has nothing to do with this story - He is going to watch his team play Milan.

if that's the case and his team not being us the sooner he sells the better

bassini is a ok owner in some sence but he isnt really rich enough to pull out big signing and as a football fan of any club you want them to make big signings and make the staduim look nice and with a new owner that might happen it might not but i think we should still a luarence bissini involed in the clubs future cause we need all the investment we can get i mean look at rangers even a top respect side like that have gone into administation thank god were not in that sitution anymore.