Tonight’s Fan Forum Q&A with owner Gino Pozzo and chairman Scott Duxbury will be available to follow via a live blog on this website.

There will also be a fully verbatim transcript of the evening’s discussions on the website. This will be published in short blocks, with the first of those hopefully live before midnight (the Q&A is due to finish around 9pm).

The live blog and all the transcript articles will be free to view, meaning no subscription is required to access and read them.

The meeting is due to start at 7pm, and the blog will come online shortly before that. It will be available on the home page and also on the Sport homepage.

Both the blog and the transcript will be produced with everything said at the meeting considered ‘on the record’ – although obviously the blog will not be a ‘word by word’ account, simply because of the speed people talk at!

Visitors to the blog/transcript may still see subscription messaging as there are pop-up ads on the website - they can be closed though.

The Supporters Group, organisers of the event, last week had initially decided not to invite media.

However, further conversations took place in the days afterwards, and club legend Luther Blissett met with Duxbury earlier this week to express his desire – on behalf of fans and former players – that media, and in particular the WO, should be allowed to attend.

In an update on their official club website, Watford FC said: “Given its long history of impartial coverage of the club and its ability to provide a free-to-access platform, the club asked The Watford Observer to be present and provide the blogging service for supporters who wish to follow the evening but were unable to secure one of the 80 places available. The Watford Observer will also publish a full transcript.”

The only negative change to the format of the event was that a previously planned audio recording of the night, due to be shared the next day, was cancelled.

However, that shouldn’t detract from the success of the Supporters Group pulling together an event with the owner taking questions, face to face with fans – something that has never happened before since Pozzo bought the club more than a decade ago.

Explaining his decision to raise the issue of media access to the event in a meeting with Duxbury at the club’s training ground on Tuesday, Blissett said: “We sadly are seeing such negativity and aggression in folks online. There is a disappointing air of entitlement that weaves its way into so many things. That is not how our legacy goes at our club!

“My view is that this paper (The Watford Observer) is our balanced voice to many, many fans who can’t get to games and want in-depth professional news. They are there to report facts.”

There was more good news for supporters seeking more regular opportunities to meet with club officials for better open dialogue as the club announced the return of ‘At Your Place’.

Held in seasons gone by at a variety of venues in different towns more readily accessible to fans, At Your Place has seen Duxbury, head coaches, players and other key staff meet with fans in a more relaxed and informal setting.

The same format will commence again during the 2023/24 season, with the club saying At Your Place will be held “every eight weeks or so”.