. In a change to the Fans Forums and At Your Places of yesteryear, during which it was becoming increasingly difficult to talk openly and in relative confidence, the Fans Committee is designed to re-ignite those really open and frank conversations, with follow-ups planned that involve other members of the clubs senior management team as appropriate to the likely topics for discussion. We cant match them pound for pound.. We are very proud of this football club. 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And when I say cheap, in terms of transfer fee, it can be similar, but in terms of salary, [there is] a massive difference. Moving on? info@trainingground.guru, About Assessing the quality of developed players is every bit as difficult. If you look at the world in front of you, there is somewhere a better player than [the one] you are chasing., The same approach applies to managers. The Pozzos have faced more serious allegations. It's surreal. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. On Monday, Pozzo and Duxbury added: "Every club wants to be playing at the highest possible level. It is the breadth of Watfords scouts and contacts that allows them to utilise the market so well and find value where others cannot. For primary use with Football Manager 2021. . This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. The Watford way is to buy cheaper, little-known players, then sell them at a profit. That's where we should be. In an office locked away from the hubbub is Gino Pozzo, Watfords owner. Speaking to the club's matchday broadcast Hive Live after the game, the chairman explained just how difficult things had been throughout the last season with no matchday revenuedue to the coronavirus outbreak and said the achievement meant "everything" to him. They just want to do a deal because they know theyre going to lose him in January, [so] we have a guy in a car park with 10 minutes to go before the window closes., Duxbury spoke to Pozzo, who instantly gave the green light. If you sign a SouthAmerican, you can start at ten [thousand pounds] a month.. Scott Duxbury speaking after Watford were promoted to the Premier League. Instead, Watford appear to deploy a series of trading strategies that mean their recruitment choices are smarter and more bankable than their rivals: At 4.50pm on August9 2018, 10 minutes before the closure of the summer transfer window, a period in which players can be traded between clubs, Duxbury received a call. Calvin after shadowing people such as Mel Johnson, who spotted current international starsGareth Bale andRaheem Sterling as teenagers reckons scouts develop intuition that allows them to divine which players will make it to the top. The Pozzos were keen to buy an English club following the success of Granada and after discussing several possibilities, the family decided Watford were the perfect project. These are parts of our football clubs daily life too seldom spoken about. Increasingly, however, emerging English prospects, who can potentially earn higher salaries elsewhere, are also seeing the benefit. If we simply replicate what the bigger clubs are doing, were going to fail, because we dont have their resources, says Duxbury. So it's grea thatwe've had a fantastic season in the Championship, it's great that we've won so manyconsecutive games and were fantastic, but we're a Premier League football club. Most, however, are obsessive freelancers who travel thousands of miles a season, are paid little more than 40 pence a mile for petrol, and are sustained by a diet of bacon sandwiches. Captain Troy Deeney said he does not know if he has played his last game for the club. We had the worldwide pandemic, we had no fans here. Their opponents in Saturdays FA Cup Final, Manchester City, may be viewed as leaders in the transfer market, given their power to sign marquee names, but Watfords ability to build a squad on a fraction of the budget of their Wembley rivals arguably makes them one of the best operators. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? PROFESSOR David Sumpter says Ajax are like a 'University of football' and are building an understanding of the game from the foundations up. Watfords scouts are instructed to get to know a players agents, even his parents, to better understand their desires in advance of any transfer. most relevant financial events such as yearly salaries, contracts, earn outs, endorsements, stock ownership and much more. It must be on Watford's terms, too, as they showed when they held out until Everton paid . "There were moments where it was touch and go whether we thought we could actually continue, but we managed to find a way through, we managed to adapt, and we've got back to the Premier League, which iseverything for this football club. Analysis and opinion from our chief football writer. WATFORD ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED(THE) (00104194) Company status Active Correspondence address Vicarage Road Stadium, Vicarage Road, Watford Hertfordshire, WD18 0ER. Joined from Opta Pro, where he was Head of Football, in August 2020. That role only lasted five months, before Simm returned to Watford as first-team physio in October 2018. Foreign imports, says Giraldi, offer better value for money: If you want to be economically efficient, [buy players in] South America. The programme produced a youth team that beat a Brazilian under-17 side featuring Neymar and Philippe Coutinho, who would go on to become two of the most expensive players ever. Was a teacher in Mlaga before moving into coaching and performance analysis in 2005. Spent six-and-a-half seasons at Eintracht Frankfurt, as Scout, Chief Scout and then Director of Professional Football. "That's been our biggest strength that, as a fan base, asan ownership, as a management, we're all together. The financial constraints of dropping down a division, coupled with the added pressure of the global pandemic meant that the odds were stacked against the Hornets, but their win against Millwall on Saturday confirmed they would be returning to the top flight at the first time of asking. Watford: A rising force through careful planning not instability and A powerful documentary marks the first anniversary of the Ukraine war through five people's diaries, Celebrate the American rapper, Megan Thee Stallion, with an epic mix of tunes and chats, In a long, hot, post-exam summer friends are seduced by a powerful app, Watford's five-year top-flight stay ended after a. owner Gino Pozzo and chief executive Scott Duxbury expressed "great disappointment". Football is an efficient market: the more a club spends, the better the results. This year, Watford rejected an offer from an American media company to buy a 35.7 per cent stake in the club for 125m, valuing it at a whopping 350m. A brief summary of attendees and headline areas discussed will be publicised after each meeting, with more detailed notes from any such conversations circulated confidentially among Fans Committee participants. That is what we are all working towards.. The small room, packed with circular tables, fills with noise. It can be considered a London club, it has great history and - ironically as it annoys the fans - the fact the stand has not been developed is seen as a positive because they know they can make a big impact. Talk of buying Watford began around six months ago and negotiations started in March. Duxbury explained: The Pozzos were quite clear that they wanted a London club because they saw that as a real attraction in terms of signing players and growing. The clubs scouts had been tracking the player for months but believed he was beyond reach. There will be more from the Hornets new chief executive in next weeks Watford Observer. We cannot suggest for one moment you havent tried to play your part. The Pozzos are focused solely on football. Other clubs deploy these tactics but few as often as Watford. Duxbury responded Sir Elton texts most days and always gets a reply but politely declined the advice. Scott Ian DUXBURY personal appointments - GOV.UK However, the way they were developed after that was completely different, as former Brighton Academy Manager John Morling tells TGG. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. I want them to achieve the best that they could possibly do in their career. It was an excellent mix across the wide demographic of Watfords fanbase and allowed for some very robust and open conversation about the clubs current circumstances, the challenges we have had to face on its behalf in the recent years (in particular during the Covid pandemic and relegation) and what the short-term and longer-term future might look like. That is tough to actually deal with and we had to do that and we had to keep a team that was competitive with literally no income that was coming into the football club. A fair assessment is they get one in three signings right, which in the current transfer market is a pretty high success rate. All Rights Reserved, Webber considering long-term future outside football after abuse, Strudwick steps down as Wales Head of Performance after five years, Plymouth secure permanent home for Academy as they prepare for Cat 2, Inside Brentfords new Robert Rowan Performance Centre, How futsal is part of the football fabric of River Plate in Argentina, App that gives released players new Routes after Academy football, How Ajax are building a full model of football, John Morling: Ferguson, Moran and different approaches to development. If we just simply replicate what the bigger clubs are doing, were going to fail, because we dont have their resources. In 1986, his father Giampaolo bought Italian club Udinese with money from the familys toolmaking company. For his 2018 bookThe Away Game, author Sebastian Abbot followed Spaniard Josep Colomer who, as a coach at Barcelona, nurtured a youthfulLionel Messi before the Argentine developed into the worlds best player. It's the finest moment I've had in football," said Duxbury. At clubs such as Liverpool and Manchester City, the idea is that recruitment is carried out by an executive team that remain in place even if the manager who picks the team changes. Given the clubs faith in their scouting network, they are not fearful of players leaving and as such they can be upfront to them when they join. Simple in theory. Id still buy him. Ultimately, the Premier League is where Duxbury and the rest of the Watford's hierarchy believe the club ought to be. in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, you can still find very, very good players who have the right attitude to play in Europe. Scouts deploy no fixed tests. Theyre there at the birth of the dream.. We stopped for a year and we were relegated. Watford's five-year top-flight stay ended after a 3-2 loss at Arsenal and Aston Villa's draw against West Ham. We close the deal and weve signed a player that in the Carabao Cup [one of Englands two main cup competitions] scored a wonder goal, then in midweek for Portugal [under-19s], scored another wonder goal. Its not a joke. Watford chairman Scott Duxbury says at least six of the 20 English Premier League clubs are concerned about the plan to use neutral stadiums to finish the season. Some traits, such as speed and strength, are measurable. Staff were told he was leaving in September 2022, only for the Italian to be quickly reinstated. Former Chelsea and England striker Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live: "The owner dictates everything and he needs to have a good look at himself. Picture: Youtube/WatfordFC Watford chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury has described the club's promotion to the Premier League as the biggest achievement in his career. One heavy defeat was all it took to suggest replacing Ben Foster, Watfords vastly experienced new goalkeeper, with Heaton, a highly rated recent England international. About. We loan him out. For a young player, being at a big club, if youre just sat there and not playing, not getting the opportunity, youre not showcasing your talent, says Nathaniel Chalobah, a 23-year-old midfielder who joined the club last year from Chelsea, one of Englands richest and most successful clubs. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please In acknowledging the continuing uncertainties around households financial commitments, we believe to provide a discount of at least seven per cent shows our recognition of loyal support across this and many previous seasons. Everybody wins. Get involved in exciting, inspiring conversations. If you look at the balance sheet of Watford, what people would see as a negative in terms of certain incomes being low Gino sees as a positive, because he believes with the clubs fan base, Watford can grow. Academic research suggests the best predictor of a teams league placing is its wage bill. For primary use with Football Manager 2021. Here he explains why - along with Ajax's Head of Sport Science and Data Vosse de Boode. Its a big operation for a club of their size, but those with more money can afford more spotters. In response, the English Football League (EFL), the body that regulates professional divisions below the Premier League, changed its rules so that clubs could no longer benefit from a huge influx of foreign loanees. Its values, its sense They feel it in their bones, he says in a recent YouTube video series on the art of scouting. Creative midfielder for Hajduk Split, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Austria Salzburg during an 18-year playing career. Premier League champions Manchester City have created a database of 300,000 players, with the club identifying just three targets in each position they consider the best in the world. Two-thirds of those awarded a professional contract at the age of 18 abandon the sport by 21. Place small sums into lots of high-risk ventures. "I've always said from day one that together we can achieve great things and it's not just rhetoric, it's the truth," he said. It is quite reassuring for me, and it should be for the Watford fans, that he knows the template for success. And only just. Thats the emotion, laughs Duxbury as he recounts the story to me. The CEO said that will only be achieved if all at Watford, fans, players and staff,aretogether. EVAN FERGUSON and Andy Moran both joined Brighton's Academy at the age of 16 from clubs in the League of Ireland. NewsNow: Scott Duxbury news | Breaking News & Search 24/7 Scott Duxbury Watford You might like Man City charged with breaking financial rules and may face points deduction or expulsion Man City not guaranteed EFL place if relegated, Pochettino to. They have bought Watford solely so it can become an established Premier League club. Worked for Tottenham for three-and-a-half years, latterly as Head of Academy Analysis, before joining Watford in June 2021. Scott Duxbury, Watford FC chairman and chief executive, wrote an opinion piece in The Times of London whose headline lamented the "devastating effects" of a plan to play the season's final . Saturday May 09 2020, 12.01am, The Times. The move to acquire clubs has given the Pozzos operation greater scale. MX23RW : Tuesday, February 14 23:28:01| >> :600:110613:110613: Arsenal . Arsenal 3-2 Watford: Hornets haven't been good enough this season - Deeney. Watford's promotion is Scott Duxbury's 'biggest achievement' Joined Watford in December 2022. After leaving the Hammers in January 2010 following the clubs takeover, Duxbury joined Sydney Rovers as the newly-founded club attempted to secure a spot in the A-League, unsuccessfully. As was the case with Richarlison, clubs are eyeing Pereyra, Deulofeu and Abdoulaye Doucoure but if they are sold this summer, you can be sure Watford are ready to replace them. The initial cohort of fans was drawn from a wide representation. Javier Gracia and Quique Sanchez Flores were both dismissed after they managed one Premier League win in 14 matches between them. Yet, there is scant evidence that even the best scouts can guarantee sure-fire hits. It is most certainly not a closed shop or invite only. A lot of the bigger clubs, they will look at a player and they need a little more convincing, a little more proof. Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) May 9, 2020 Watford, who are 17th in the league and only above the relegation zone on goal difference, beat runway leaders Liverpool in a shock victory at their Vicarage Road ground in February -- a result Duxbury says was influenced by . The Pozzos are the clubs owners and son Gino will be the one who is more involved than his father Gianpaolo. Born on 1st March 1972. It must be on Watfords terms, too, as they showed when they held out until Everton paid 40m for Richarlison. Players leaving doesnt concern me, he told talkSPORT. All major decisions are made by a triumvirate of Pozzo, Duxbury and Giraldi. Scouts deliver their reports directly to the ruling trio rather than through other layers of management. Training Ground Guru Advertise with us In 2012, they arrived in England to buy Watford, where Gino is sole owner. In Pozzos six years of ownership, the club have hired nine head coaches. Recruitment is, in many ways, a bit of a lottery, he says. Heurelho Gomes, who is likely to start in goal on Saturday, was a free signing. We try to have independence between [Udinese and Watford], says Giraldi. Went full time with the U21s in July 2016 and promoted to the first team in July 2018. You, our supporters, deserve more. We always watch with our eyes first, he says. Scott Duxbury sat down with the Watford Observer's Frank Smith this week. They cannot afford to purchase established stars as fans prefer. Played professionally in Germany before moving into coaching and scouting. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website, Here's How Drew Barrymore Made Her $125 Million Fortune, Kim Kardashians $150 Million Private Jet Has Strict Rules, Travis Barker Releases New CBD Skincare, But Its Causing Controversy, Moving To Canada? The club have 100 potential contracts already drawn up should the opportunity to sign a targeted player arise. Research interests: Crime and deviance; social control and conflict; computational and mathematical sociology; relational sociology . Joined club in November 2020, having been assistant at Deportivo Alavs in La Liga. "The Pozzos are here for the long term and they just don't fail. This is your chance to discuss club matters with senior club officials, as host Michael Kurn is joined by Scott Duxbury, CEO & Chairman, and Head Coach Vladi. Suggested targets are whittled down to two or three and presented to Duxbury, Giraldi and Pozzo, who are based at the clubs training ground. Scott Duxbury - Manager profile | Transfermarkt Everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment. But judging ability is tricky. Fosters not consistent. This account already exists. If Im the club thats buying a player for 40m because youve heard of him onMatch of the Day, somethings gone wrong., Murad Ahmed is the FTs sports correspondent, Follow@FTMag on Twitter to find out about our latest stories first. The suggestion that Watford is a London club is something of a touchy subject with a lot of supporters, considering the side are based in Hertfordshire, but the link with the capital was a huge positive for the Pozzos. Was U23 physio for a year before becoming Head of Medical at Peterborough in June 2018. However, he was also sacked with just two matches remaining, with under-23s boss Hayden Mullins put in charge, but back-to-back defeats condemned the Hornets to the Championship next season. 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"We came here eight years ago, we are now an established Premier League football club and that's where we belong.". Watford chief executive Scott Duxbury reveals that the Hornets will sign more new players during the January transfer window. Yet few made the big time. Watford says at least six EPL teams oppose restart After another three seasons with Udineses first team, Sanchez was sold to Barcelona for a reported fee of 23.4m. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Abu Dhabi-controlled City Football Group, which ownsManchester City, also has sides in the US and Australia, while energy drinks manufacturerRed Bull owns teams in Austria and Germany. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. Distorted nine-game mini-league bound to have devastating effects A subsequent EFL inquiry found that the owner was unaware of the document and the club had not gained a competitive advantage. Also arrived with Muoz in December 2020, having worked with him at Dinamo Tbilisi. As well as various roles in the Spanish leagues, including three spells at Mlaga CF, has worked for FC Dnipro in the Ukranian Premier League and for the Panama national team. Burnley: Scott Duxbury Programme Notes - Watford FC Sign up for exclusive newsletters, comment on stories, enter competitions and attend events. The close relationships with the local community in all its forms and the investment in club infrastructure will continue with purpose and enthusiasm. The lucky few are on a salary but live in perennial fear of the sack, frequently turfed out along with a teams manager when results go south. We have to be scrupulously honest with ourselves and admit our efforts surrounding the team were not good enough. I know there is always caution when there is change and there is always caution with foreign ownership, but the Pozzos really get the individuality of clubs. Since 2015, the clubs annual revenues have grown by more than 100m. And while our full focus is of course on the current season, if you are thinking about things beyond the end of this campaign then I do hope Season Ticket holders reading in have already seen fit to renew for next year courtesy of the reduced prices offered within our Early Renewal period. The club simply changed tack. Difficult in practice. How the biggest companies plan mass lay-offs, The benefits of revealing neurodiversity in the workplace, Tim Peake: I do not see us having a problem getting to Mars, Michelle Yeoh: Finally we are being seen, Our ski trip made me question my life choices, Apocalypse then: lessons from history in tackling climate shocks, How data analysis helps football clubs make better signings. In his award-winning 2013 bookThe Nowhere Men, football writer Michael Calvin followed the lives of English talent spotters. NewsNow: Scott Duxbury news | Breaking News & Search 24/7 Scott Duxbury Sport Football Championship Watford Latest News In the last month Tribute: Oliver Phillips (1941-2023) Watford FC - Official Site 17:07 2-Feb-23 view more headlines 2 Feb 17:07 Get the latest transfer news and rumours from the world of football Don't miss a move! Instead, the Pozzo model is akin to venture capital investing. Theydidn't see quite what we were doing, but I like to think that, as we proved what we were trying to do, the family stayed with us and then they saw that we were trying to build a football club that was going to achievesuccess. The multi-platinum selling singer is Watford's honorary life president and was chairman during their rise from the old Fourth Division to the top flight during the 1970s and early 80s. The family have vehemently denied the allegations. Theyll either be very successful and maybe go on to another bigger club or they wont work out and theyll move on. For now, at least, Watfords player trading strategy is working. To receive exclusive content every month and other great benefits sign up to our monthly eNewsletter. and other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, Qualified as a lawyer and worked in that capacity for West Ham before becoming their chief executive.