Skip to main content

The Watford model

This weekend's Financial Times magazine takes an in depth look at how Watford have survived in the Premier League and, this season so far, are punching above their weight.

A key element is buying low and selling high. Since their promotion to the Premier League they have, on average, acquired and sold more players than any other side in the top flight. But how does one ensure that one buys potential rather than dross? Assessing a player's potential is not that easy. A typical scout is a former footballer getting little more than petrol money with perhaps a small bonus for a successful signing.

Watford have invested in their scouting network, with 12 senior scouts travelling the world, backed up by junior scouts and consultants. That's still far fewer than the fifty full timers employed by Manchester United, but it's still a lot for a club of their size. Moreover, their reports go straight to the ruling trio rather than through other layers of management.

They are prepared to take quick but calculated risks. Their wage bill is the fifth lowest in the division, reflecting their reliance on foreign players who, if they are from South America, demand smaller starting wages than British players. Some of them may need work permits, but they can acquire the right to play in the UK by being loaned out to sister club Udinese or European clubs (how this will work after Brexit is not discussed).

No club in the Pozzo family stable has been relegated for twenty years (they sold their Spanish club Granada for a reported €37m in 2016). Udinese is just a small town club, but its interdependence with Watford and the accompanying trading strategy seems to be working.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

A poor financial record, but new hope at Everton

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...
Post a Comment
Read more