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

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spurs CEO attacks luxury training base

The Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has issued a withering assessment of the way the club was run under Daniel Levy, likening the state-of-the-art training centre to a five-star hotel rather than a centre of high performance.  Venkatesham was appointed to his role in April 2025, having stepped down as chief executive at Arsenal the previous summer. However, he has said that some aspects of the club were “in a significantly worse state” than he expected.  “Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world,” Venkatesham told BBC Sport. “But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer. I think there are many areas where the club hasn’t got the right level of expertise.”  He explained that the football side of operations was the club’s main downfall when he arrived last year. [One Spurs fan wryly observed that it was like a water company sayi...
Post a Comment
Read more

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