Gino Pozzo speaks: Why Edwards didn’t fit Watford, why Ismael does, and being offered Osimhen

For the first time in the Pozzo era at Watford, the club’s owner Gino Pozzo sat down with a group of fans to talk, explain and hopefully listen.

“I could have chosen a better time,” said the Italian with a wry smile, answering a question posed by one of the 80 gathered at the training ground.

Sitting next to the club’s chairman/chief executive Scott Duxbury, Pozzo started the evening with a 10-minute address in which he acknowledged that some face-to-face interaction — albeit to a fraction of the fanbase in this case — was long overdue. “I know you don’t get much contact with me,” he said. “I don’t like to talk to the press, I don’t like social media, I try to have a private life. I dedicate most of my time to my family and two football clubs (Watford and their sister club, Udinese of Italy’s Serie A).”

Over the next two hours, the discussion covered a range of topics including last season’s short-lived original head coach Rob Edwards (now in the Premier League, having joined local rivals Luton Town two months after his September sacking and taken them up via the play-offs) not being the right fit, the reasons new man Valerien Ismael is, and why Pozzo is prepared to expose himself to scrutiny when it comes to frequently sacking managers. Culture, stability and toxicity were wrestled with, as were other thorny issues like debt, wages, the controversial agent Mogi Bayat and the sale of Hassane Kamara to Udinese.

There was also the surprise admission that Watford could have signed a player who is now one of the most feared strikers in the world, new Serie A champions Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, before he made his name with France’s Lille and now in Naples. “We actually missed Osimhen, they (Belgian club Charleroi, where the Nigerian played the 2018-19 season) offered him to us and we didn’t take it,” said Pozzo.

It was a mix of straight talking and, at times, obfuscation. This was never a night that would immediately cure concerns about the club’s direction after their lowest league finish (11th in the second-tier Championship) for a decade, but it was a step in the right direction, a move towards building bridges with a fractured fanbase.

The tail-end of last season involved some supporters protesting with banners and songs being directed at Pozzo. “When you see things like that, it’s frustrating,” said the owner, admitting he feels it too. “The people who work with me know — you don’t speak to me for 24 to 48 hours (after a defeat).”

The message of ‘Pozzo Out’ from some has only strengthened his resolve. “I have to stay and make it work,” he said. “That helps you (the fans), we need to do better and we need to do more.”

Fewer head coaches to have to get used to would be welcomed by many supporters — Watford have had 11 of them in the last four seasons. Pozzo acknowledged that the high turnover is an issue. “The time that the coaches have been with us has not been ideal but the results (overall) have been impressive,” he said. “We clearly need to have a stable coaching staff with us to move to the next level.”

Last season began with summer-appointment Edwards in charge, but he was given just 10 league games. Why? “Like any coach or player, there is a fit, you either get a good fit or you don’t. We didn’t see things developing in the right way. We saw the work, the approach, and it wasn’t working for us,” said Pozzo, who expanded on his lack of patience.

“I cannot sit back and wait for something to happen (if I don’t think things are going in the right direction). I prefer to expose myself and make a change and then admit that a mistake has been made. Sometimes you’re going to make mistakes. It’s how you face the problem in front of you. Do I regret not having the coaches in charge for much longer? No, I don’t. The role of the manager is to manage the players, and if he can’t, then maybe we have the wrong manager.”

He currently has faith in Ismael, appointed after the departure of Chris Wilder, who replaced Edwards’ replacement Slaven Bilic in March, at the end of the season.

“(Ismael) was the one who ticked all the boxes. This coach has experience at this level. We believe it’s a much stronger appointment. We wanted to make sure that the approach to training and discipline was to a certain standard,” said Pozzo, who outlined that Ismael had impressed him when he was in charge of Barnsley in the 2020-21 season, taking them to the Championship play-offs.

Pozzo is looking forward to Watford’s style of play now being “proactive in recovering the ball with high intensity” and players will now be recruited with that approach in mind. The work in the transfer market will be done by technical director Ben Manga and sporting director Cristiano Giaretta. “This has been done with much more care. We don’t expect any surprises. There should be a better fit between the team and the coach,” says Pozzo, who was asked how long Ismael would last if it’s not going to plan after 10 games of next season.

He sidestepped that one but then explained he doesn’t judge head coaches simply on results. “You (the fans) only get to see the coach once a week, we see him every day” — a reference to the fact Pozzo and his technical staff are based at the training ground.

Last summer, Duxbury said the club would back Edwards, who had just steered Forest Green Rovers to the League Two title, “come hell or high water”. He took the opportunity to explain what changed.

“It felt like the start of a new dawn, and we believed that it was,” Duxbury said. “At the time, I genuinely meant what I said and wanted to take away that stigma (and move towards stability).

“We have a clear vision of how we want to play (now) and hopefully this coach will stay. We are looking for that stability. Of course we’ve made mistakes. We’re not sitting here arrogantly saying everything is wonderful,” he said, insisting Ismael is on-board with how hands-on his bosses are going to be.

“We asked what went wrong at WBA (Ismael last managed in England at West Bromwich Albion in the 2021-22 Championship, winning four of the first five games and not losing on until October. But results tailed off quickly and he was sacked in the February), and he said there was no support, and he felt isolated,” said Duxbury. “He wanted that support and daily interaction. (Therefore, here he) doesn’t see it as a hindrance. He knows how we operate.”

When pre-season begins on Monday, it’s being billed as a “fresh start” with a “new group” and Duxbury said that “for the first time everyone that walks in wants to be at the club”, perhaps with only Ismaila Sarr’s departure expected in the remainder of the summer window. The club won’t travel abroad for a camp or to play warm-up friendlies, with seven weeks of work at the training ground planned.

More incomings are likely — only former Toulouse striker Rhys Healey has been added so far, albeit not confirmed — meaning Giaretta, who now has Manga for help in his first summer window, will be busy trying to get deals done.

“(We were) impressed with the job he did at Eintracht Frankfurt,” said Pozzo of Manga. “(With a) philosophy close to what we were following. (He also had) a strong connection with certain markets (and) more scouts in areas we weren’t present. He was a perfect fit. (We) wanted to give stronger support inside the technical group.”

Duxbury referenced the majority of decisions at the club being taken with a “collaborative” approach. Pozzo added: “We don’t make decisions in isolation, we like to bring in a lot of information. We like to go through this with a logical conclusion.” Although the owner did highlight in his opening address that he is the one who “sets the direction of the club”.

On the club’s financial situation, Pozzo confirmed he has no plans to recall funds owed to him, while Duxbury highlighted that the club aim to become debt-free next year: “We have a £25million loan with Macquarie Bank that needs to be repaid in 12 months’ time (and) the repayment of the debt is totally workable.”

What will help is Pozzo’s insistence that “salaries are constantly going down”, helped by some of the club’s higher earners reaching the end of their contracts and either having left already or being close to doing so: “The club is in a fantastic position right now, it will be debt-free by the end of the season. That’s why we have to make sacrifices (including) to sell important players. We’re not carrying over any debt.”

Cashflow was aided last year by the mid-August sale of defender Kamara for £16million, who was then loaned back to Watford for the remainder of the season. “If we have an advantage at our club, why shouldn’t we do that?” said Pozzo. “It was a brilliant solution, without losing the technical ability of that player.”

Duxbury added that he believes the move will stand up to scrutiny from the EFL: “We were able to sell Kamara (for) a good transfer fee to enable the club to compete. The EFL have no investigation, no concern, no charge. (The transfer) will have no impact on our financial fair play position. It’s not a loophole. It has to be independently audited.”

There was equal confidence in the club’s relationship with agent Bayat, who is being investigated by Belgian and French authorities over his alleged involvement in corrupt transfer dealings.

“Mogi is one of the agents we use. He has not been suspended (from) work. I don’t want to get involved in his personal position,” said Pozzo before highlighting that the agent — whom he often sits alongside at matches — has not been found guilty of anything.

“I have other agents that I work with and I’m close with. I have no interest in working with a specific agent. There is no exclusivity, it’s just what works for the club.”

The night ended with a commitment from Duxbury to have more regular fan events throughout the season after a hiatus of over a year. Pozzo may not be a fixture at those future get-togethers.

“I’ve chosen to talk to you to send a message out. It’s important to act more than to talk,” he said.

The wider fanbase wait to see if the words of optimism from the top table ring true when Watford kick off their new season on the first weekend in August.

(Top photo: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)