Championship Chat 2014-15 Season

[TightEnd]

Wednesday sold to a Thai family that own John West tuna.

Sounds like the real deal for us this time, Mandaric seems to have found a buyer with some serious dosh.

Hopefully we will be able to compete for the first time in 15 years plus.

Interesting times ahead whatever happens.

exactly what he did with us, bought it for peanuts, stabilised it and found a buyer to take it on and invest, while he turns it for a profit

expect change of manager, big changes in players and quick progress

[ripple11]

Only one game, but Layun looked a bit special on Saturday playing in midfield!

Blackpool at home next week should be a win which will set up away to Bournemouth on TV on the following Friday. 

Big game tomorrow ,should end 7-7.......... so bound to be goalless 

[DungBeetle]

Yeah big game for Watford I think.  We haven't beaten a top team yet - not the end of the world if we lose, but I feel like this game determines if we are the real deal, or will just be a playoff also ran hoping for the best.

Should be a cracker.

[RickBFA]

Wednesday sold to a Thai family that own John West tuna.

Sounds like the real deal for us this time, Mandaric seems to have found a buyer with some serious dosh.

Hopefully we will be able to compete for the first time in 15 years plus.

Interesting times ahead whatever happens.

exactly what he did with us, bought it for peanuts, stabilised it and found a buyer to take it on and invest, while he turns it for a profit

expect change of manager, big changes in players and quick progress

Yep, I'm surprised someone is soft enough to buy us to be honest, we have an aging stadium, comfortably top 6 championship support but poor media and commercial income, Sheffield is frankly a bit of a geographical backwater and our "brand" is damaged big time by the Hillsborough disaster etc.

Football is dominated by TV money rather than gate sizes and history.

[TightEnd]

they bought it for £30m

Mandaric bought it for a £1, no idea what the trading losses have been since

anyway to put £30m into context, the thais who have bought Wednesday just paid £1.5bn for a US foods company!

[RickBFA]

they bought it for £30m

Mandaric bought it for a £1, no idea what the trading losses have been since

anyway to put £30m into context, the thais who have bought Wednesday just paid £1.5bn for a US foods company!

Mandaric did the deal for £1 but paid about £7m to write off circa £25m debt to Coop Bank and previous Directors.

He bought a shell, with no infrastructure, no scouting network, a run down youth set up etc. I get the impression MM was shocked by how bad things were.

Last accounts show a loss of about £5.5m from memory. I'm sure some of that was accounting stuff but the rumour was he was putting in £3-4m a year to fund cashflow.

He also borrowed money from Terry Brown I think (Ex West Ham??) which was secured against the stadium.

So he'll make a profit but it wont be massive.

[RickBFA]

Three signings for Wednesday today, the new owners starting to spend money.

They already funded the loan signings of Keane from Man Utd and Baker from Chelsea previously, we've now signed a young striker called Bush from CSKA who is top goal scorer in Bulgaria and Vermijl from Man Utd both permanent deals along side Lewis McGugan signing on loan for rest of season (I presume with a view to a permanent deal).

All young players under 25 who should improve the squad.

Other rumours are  us taking Paterson off Notts Forest or Phillips off QPR on loan.

All good stuff and very encouraging.

[DungBeetle]

Hmm - wished we'd kept McGugan.  Watford light on centre midfield options if we get any injuries now.

[Chompy]

February 2, 9pm: Chairman Darragh MacAnthony has accused an unnamed Championship club of failing to make scheduled transfer payments worth millions to Peterborough United.

MacAnthony took to Twitter to explain to Posh fans why his club have not been able to make any transfer deadline day signings. He blamed a Championship club for reneging on a payment plan worth millions to Posh.

Nottingham Forest purchased striker Britt Assombalonga from Posh for £5.5 million in August. Forest have previously messed Posh about over a transfer - they pulled out of a deal to sign George Boyd at the last minute in January 2013 claiming the player had failed an eye test.

Forest are owned by welathy Kuwaiti businessman Fawaz Al-Hasawi. MacAnthony would not confirm the club’s identity, but ruled out Middlesbrough who signed Lee Tomlin from Posh last year.

MacAnthony said: “Ok Posh fans, there won’t be any incoming signings today, but that has nothing to do with players having to leave. The real reason is due to a certain Championship club failing to make an agreed large payment (not thousands btw) last week on a player they bought from us

“This same club did this to us in August and now again. Truthfully it’s a disgrace and their chairman is the same. It has put us last minute in a terrible predicament which I shall now fix and once the loan window opens, we shall bring in a couple of players to help the squad.

“It’s also a shambles the Football League allow this nonsense to carry on and not for the first time. I’m also sure we are not only club who it’s happened to, but the knock on effect is outrageous and doesn’t help a club like Posh that’s for sure!

“I don’t like having to share this on twitter, but our fans deserve to know why it’s been a quiet day and I have (now given) other chairman fair warning that I won’t be messed around and that all within the game will know this should he not pay up. Sad thing is that he can afford to!!”

[horseplayer]

I used to like Darragh

Dont have much sympathy on this one been various accounts before they bought Britt that the Forest Chairman likes to delay payments/miss them.

[DungBeetle]

If Forest are doing this as a general course of business should be a 10 point penalty.   Brings the integrity of the the transfer system into question.

[redsimon]

It is standard practice at Forest to not pay any bills on time, usually when the debt is at Court proceedings stage (several HMRC bills for example)is it paid. Shocking way to run the club imho

[luther101]

Sooner, or later, Watford are going to get out of 3rd gear - I hope it's against Naaaaaaaaaaaaaarchon Saturday.

The Mexicans over here in Vegas are totally intrigued by our signing of Mr Layun - I didn't have the heart to tell them he farked off to the Orns because he couldn't breathe through all the 'attention' he was getting back at home       .....        a good opportunity to flog 40 million Watford shirts with their hero's name on the back, methinks!

[DungBeetle]

Very exciting season this year!  Still any 2 from 5 for the top two imo.  Boro, Derby, Watford, Bournemouth, Norwich.

[TightEnd]

Very exciting season this year!  Still any 2 from 5 for the top two imo.  Boro, Derby, Watford, Bournemouth, Norwich.

who would your two be?

very tricky

i think Boro..Karanka has them very solid (which i think matters when it gets to April) and they have Bamford/Vossen/Kike to rotate. its two games a week from now on in, iirc

i think Norwich. again, the multiple goalscoring threats are backed up with one of the better back fives

would love it to be watford obviously (ante post bets talking!) and deeney/ighalo must scare teams s***less but i think they conceded a few too many


do the top 5 have to play each other on the run in?