9:29am Friday 19th March 2010
Hello everyone, here we are again coming towards the end of another season and what an interesting year it’s been! I wrote this time last year about the need for us all to evaluate the positioning of OUR Club and rebalancing the expectations that had grown both on and off the pitch over recent years.
It was easy for me coming back into the Club to see the change that had taken place. Don’t think that I am reluctant to change as it is necessary to progress but I couldn’t help feeling we had lost our identity and with that a distance had emerged between you the supporters and the Club.
There has indeed been plenty of change in the short space of time that I have been back at the Club. Whilst a lot of that change was surprising and unplanned it hasn’t knocked us off course on the journey we set out on just over a year ago. There has been much publicity about the restructuring of the Club, on the business side as well as on the pitch and we have come through that difficult period very strongly.
I happen to believe that we have two fine men in Julian and Malky leading their respective teams. They are both fiercely ambitious but what is most important is they are real ‘Watford’ men despite not growing up that way. What I mean by that is Watford, in many ways is a unique Club and it takes a certain type of character to genuinely fit into the Watford way of doing things.
This Club is special and the impact it has had on mine and my family’s life meant I found it impossible to turn down the offer to join the Board in January 2009. At no point did I expect to become Chairman but again, through unexpected circumstances, I felt the Club was looking to me at a difficult time and I have to say it made me very proud to agree to the post albeit initially on a short term basis.
I need to make it clear that I have many responsibilities in my life and it isn’t necessarily possible for me to be a 24 hour a day Chairman. As promised, we will review the position in June but I hope that it may be possible for me to continue beyond then – if the rest of the Board want me to!
You will have read in Julian’s letter the fundamental reasons behind the pricing structure for season tickets next year. We punch above our weight by currently having over 10,000 season ticket holders and for a town the size of Watford, with all the competition on the doorstep that is testament that people have a real feeling for this Club.
We’ve had troubled times over the last couple of years but myself and fellow Directors are only looking one way and that is forward. Football in general has caught a bit of a financial cold this year and whilst there is a lot for us to do we believe we have addressed the major issues that faced us and our foundations are now in stone, not sand.
Let’s be clear though. We have to improve and grow our revenue and support base so my message to you is, if you can, please support YOUR Club by buying a season ticket for next year. We’ve started on another journey on and off the pitch and the whole place feels very ‘Watford’ again. Experience tells me that when we stay true to our beliefs the Watford way can be an interesting journey! Please join us.
Best Wishes
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