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Watford boss Malky Mackay wants to sign four or five players (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)
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Watford boss Malky Mackay wants to sign four or five players
8:30am Friday 30th July 2010
Malky Mackay wants to sign "four or five" new players but Watford are refusing to comment on claims that a fourth bid for Troy Deeney has been rejected.
The Hornets were tight-lipped earlier this week amid reports that three previous offers for the Walsall striker had been turned down.
Sources close to the League One club believe the last of these was submitted early last week, but as the Watford Observer went to press yesterday afternoon it was reported that a fourth bid, said to be worth £375,000, had also been spurned. Despite this development, the Hornets' stance remained unaltered.
We reported last week that Watford were "still considering an approach" for the Saddlers' Player of the Year, but when asked about the forward, who scored 14 goals last season, Malky Mackay said: "I'm not going to talk about signing players at other football clubs."
While the Watford manager has been consistent in not discussing new signings until deals are done, he may be close to getting Deeney because sources had indicated that Walsall may be willing to sell for less than £375,000.
Mackay would also not be drawn on reports linking highly-rated winger Matt Phillips with a move from Wycombe Wanderers.
The 19-year-old, who still has a year left to run on his contract at Adams Park, was part of the England squad that was beaten 3-1 by Spain in the semi-finals of the European Under-19 Championships on Tuesday.
But Preston North End are also said to be interested in the Aylesbury-born player, who was set to face a Chelsea XI last night, and are reportedly willing to spend £400,000.
But the Watford boss has assured fans that "we're trying" to get more players in, with the start of the new season now only a week away.
Mackay said: "We're talking to plenty of people and we're probing and we'll just keep chipping away until the people are signed. I'm not going to actually comment on what I'd like to get in, but it is something that is ongoing.
"Be assured that we're trying our hardest for this football club to get people in and to get good quality players in."
Asked if preparations for the new campaign are where he would like them to be following Tuesday's 2-0 win at Stevenage, the Hornets manager responded: "Certainly fitness-wise. I think tonight showed that with the way they kept going and going until the end.
"Preparation-wise, I would love to have more players in the door. You can see how small the squad is and how young the squad is, so we definitely need to get four or five bodies – quality players – in the door."
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Your Say YourSt Albans
harrowboy, Harrow says...
9:30am Fri 30 Jul 10
Let's just get behind the teams he puts out (our job!) and let MM get on with his!
watters84, harrow says...
9:42am Fri 30 Jul 10
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Derek Payne, says...
10:00am Fri 30 Jul 10
watters84 wrote:Would say Hodson, Bryan, Mingoia and Sordell from what I've seen.
Would like to hear fans opinion on which of Hodson, Oshodi, Bryan, Mingoia, Massey, Whichelow, Sordell and Murray are the ones with big futures, if so,why so? if not, why not?
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
But remember Loach, Gilmartin, McGinn, Jenkins, Bennett, Buckley, even Mariappa are all young too and all have great futures ahead of them in the game.
We should be very proud of our young side, they'll lose a few games along the way, but there's some great talent in there.
fairwater, watford says...
10:17am Fri 30 Jul 10
harrowboy wrote:I tend to agre in the main Harrowboy, but my fear is that if we start off with a series of defeats and the odd draw, we could end up bottom of the league by your timescale. Then the confidence will drain away from our youngsters who will have to play to plug the gaps waiting for these new players to arrive.
Agree 100% luther. I fully expect that MM will not have his squad complete until end August/mid Sept just like last season. Let's just get behind the teams he puts out (our job!) and let MM get on with his!
Password: Act Now.
WFCBigStu, Abbots Langley says...
10:46am Fri 30 Jul 10
I hope we can get the youngsters to gell and perform well, this should be a superb grounding for the future!!
leonhornet, Hazlemere says...
11:23am Fri 30 Jul 10
Hexham Hornet, HEXHAM says...
11:23am Fri 30 Jul 10
There is a lot of experience in the squad, even amongst the younger players, and some of last season's signings are yet to make their mark (eg. McGinn and Buckley who have not yet done much at first team level for Watford).
I am sure Malky will use the loan system wisely as well - which has worked to the club's benefit over the last 2 or 3 seasons.
It should be an interesting season this year with a lot of young players gaining both in experience and value. The next two to three years should see the Academy start to produce both a skill and financial benefit for the club on a regular basis.
Rick Almighty, St Albans says...
2:06pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Mackay talks of signing 4-5 players, but i'm willing to bet ony 2 of those represent permanent signings, and all under 23 years of age.
There is no balance to the team, and i fear by having a side made up of players with an average age, say, of 21, will not be enough to keep the club up.
BogotaBullet42, Woodside says...
2:14pm Fri 30 Jul 10
smalon, South Oxhey says...
2:18pm Fri 30 Jul 10
I hope we don't move for the wycombe midfielder either. Not because I don't think he is a good player but more because we have some very promising midfielders and I don't want their progress blocked.
Lets be honest, midfield is not the area we really need to strengthen.
A couple of strikers, left-back and centre-half would be nice.
bishopofwatford, bishopofwatford says...
2:23pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Rick Almighty wrote:well well well
King is fresh out of prison and desperate to make ammends and revive his career. Very few people would be willing to touch him, let alone pay him high wages, so i very much doubt if he'd be "outside our wage structure". Rather, given the chance to rejoin Watford, i think he'd come cap in hand with his tail between his legs.
Mackay talks of signing 4-5 players, but i'm willing to bet ony 2 of those represent permanent signings, and all under 23 years of age.
There is no balance to the team, and i fear by having a side made up of players with an average age, say, of 21, will not be enough to keep the club up.
king is thug and woman beater
we are a family club
any coincidence king gets out of nick the day lucas in eastenders is arrested ...are they one and the same
must away our hassocks need restuffing
keep the faith
Rick Almighty, St Albans says...
2:33pm Fri 30 Jul 10
"We are very restricted financially - more restricted than we were last season - so I know the challenge we've got ahead of us and we are ready to face that challenge."
""I'll be sending a young team out to be competitive in every game to hit our targets. I'm not going to start shouting my mouth off about where we'll end up, but in the Championship every team wants to get to 52 points as early as possible to make sure they stay in the division and we're no different to that."
So in other words, the club have gone back on their statement that last season was about "consolidation" and "securing our championship status". Clearly, the ambition of the club, and the manager, is to survive yet another relegation battle.
I don't seem to recall our chairman or chief executive talking about that when they were trying to con supporters into investing in another season ticket back in April.
This is why the clubs vision of being a "top 30" club is a sellout - because season after season the club can underachieve in the bottom of the championship and yet the claim can always be made that "we are not too far away from where we want to be".
At least Boothroyd and Simpson had a more positive vision, and at least in his first season old Boofers got the players believing they could achieve something.
The article also refers to the "strict financial regime" in place at WFC and i think its easy to overlook that. The club are not in debt - they are simply being run on a very austere basis. Great for the balance books, but not so good on the football pitch.
Moreover, in the wake of the clubs first financial crisis in 2002-03, i don't recall Ray Lewington filling up the squad with a bunch of youngsters; he saw the value of experience and was able to wheel and deal acordingly.
No, the more i look at this regime, the more backward looking and small minded it seems to become.
And where is the part time chairman? We have not heard a single word from him since he and his crony Winter failed to delude the majority of fans to invest in another season ticket.
It's relegation all the way which is why it is essential if someone like King is available that we snap him up!
BogotaBullet42, Woodside says...
2:49pm Fri 30 Jul 10
enlightened one, Watford says...
2:52pm Fri 30 Jul 10
WE8BR, london says...
3:06pm Fri 30 Jul 10
WFC4ever, Watford says...
3:57pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Why else have we not got a new East stand at least with the millions gained via Aidy's excellent work in his first season?
Ofcourse he didn't like the Russos being a threat either...
I know Malky might not seem that upbeat but no doubt had he said "we're aiming for top 10 etc" people would have said Mackay was being deluded..
If anything he is being realistic.
As for Marlon...sounds like he has a high opinon of himself and probably thinks clubs bigger and better than us will come in for him.
birmo, worcester says...
4:01pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Also, boothroyd and simpson wrecked the club by making stupid signings on high wages and for numpty fees. If we avoid relegation rhen ill take my hat off to mm
watfordguymatt, Oxhey says...
4:07pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Holly68, Bushey says...
4:21pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Security word : strong-chance
fairwater, watford says...
4:21pm Fri 30 Jul 10
watfordguymatt wrote:The Championship is far inferior to the Prem. King would probably be very useful at this level. Morally though!!!
Didn't you see King in the prem?? He's not the same player he was, not since the injury. Looks to have lost his pace and ability to turn defenders which was always one of his star qualities. Re-signing him would damage the reputation of the club.
WFC4ever, Watford says...
4:26pm Fri 30 Jul 10
If it has to be loans then fine.
Rick - Whilst ofcourse for on pitch success we do need a team that can compete well its important we do somehow manage to get our finances in order.
I accept other clubs probably have bigger problems than us and aren't maybe so worried about their future but I'd rather just ensure we have a club in any league to support for now..
If we had investment we could look forward to a brighter future but its not easy at the moment.
Afterall our main shareholder has no interest in the club or football which isn't good.
Ashcroft and Simpson for example probably wouldn't care if we lost 10-0 next week...GT might though.
Elton Bog, Pinner says...
6:27pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Which implies that half of last seasons ticket holders did not renew. Which of course is total balls. Still only a handful of single seats available in the upper Rous; we tried to move our tickets (3) from the Vic end of the lower rous to a bit more cental - the best we could do was about 15 seats further in at a cost of moving 3 rows down. So much for nobody renewing. In fact, with the price hike of 14% they're probably taking more revenue from STs this year.
As for King - I'd rather we got relegated than took back a scumbag like him, and that would go for Lee Hughes and Joey Barton too, if the opprtunity ever arose. I take it you haven't got a teenage daughter.
Paul_Caruso, Leeds says...
7:02pm Fri 30 Jul 10
rousman 2, uxbridge says...
7:28pm Fri 30 Jul 10
enlightened one wrote:Well said, in a very long post one thing says it all "the club are not in debt" is he for real !!
The club is challenged financially,whilst you p.Rick are challenged cerebrally.Just out of interest have you ever posted anything remotely constructive or supportive of the club ?
derry pigweed, northampton says...
10:58pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Marlon was a good player for our club but any supporter/player/coa
ch of Watford FC with a wife/girlfriend/daug
hter will realise that this individual is dangerous where women are concerned just look at his criminal record!
Who will be the first Manager to sign a player who is on the sex offenders register for 7 years?
sec-word -sent- 2- coventry
Hornet Cornet, Hornetsville says...
11:28pm Fri 30 Jul 10
Henry VIII, Hampton Court says...
1:37am Sat 31 Jul 10
I wouldn't imagine he would return to any pre-season club in top shape although his anu$ might be a bit slack from daily shower abuse.
rousman 2, uxbridge says...
1:12pm Sat 31 Jul 10
watters84 wrote:I think Sordell has a chance because of his pace if other parts of his game could be improved then who knows. I was at the last game of the season at Coventry & Bryan played about 60 minutes looked ok but would need to see more to comment also Massey came on for about the last 5 minutes so what can I say. when Hodson first came in to the first team it looked at one stage that we may have found the next Nigel Gibbs but he is caught out of postion at lot of times so not so sure. Oshodi I do not not think so not at Championship level anyway. The rest have never seen them play.
Would like to hear fans opinion on which of Hodson, Oshodi, Bryan, Mingoia, Massey, Whichelow, Sordell and Murray are the ones with big futures, if so,why so? if not, why not? Thanks in advance for any feedback!
WFC4ever, Watford says...
9:13pm Sat 31 Jul 10
I think Eddie O could be good in the future.
Sordell and Massey will be very useful with their pace as will Bryan and Mingola (spelling)
I just hope we use them right rather than just thump long balls down the pitch as per today which will be no good for them.
a1derek, St Albans says...
6:43pm Sun 1 Aug 10
Troy Deeney is reportedly on Watford's wish list: Action Images
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luther blissett, Abbots Langley says...
9:18am Fri 30 Jul 10
If only these people realised that the club have obviously been looking for the RIGHT people to join us, not just journeymen on a last payday.