I read this earlier on the Newsnow site and found it quite interesting: http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/587989716?-276
Yes it is an interesting piece. The phrase that stuck out to me was about stockpiling talent. A bit like Tesco and their landbank.
Ooh don't get me started! They have owned a huge chunk of land here which they have been promising to develop for the last eight years that I know of. It incorporates a Council-run Community Hall and Community Sports Ground, both of which are deteriorating at a great rate of knots, but the Council won't upgrade or repair because they see it as Tesco's responsibility. And all the while, us residents have a 50 mile round trip to do our shopping......
An interesting article , and the author is right when he says Udinese/Granada will not send us duds on loan. The whole point is to develop and showcase them for sale, so they will send high potential players. But he is also right to say that the success of a team in the Championship is not just about having a couple of technically accomplished players--it is about work-rate, team spirit, competitiveness, motivation. Will a team dominated by young loanees (even skillful ones) have these qualities?Will it develop the "us " mentality needed to be competitive in this division?--which Dyche in fact seemed to be instilling in his journeymen recruits through last season. The squad DID look like a team by season's end. So the suggestion that the Pozzo's favour long term loans--perhaps more than one season--is interesting. Our best loanees and the ones we think of as "Watford" players were here for a season at least ( e.g. Foster) so we would certainly identify with any player who gave everything for the club for a year or two, whatever his ownership. I hope we get 4 or 5 good loanees on long term arrangements , and can meld them with a group of players that includes our own Academy products and some of our existing, established players. It will then be up to Zola to motivate the squad into a team as Dyche did. Has Zola got the personality to do that? We do need to keep some true Watford spirits such as Doyley and Eustace--would have said Mariappa--if this project is to carry the fans from the beginning. And carrying the fans along is a big factor in building a team spirit in a squad--team spirit feeds off fan solidarity.
