Updated: Watford claim Bassini owes club £1.5m (From This Is Local London)

Bassini you dirty crook! Looks like you owe the Pozzo's the pub and quite a bit more!
I'm so glad you are no longer our owner Baz! The till is now firmly closed, just a shame we didn't trap your fingers in it sooner!

I have asked the Watford Supporters Trust to look into the following questions / concerns since the publishing of these accounts :

- Why was the £1.5M loaned in the name of the club but paid to Bassini's company not received by the Club ?

- Where has that £1.5M gone ?

- Why was £568,000 claimed in CASH for the Pub renovation not invoiced or receipted ?

- Why was £568,000 claimed for the renovation claimed in CASH when those running the pub state the renovation inc labour and parts equates to £108,000 ?

- Why were the takings from the pub not paid into the clubs account whilst owned by the club but instead collected by Bassini or his company ?

- Why was £22,000 a month claimed by Bassini's company for the year ?
What was the "consultancy" for ?

- The above equates to nearly £2.4M in Bassini's hands, yet the pub cost £108,000 and Bassini only paid £50k to the club in that year, so a GAP OF £2.25M EXISTS

- Was Capital Gains tax paid on these sums ?

- If the club has not transferred the pub over to Bassini yet, can we not transfer the pub and keep it under the clubs name ? Let current management run it and put club offices above it .... ?

- HOW MUCH (on top of the £2.25M money that Bassini has withdrawn from club) DID THE POZZO's PAY BASSINI FOR THE CLUB ?

Hopefully the TRUST can obtain answers to these questions on behalf of us Fans !!!!!

Whilst it may be expensive for the club to seek compensation though the courts, IF AND I SAY IF, any thing wrong has happened, a member of he public or a recognised body (ie. The Trust) can make a formal complaint to the Police and/or HMRC and they have a duty to investigate

Let's hope we haven't been the "Bank of Watford" and have been silently robbed blind !!!

IN THE POZZO's WE TRUST !

Please Email the Watford Supporters Trust if you have any concerns over the latest set of financial accounts http://t.co/0fNgDGlH

http://watfordsuppor
terstrust.co.uk/cont
act-us/

Well, well, what a surprise! Does no-one remember the kerfuffle over Bassini when he first bought the club, not too long after having gone bankrupt in a hotel business somewhere near High Wycombe?

I find it utterly staggering that no-one seems to understand that, as I have said on a number of occasions, the finances of British football overall are a dog's breakfast of stupidity, deceit, corruption and venal immorality on the part of everyone concerned - owners, executives, managers, agents and players. No-one seems to know what is going on and no-one wants to accept responsibility for anything. You think bankers are bent as a corkscrew? Try looking at football!

It can only be a matter of time before the entire house of cards comes crashing down, the money runs out, the banks turn off the tap and many clubs will go out of business.

What concerns me the most is that it looks like Bassini got an advaNce for this money and Watford fc may still have to pay back that money. This means we could lose the money twice if he doesn't repay the money to us. Am I reading that right? The 4th paragraph is what my concern relates to.

Holly68 wrote:
I have asked the Watford Supporters Trust to look into the following questions / concerns since the publishing of these accounts :

- Why was the £1.5M loaned in the name of the club but paid to Bassini's company not received by the Club ?

- Where has that £1.5M gone ?

- Why was £568,000 claimed in CASH for the Pub renovation not invoiced or receipted ?

- Why was £568,000 claimed for the renovation claimed in CASH when those running the pub state the renovation inc labour and parts equates to £108,000 ?

- Why were the takings from the pub not paid into the clubs account whilst owned by the club but instead collected by Bassini or his company ?

- Why was £22,000 a month claimed by Bassini's company for the year ?
What was the "consultancy" for ?

- The above equates to nearly £2.4M in Bassini's hands, yet the pub cost £108,000 and Bassini only paid £50k to the club in that year, so a GAP OF £2.25M EXISTS

- Was Capital Gains tax paid on these sums ?

- If the club has not transferred the pub over to Bassini yet, can we not transfer the pub and keep it under the clubs name ? Let current management run it and put club offices above it .... ?

- HOW MUCH (on top of the £2.25M money that Bassini has withdrawn from club) DID THE POZZO's PAY BASSINI FOR THE CLUB ?

Hopefully the TRUST can obtain answers to these questions on behalf of us Fans !!!!!

Whilst it may be expensive for the club to seek compensation though the courts, IF AND I SAY IF, any thing wrong has happened, a member of he public or a recognised body (ie. The Trust) can make a formal complaint to the Police and/or HMRC and they have a duty to investigate

Let's hope we haven't been the "Bank of Watford" and have been silently robbed blind !!!

IN THE POZZO's WE TRUST !

Good post Holly, you make a lot of salient points.

I do struggle to see though how he could possibly have paid CGT on these amounts, unless you mean that they may have been taken into account as part of any gain when he sold the club, in which case if he filed his tax return on the basis of any gain on disposal of Watford I will eat my hat!

Anyway, all the questions, rumours, allegations are now coming together, BUT he has the right to defend himself, so innocent until proven guilty of any wrong doing. The FL will examine the facts, the Trust will seek answers, let's hope nothing untoward has happened, and god forbid the FL charge is proven that it doesn't effect our wonderful club.

IN THE POZZO's WE TRUST

If I may ask, with respect, how can you call Watford a "wonderful club"? I would be interested to know how many British-born players are in the squad and how many are simply foreign mercenaries who probably couldn't have even found Watford on a map before they came here? They are here for the money, nothing more, nothing less, and they will go away if some other club makes them a better offer.

Watford is owned by foreigners, managed by a foreigner and has a squad composed largely of foreigners. I would add that Watford is by no means alone; indeed, most of the clubs in this country, even in Leagues One and Two (I still refer to them as the Third and Fourth Divisions) are in the same position.

British football is no longer British! How anyone can get passionate about supporting Watford when the team is composed mostly of foreign mercenaries is beyond me. I preferred football when teams like Burnley, Ipswich, Nottingham Forest and Derby county, consisting almost entirely of British-born players, could be league champions.

Roy Stockdill wrote:
If I may ask, with respect, how can you call Watford a "wonderful club"? I would be interested to know how many British-born players are in the squad and how many are simply foreign mercenaries who probably couldn't have even found Watford on a map before they came here? They are here for the money, nothing more, nothing less, and they will go away if some other club makes them a better offer.

Watford is owned by foreigners, managed by a foreigner and has a squad composed largely of foreigners. I would add that Watford is by no means alone; indeed, most of the clubs in this country, even in Leagues One and Two (I still refer to them as the Third and Fourth Divisions) are in the same position.

British football is no longer British! How anyone can get passionate about supporting Watford when the team is composed mostly of foreign mercenaries is beyond me. I preferred football when teams like Burnley, Ipswich, Nottingham Forest and Derby county, consisting almost entirely of British-born players, could be league champions.

Roy, your post is not only racist its ill informed.

So I won't bother lowering myself to respond

Oh dear, what a pathetic and childish response to chuck around that silly word "racist". It is largely used by the politically correct brigade to stifle any criticism from anyone who happens to believe in that old-fashioned ideal that Britain and British sport should largely be run by and belong to people born in this country.

How am I ill-informed? Are you trying to tell me that the Watford FC side is not largely a second team for some Italian club and composed mostly of foreign mercenaries, like just about every other team in the land?

Seems to me that without "all these foreigners" we would have no club at all. I am enjoying the football, remain a season ticket holder and have been to more away games this season than ever before. COYH!!!!

Roy Stockdill wrote:
Oh dear, what a pathetic and childish response to chuck around that silly word "racist". It is largely used by the politically correct brigade to stifle any criticism from anyone who happens to believe in that old-fashioned ideal that Britain and British sport should largely be run by and belong to people born in this country.

How am I ill-informed? Are you trying to tell me that the Watford FC side is not largely a second team for some Italian club and composed mostly of foreign mercenaries, like just about every other team in the land?

Go away you sad silly man !!
you are entitled to your opinion of course but sadly for you the world moves on and if you choose to stay and wallow in the 1950,s thats your choice.
Most of us on here prefer to look forward and embrace change and evolution and all that comes with it.
The thing that actually surprises me is that you have a computer and know how to use the internet ! (disgusting inventions I know).So get in your Morris minor and pedal your way back to Luton, have a glass of Double Diamond and get some sleep !!

Roy , wouldn't bother having an opinion on this forum....if you disagree with anyone , keep it to yourself...or you'll get abused.

Well that's a surprise NOT on the account side of things. I would expect any company worth it's salts would have checked the accounts prior with surity measures put in place especialy with the former owner having a bad track record in companies handling.Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't the take over because of breach of terms therfore they knew the club had account problems. Cash payments without receipt, someone's head should be in the block, where briefcases fll of money just filled and handed over without some sort of back up by the giver reciever?Also with due respect what the hell was the board doing about this at the time? As Holly68 states any wrongdoing could have been reported to the police or HMRC and I know of at least one occassion the police were called regarding the safe!! If the Pozzo's end up out of pocket on this I have to say it is their bad turn, especially looking at the staff increases (non playing) that have occurred without proper consideration of what the status quo is on the accounting side. Looking at the company registration in Luxembourg I suspect the Pozzo's are actually still one step ahead of HMRC, read into that what you will. And finally Roy who cares what nationality our owner, manager, players are, as long as they wear the shirt and do their upmost and are better/affordable than home grown options available, then that's all that count's.I seem to remember you working for an Australian in your press day's!

Roy Stockdill wrote:
If I may ask, with respect, how can you call Watford a "wonderful club"? I would be interested to know how many British-born players are in the squad and how many are simply foreign mercenaries who probably couldn't have even found Watford on a map before they came here? They are here for the money, nothing more, nothing less, and they will go away if some other club makes them a better offer.

Watford is owned by foreigners, managed by a foreigner and has a squad composed largely of foreigners. I would add that Watford is by no means alone; indeed, most of the clubs in this country, even in Leagues One and Two (I still refer to them as the Third and Fourth Divisions) are in the same position.

British football is no longer British! How anyone can get passionate about supporting Watford when the team is composed mostly of foreign mercenaries is beyond me. I preferred football when teams like Burnley, Ipswich, Nottingham Forest and Derby county, consisting almost entirely of British-born players, could be league champions.

Roy,are you not football fan then? Yes football is changing but so is everything else around us like it or not. You talk about Watfords band of foreigners as a bad thing. Look around and you will see plenty of other foreigners in other lines of work too.In fact i know of some work forces entirely comprised of foreigners. Are they here for the money? Yes. And they get the job done. As a Watford fan, i can say that i support the team on the pitch, the nationality of those involved in running it and playing for it do not matter. our last owner was British and look at what he's done!! The only thing that matters is we have a club to support and if this is the only way to be successful then so be it. Roll on Saturday.

Roy, I agree with everything you say about managers, players owners etc., but disagree with your comment about WFC not being a wonderful club. For me, it is, and I would emphasise the word club. A club has members and in terms of our Football club, the members are the supporters ar consistent, and the supporters make it a wonderful club. Managers players etc. change but we are there forever. I remember the bleak times down from Div 2 to 4, and subsequently the great times. Managers, players and owners changed, but we were there consistently, even cheering and sheltering from the back of the vicarage road terracing on a wet and windy night against Halifax, and again at Wembley for promotion and a cup final, and that is what makes it all wonderful.

Roy has made some irrelevant comments to wind people up (note how he has turned the debate into something way off topic). Strongly suggest he is ignored unless of course he'd like to make a proper contribution regarding Bassini, and the current situation re. finances.

Just read Wobby this morning, dont sound too good

Based on Wobby Story : 

We took a loan out with a company called LNOC for a cash advance for two Danny Graham payment instalments from Swansea a total  of £1M.   We didn't tell Football league of this loan. We didn't pay LNOC back, they had to claim this back from FL.  

We then took a further loan of £1.66M from LNOC on premise of FL (TV ?) money. Again we didnt tell FL about loan.

Under FL rules, we should've been under a transfer embargo since Sept 11 !! Until loans cleared

Then we tried to get a third loan for Marvin Sordell, FL asked if we had any other loans, we said No, which wasn't true.  Loan didn't go through !

So we've lied to FL, therefore shouldn't of been able to sign players since Sept 11

Sanctions ??????

Maybe we can prove he didn't act in best interests of #wfc using the latest set of accounts as testament to this

FL approved his tenure 

This is IF the WO have got the story accurate.

Have these LOANS to LNOC now been paid off ?

Should we still be under transfer embargo ? Or are we clear now ?

Who did we sign between Sept 11 and June 12 ? (only Jan Transfer window and loan players)

What are the FL guidelines on possible sanctions (if proven)

So we got £2.5M up front from LNOC, we are owed £1.5M, £568k taken for pub renovation, as all reported in Wobby and Accounts, so the financial hole deepens to £4.5M

Be interesting to see if this is true or just allegations rumours, and he has every right to defend himself

I hope the club (ie. Fans) are not punished .... Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water

IN POZZO's WE TRUST

Roy Stockdill wrote:
Oh dear, what a pathetic and childish response to chuck around that silly word "racist". It is largely used by the politically correct brigade to stifle any criticism from anyone who happens to believe in that old-fashioned ideal that Britain and British sport should largely be run by and belong to people born in this country.

How am I ill-informed? Are you trying to tell me that the Watford FC side is not largely a second team for some Italian club and composed mostly of foreign mercenaries, like just about every other team in the land?

Roy, we all know your a WUM

I have googled you and your racist anti British comments and wind ups are at least consistent

Are you a ST Holder ? Do you attend matches to support your opinions ?

So what i was saying is right Holly, we could be hit twice for this money!

Holly one thing I dont get is that you stated the loan company had to get the money from the first loan back off the FL. Then you ask whether the loans have been paid off??? Surely one of them is no?

Yes it looks like LNOC received the money from Swansea.

Effectively we get up front money from Loan company then the loan company recieve the money back from Swansea and FL (if the FL are told of the loan notes) which they werent up front

So yes looks like LNOC received DG funds but the second loan is unclear if cleared

Reading the story and some of the above comments, though I would have to be an accountant to understand some of the things being said (and I'm not), I find it extraordinary that people still can't see that something very peculiar has been going on.

If we were talking here about a major City firm the regulator would have been called in by now. But because nobody seems to understand the murky, unfathomable world of football club finances, presumably it will all go away and football will blunder cheerfully along in its headlong downward path to ultimate disaster and destruction.

Corrupt owners, venal, greedy agents, bent managers who are not averse to a bung and second-rate, under-performing players who demand more and more and seem to think the public should worship them - football has them all!

And as for the fans? I sometimes think Rodgers and Hammerstein had football fans in mind when they wrote that song from South Pacific about A ****-Eyed Optimist! How to describe the average fan? Fairly ignorant, poorly educated, naive, myopic, purblind, obsessive, tribal and possessing the brain cells of Monty Python's dead parrot. Can't any of you see that the vultures and wolves who run football are taking you all for an enormous ride?

Holly68 wrote:

Roy Stockdill wrote:
Oh dear, what a pathetic and childish response to chuck around that silly word "racist". It is largely used by the politically correct brigade to stifle any criticism from anyone who happens to believe in that old-fashioned ideal that Britain and British sport should largely be run by and belong to people born in this country.

How am I ill-informed? Are you trying to tell me that the Watford FC side is not largely a second team for some Italian club and composed mostly of foreign mercenaries, like just about every other team in the land?

Roy, we all know your a WUM

I have googled you and your racist anti British comments and wind ups are at least consistent

Are you a ST Holder ? Do you attend matches to support your opinions ?

To be fair, he's more of a xenophobe than a racist. Roy dude - you need to catch up with the rest of the civilized world. I love that he calls 'racist' a silly word. Hilarious.

>The thing that actually surprises me is that you have a computer and know how to use the internet ! (disgusting inventions I know).So get in your Morris minor and pedal your way back to Luton, have a glass of Double Diamond and get some sleep !!<

Thanks for the amusing comments, Keith! Most entertaining. It just shows how very little you know about me. Enter my name into Google and you will find literally thousands of references, especially concerning my famous family trees blog at: http://blog.findmypa
st.co.uk/tag/roy-sto
ckdill/ I'd take a largish bet that I am better at finding my way around the internet than probably 95 per cent of the people who post here who probably only use Google to look at the football results.

Actually, I'm a non-driver, I have lived in Watford for well over 40 years and I wouldn't offer a Double Diamond to a man dying of thirst in the Sahara! I'm a red wine man and I like a good vintage Rioja, Merlot or Malbec, particularly late at night when I'm listening to Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson or Diana Krall on the hi-fi. There are some of us who prefer more cultural and sophisticated pursuits than watching 22 muddied, over-paid oafs hoofing a ball around a field.

We knew he was a crook/chancer when he first took over Roy Stockdick. FL approved him as fit and proper. We all knew he wasn't but what can us fans do about it? Dont say stop going! We all support Watford FC till we depart the earth. By the sound of your views it won't be long till you do! (not that I hope that happens of course)

I would hesitate to use the precise phrase you have done because of possible legal repercussions.

However, I would simply remind you of my posts at the time when I pointed out that a search of the London Gazette online (assuming people here know what the London Gazette is) would reveal something of his previous business dealings when not only he but his stepmother also went bankrupt over their involvement with pubs. Yet it was not very long afterwards when Bassini was able to take over Watford FC.

As I said previously, when will you people realise that football is riddled with corruption and venality from top to bottom and that you, the fans, are the ones who are being taken for a massive ride?

Im sure taking me to Court is the least of his worries! He'd have to take half of Watford to Court from what I've been reading on Twitter and on here! Why do you think we called him bankruptsinni!

We were acutely aware of his previous dealings!

I pay about £17 a game to be entertained and I most certainly am at the moment, how is that taking me for a ride?

Smilingburkinshaw wrote:
Im sure taking me to Court is the least of his worries! He'd have to take half of Watford to Court from what I've been reading on Twitter and on here! Why do you think we called him bankruptsinni!

We were acutely aware of his previous dealings!

I pay about £17 a game to be entertained and I most certainly am at the moment, how is that taking me for a ride?

Isn't it obvious ? You could get a bottle of Rioja and a Miles Davis CD for that.

chrisptrifle wrote:

Smilingburkinshaw wrote: Im sure taking me to Court is the least of his worries! He'd have to take half of Watford to Court from what I've been reading on Twitter and on here! Why do you think we called him bankruptsinni! We were acutely aware of his previous dealings! I pay about £17 a game to be entertained and I most certainly am at the moment, how is that taking me for a ride?

Isn't it obvious ? You could get a bottle of Rioja and a Miles Davis CD for that.

Hahaha - You are quite right Chris! How stupid of me! That would be a far better way to spend my money haha

>I pay about £17 a game to be entertained and I most certainly am at the moment, how is that taking me for a ride?<

That rather depends on your definition of entertainment, doesn't it?

Personally, I prefer to watch a top European or Premiership match in HD on my wide-screen telly in the comfort of my own lounge - and, yes, while enjoying a glass or three of Rioja or Malbec - than sit in a freezing-cold stand at Vicarage Road watching Watford v Peterborough, with probably a disgusting, grossly over-priced hamburger at half time and surrounded by hundreds of baying cretins tanked up with cheap lager in the Red Lion beforehand.

But, then, I don't suppose many football fans know what real, sophisticated entertainment is. My wife and I enjoy the theatre and we saw a marvellously spectacularly production of Kiss Me Kate, directed by Trevor Nunn, at the Chichester Festival Theatre this summer - a two-hour feast of wonderful acting, music, singing and dancing that to anyone with a modicum of intelligence and an appreciation of true culture makes a football match look like a "rumble in the jungle" between two tribes of neanderthals. The price for a ticket to this brilliant show? Not a lot more than I'd have to pay to watch Watford v Peterborough on a dismal, dank evening.

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;I pay about £17 a game to be entertained and I most certainly am at the moment, how is that taking me for a ride?&lt;

That rather depends on your definition of entertainment, doesn't it?

Personally, I prefer to watch a top European or Premiership match in HD on my wide-screen telly in the comfort of my own lounge - and, yes, while enjoying a glass or three of Rioja or Malbec - than sit in a freezing-cold stand at Vicarage Road watching Watford v Peterborough, with probably a disgusting, grossly over-priced hamburger at half time and surrounded by hundreds of baying cretins tanked up with cheap lager in the Red Lion beforehand.

But, then, I don't suppose many football fans know what real, sophisticated entertainment is. My wife and I enjoy the theatre and we saw a marvellously spectacularly production of Kiss Me Kate, directed by Trevor Nunn, at the Chichester Festival Theatre this summer - a two-hour feast of wonderful acting, music, singing and dancing that to anyone with a modicum of intelligence and an appreciation of true culture makes a football match look like a &quot;rumble in the jungle" between two tribes of neanderthals. The price for a ticket to this brilliant show? Not a lot more than I'd have to pay to watch Watford v Peterborough on a dismal, dank evening.

Jolly good Roy. You carry on.

Pure WUM - To suggest not many football fans appriciate 'sophisticated' entertainment is just snobbery and arrogance beyond believe. You really come accross badly Roy!

I enjoy lots of 'sophisticated' entertainment as well thank you, not that I need to use it as some sort of weird ego boost.

Watching Watford is my biggest joy though, always will be.

Jesus! .... who let that lunatic on here???

PLEASE PLEASE ignore the wind up merchant.
If he's for real - he's in a very sad and lonely world and should be left there undisturbed.
If he's a wind up - why bother giving him any credibility by replying

Ah, I see! Being intelligent and educated, having an ability to write proper English and enjoying a fairly wide variety of sophisticated interests - as opposed to simply being a mullet-headed football fan - makes one a lunatic in the minds of the ignorant, does it?

"I like a good vintage Rioja, Merlot or Malbec"

Sorry Roy but that really does not make one bit of sense. Ask any expert why and he'll tell you but don't worry overly, it's a common mistake amongst "wine lovers".

Snob.....who are you to say we don't like other 'sophisticated' interests AS WELL as football? Snob of the highest order!

There has been a fair amount of discussion regarding the possible sanctions that the FA might apply in this case. There is a very significant precedent in the case of West Ham when they played an unauthorised player and ended up getting promoted to the Premiership at the expense of Sheffield United. The FA did not apply a points deduction against West Ham but rather a fine with compensation paid to Sheffield United. Any retrospective points deduction is far too compicated to apply in most cases.

Roy Stockdill wrote:
Ah, I see! Being intelligent and educated, having an ability to write proper English and enjoying a fairly wide variety of sophisticated interests - as opposed to simply being a mullet-headed football fan - makes one a lunatic in the minds of the ignorant, does it?

I bet you're great fun on a night out. I've got a feeling you have a very unhappy, miserable wife who has learned to be quiet and not express what a complete pompous bore you are.
By the way, mullet went out of fashion in the 70's.
I'm guessing you must are not the most hirsute man in the world and this is just another way for you to express your envy of people who have more of life and more hair than you

Bringe wrote:
Jesus! .... who let that lunatic on here???

Care in the community failure?

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;The thing that actually surprises me is that you have a computer and know how to use the internet ! (disgusting inventions I know).So get in your Morris minor and pedal your way back to Luton, have a glass of Double Diamond and get some sleep !!&lt;

Thanks for the amusing comments, Keith! Most entertaining. It just shows how very little you know about me. Enter my name into Google and you will find literally thousands of references, especially concerning my famous family trees blog at: http://blog.findmypa

st.co.uk/tag/roy-sto

ckdill/ I'd take a largish bet that I am better at finding my way around the internet than probably 95 per cent of the people who post here who probably only use Google to look at the football results.

Actually, I'm a non-driver, I have lived in Watford for well over 40 years and I wouldn't offer a Double Diamond to a man dying of thirst in the Sahara! I'm a red wine man and I like a good vintage Rioja, Merlot or Malbec, particularly late at night when I'm listening to Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson or Diana Krall on the hi-fi. There are some of us who prefer more cultural and sophisticated pursuits than watching 22 muddied, over-paid oafs hoofing a ball around a field.

Roy do you prefer French or New world Merlot & Malbec?

I do like your choice of pseudonym, old boy. Probably quite appropriate.

For your information, I had a marvellous life before retirement - travelled widely in Europe, America, Australia and Canada, stayed in the best hotels, met oodles of famous people and got paid a handsome salary and expenses! So I opt now for a somewhat quieter life but still enjoy myself writing for magazines and my internet blog. I wonder what your contribution to the world might be?

Oh - and by the way, my wife is lovely and we will soon we celebrating our golden wedding. She must see something in me to have stayed around that long!

>Roy do you prefer French or New world Merlot & Malbec?<

I don't mind where it comes from as long as its drinkable! My favourite is really Spanish Rioja but there are some nice South American Malbecs.

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;Roy do you prefer French or New world Merlot &amp; Malbec?&lt;

I don't mind where it comes from as long as its drinkable! My favourite is really Spanish Rioja but there are some nice South American Malbecs.

I , too have travelled and met many famous people. However, I see no need to brag about it.
I'm guessing you host lots of dinner parties for one, where you regale your guests with incredibly interesting stories, and all those present marvel at your sparkling wit and sophistication.
Meanwhile the rest of us live in the real world and support out local team and try to avoid coming into contact with sad lonely people like you

>Meanwhile the rest of us live in the real world and support out local team and try to avoid coming into contact with sad lonely people like you<

I guess the feeling is probably mutual, old boy.

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;Meanwhile the rest of us live in the real world and support out local team and try to avoid coming into contact with sad lonely people like you&lt;

I guess the feeling is probably mutual, old boy.

I'm guessing you need all the friends you can get, old boy
I think you mistake pompous, crass comments for sophistication
Why do you bother with this site if you detest football, and those who like it, so much?
Surely you would be better off on a site where you can discuss your latest bottle of wine and theatre trip

I do not detest football at all. Indeed, as I have said, I enjoy watching a serious televised match at the highest level - Premiership or European Champions League - and I grew up with football.

The difference was that when I was a kid and went around with a gang of lads who felt the same we used to put our loyalties around a bit. Living in the Halifax region of Yorkshire, we went to watch Huddersfield Town, Leeds Utd, Burnley and even for a laugh Halifax Town! We went where we thought we would see the best game. I was present on 14 February 1953 when Halifax Town played Tottenham Hotspur in the 5th round of the FA Cup before a crowd of 36,995, Halifax having previously beaten Cardiff City and Stoke City in the earlier rounds.

What we did not have in those days was the pathetic and totally absurd tribalism of neanderthals today who support only one team and seem to hate all supporters of other sides. I seem to have read recently about some fans (I forget which club) taunting Tottenham fans about Tottenham supporters being stabbed somewhere in Italy. How appalling and utterly pathetic is that?

Roy Stockdill wrote:
I do not detest football at all. Indeed, as I have said, I enjoy watching a serious televised match at the highest level - Premiership or European Champions League - and I grew up with football.

The difference was that when I was a kid and went around with a gang of lads who felt the same we used to put our loyalties around a bit. Living in the Halifax region of Yorkshire, we went to watch Huddersfield Town, Leeds Utd, Burnley and even for a laugh Halifax Town! We went where we thought we would see the best game. I was present on 14 February 1953 when Halifax Town played Tottenham Hotspur in the 5th round of the FA Cup before a crowd of 36,995, Halifax having previously beaten Cardiff City and Stoke City in the earlier rounds.

What we did not have in those days was the pathetic and totally absurd tribalism of neanderthals today who support only one team and seem to hate all supporters of other sides. I seem to have read recently about some fans (I forget which club) taunting Tottenham fans about Tottenham supporters being stabbed somewhere in Italy. How appalling and utterly pathetic is that?

Thank you for clarifying your position as someone who has no idea what supporting a football team actually means.
It doesn't make people Neanderthal to support one team
Nobody on this site has come across as tribalistic or hateful
I'm seriously bored with you now - you are beyond help or reason and need to be left to wallow in your myopic little world
No more replies from me now

Watch your back old man StockDick!

Roy Stockdill wrote:
If I may ask, with respect, how can you call Watford a &quot;wonderful club"? I would be interested to know how many British-born players are in the squad and how many are simply foreign mercenaries who probably couldn't have even found Watford on a map before they came here? They are here for the money, nothing more, nothing less, and they will go away if some other club makes them a better offer.

Watford is owned by foreigners, managed by a foreigner and has a squad composed largely of foreigners. I would add that Watford is by no means alone; indeed, most of the clubs in this country, even in Leagues One and Two (I still refer to them as the Third and Fourth Divisions) are in the same position.

British football is no longer British! How anyone can get passionate about supporting Watford when the team is composed mostly of foreign mercenaries is beyond me. I preferred football when teams like Burnley, Ipswich, Nottingham Forest and Derby county, consisting almost entirely of British-born players, could be league champions.

Doyley British
Hoban British
Hall British
Hogg British
Yeates British
Chalobah British
Smith British
Deeney British
Bonham British
Murray British
Dickinson British

Premier League here we come you pathetic little cretin!!

>Oh dear, Roy. I was very much enjoying your contribution until you referred to your 'lounge'.<

What is the correct term in Watford, then, for a middle class semi-detached surburban living room? In my working class upbringing in rural Yorkshire it was usually referred to as the front parlour or the "best room" and only used on Sundays. And we were not allowed to enter it by my dad until we had licked the mud and cow dung off our boots with our tongues.

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;Oh dear, Roy. I was very much enjoying your contribution until you referred to your 'lounge'.&lt;

What is the correct term in Watford, then, for a middle class semi-detached surburban living room? In my working class upbringing in rural Yorkshire it was usually referred to as the front parlour or the &quot;best room" and only used on Sundays. And we were not allowed to enter it by my dad until we had licked the mud and cow dung off our boots with our tongues.

The most hated horrible northerner in watford! Go away and join your fellow bin dippers!

Oh dear, some folks here do seem to be suffering from a humour bypass operation!!!

Don't you realise that I have been extracting the michael from some of you thick football cretins? And you are so stupid you fall for it every time!

Roy Stockdill wrote:
Oh dear, some folks here do seem to be suffering from a humour bypass operation!!!

Don't you realise that I have been extracting the michael from some of you thick football cretins? And you are so stupid you fall for it every time!

What's up StockDick has someone just told you? Your face posted on twitter with a reward for slapping it?

Roy Stockdill wrote:
Oh dear, some folks here do seem to be suffering from a humour bypass operation!!!

Don't you realise that I have been extracting the michael from some of you thick football cretins? And you are so stupid you fall for it every time!

Oh my God!
Roy you are so funny!
I think its clear that your sense of humour appeals to one person
Surely you must realise you are a source of ridicule and the only reason anyone replies to you is that you are so offensive, that if we didnt reply - you would probably comment about the fact that Watford fans 'have no soul'
When you actually say something funny (other than what you think is funny), I'm sure people will join in.
Go on - be brave - try and make someone else laugh other than yourself

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;Roy do you prefer French or New world Merlot &amp; Malbec?&lt;

I don't mind where it comes from as long as its drinkable! My favourite is really Spanish Rioja but there are some nice South American Malbecs.

Screw top, plastic cork or real cork? Roy

>Screw top, plastic cork or real cork? Roy<

Well, obviously, being a traditionalist I prefer a real cork. But these days so much wine seems to come in bottles with a screw top or plastic one. However, I suppose with the more modern methods there is less chance of the wine becoming corked. I only ever once had a wine that had been corked (and it was in a very well known and highly reputable London wine bar in Fleet Street, proving that these things can happen anywhere) and...how shall I describe the taste? Like drinking methylated spirits that had been drained through an old sock!

>What's up StockDick has someone just told you? Your face posted on twitter with a reward for slapping it?<

Ah.....what elegant wit and sophistication you football fans do employ! As I have repeatedly said, you must possess the brain cells of Monty Python's dead parrot and probably the looks of Nora Batty or Les Dawson's mother-in-law.

I must see if I can find a good likeness of a Neanderthal Man and put that on the internet under the heading "A ----- Football Fan" (fill in the missing word with the appropriate club).

Perhaps you are not aware of this but I always sign off my e-mails with the following slogan: "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about" - one of Oscar Wilde's gems, which is an indication of how much I worry about what others think of me. Trying to get under my skin is like prodding a rhinoceros with a hat pin.

This a football article being discussed by football fans of Watford. Not a wine article. You are in the wrong place. You are boring and annoying everyone. If you want to discuss the wider picture of football in general why don't you comment on Martin Samuals daily mail page and leave us to it here. Bye now!

To the Troll going by the name of Roy Stockdale: Your English isn't that good and I quote, "My wife and I enjoy the theatre and we saw a marvellously spectacularly production of Kiss Me Kate, directed by Trevor Nunn, at the Chichester Festival Theatre this summer". Don't you mean 'spectacular' rather than 'spectacularly'. You got that one wrong didn't you, go on, admit it, you did didn't you. LOL!!!

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;Screw top, plastic cork or real cork? Roy&lt;

Well, obviously, being a traditionalist I prefer a real cork. But these days so much wine seems to come in bottles with a screw top or plastic one. However, I suppose with the more modern methods there is less chance of the wine becoming corked. I only ever once had a wine that had been corked (and it was in a very well known and highly reputable London wine bar in Fleet Street, proving that these things can happen anywhere) and...how shall I describe the taste? Like drinking methylated spirits that had been drained through an old sock!

Most large wine buyers (e.g. Tesco) these days insist upon screw-top wine containers to reduce the possibility of corkage. This risk is exacerbated by the habit,in suopermarkets, of marketing the wine bottled vertically, thus increasing the risk of corks drying out in the more expensive vintages. Corkage is estimated to affect up to five percent of---
'Ere, just a minute, this is a footie site, what am I doing---?!?.

londomollari wrote:

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;Screw top, plastic cork or real cork? Roy&lt;

Well, obviously, being a traditionalist I prefer a real cork. But these days so much wine seems to come in bottles with a screw top or plastic one. However, I suppose with the more modern methods there is less chance of the wine becoming corked. I only ever once had a wine that had been corked (and it was in a very well known and highly reputable London wine bar in Fleet Street, proving that these things can happen anywhere) and...how shall I describe the taste? Like drinking methylated spirits that had been drained through an old sock!

Most large wine buyers (e.g. Tesco) these days insist upon screw-top wine containers to reduce the possibility of corkage. This risk is exacerbated by the habit,in suopermarkets, of marketing the wine bottled vertically, thus increasing the risk of corks drying out in the more expensive vintages. Corkage is estimated to affect up to five percent of---
'Ere, just a minute, this is a footie site, what am I doing---?!?.

Sorry, that should be 'wine bottles vertically'. Just to clarify---

>To the Troll going by the name of Roy Stockdale: Your English isn't that good and I quote, "My wife and I enjoy the theatre and we saw a marvellously spectacularly production of Kiss Me Kate, directed by Trevor Nunn, at the Chichester Festival Theatre this summer". Don't you mean 'spectacular' rather than 'spectacularly'. You got that one wrong didn't you, go on, admit it, you did didn't you. LOL!!!<

Whoever Roy Stockdale is, if he wrote that, then yes, he did get one letter wrong. No-one's perfect, not even him!

Roy Stockdill wrote:
&gt;To the Troll going by the name of Roy Stockdale: Your English isn't that good and I quote, &quot;My wife and I enjoy the theatre and we saw a marvellously spectacularly production of Kiss Me Kate, directed by Trevor Nunn, at the Chichester Festival Theatre this summer". Don't you mean 'spectacular' rather than 'spectacularly'. You got that one wrong didn't you, go on, admit it, you did didn't you. LOL!!!&lt;

Whoever Roy Stockdale is, if he wrote that, then yes, he did get one letter wrong. No-one's perfect, not even him!

isn't that two letters wrong,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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,,,,,,,,?