Pozzos backed for Watford FC sale - 'this is among the worst times I can remember' | OneFootball

FLW's Watford fan pundit comments on the recent influx of calls to sell the club surfacing online and at matches

For the fourth consecutive season, Watford are set to finish in the Championship's mid-table, after defeat at home against Sheffield United mathematically ended their slim play-off chances.

The Hornets have registered 11th, 15th and 14th-placed finishes since their second-tier return in 2022, and look set to finish in and around there again, or perhaps even lower than that, with a current five-game winless run leaving them 13th, level on points with Preston North End in 16th.

Gone are the days of exciting Premier League campaigns and runs to the FA Cup final, which Watford have experienced in the past decade. Things are starting to get a little stale at Vicarage Road, and the finger of blame is being pointed at the ownership.

Gino Pozzo has been in charge at Watford since 2012, and in those 14 years, the club have reached the heights of the top flight, but are now growing dangerously close to becoming an average Championship side, and Hornets fans are growing restless with that direction.

Increased discourse on social media surrounding the state of the club has grown over the past month, with negative chants directed at Pozzo and chairman Scott Duxbury heard at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

Watford fan pundit addresses the recent frustration at the Pozzo ownership

FLW's Watford fan pundit, Justin Beattie, is one of the many Hornets fans who are getting increasingly frustrated at the current situation of the club.

In the first decade of the Pozzo ownership, Watford were always a side either vying for promotion to the Premier League or actually in the top-flight itself, but the last four years have shown little to suggest that those ambitions will be coming back anytime soon.

Beattie is concerned that these years of stagnation will continue if nothing changes at the top, to the point where, soon enough, Championship mid-table mediocrity may end up being the expectations at Vicarage Road.

"Watford fans are increasingly calling for Pozzo to sell the club on social media. It's no secret that the club is up for sale, and he is trying to find new owners, but it seems that the valuation of the club is too high, and that's putting off serious suitors," he said.

"There does need to be some change at the top of the club. We've had four years of stagnation now. Many head coaches, a wide roster of players coming and going, and nothing seems to change.

"While this regime is in charge and Watford carries on operating in this manner, nothing will change, or it could potentially get worse, and it's causing restlessness among the fanbase.

"People now, as well as feeling angry, are feeling apathetic and starting to live with mediocrity and starting to accept it as how Watford operate, which is perhaps worse."

Beattie has lived through the various ups and downs that life as a Watford fan has thrown at him, from the lows of the third tier to the highs of the Premier League, but even he admits that, right now, it's "among the worst" it's been.

"As a fan of 40 plus years, this is among the worst times I can remember being a Watford fan," he admitted.

"It's not enjoyable, it's not fun, and fans are starting to not turn up to matches. Something has to change, and a new ownership would probably bring that change around."

Fresh ideas desperately needed near the top at Watford

The last 14 years have most definitely been a rollercoaster for Watford fans.

The way managers come and go, 23 in all, since the takeover, is well documented, and, especially in the last few years, that amount of change is making Hornets fans detached from what's happening on the field, as the club continues to fail in their play-off pursuit, no matter who is in the dugout.

The state of the club is even more concerning when you take into account Gino Pozzo's claims this past summer that he was going to be fully focusing on the matters at hand at Watford amid the sale of Italian Pozzo-owned side Udinese. With that in mind, this season has been a concerning failure.

Javi Gracia's resignation in February came on the back of him publicly expressing worries about the future of the team and the lack of transfer activity in the January window, and the current boss, Ed Still, stated that lots must change at the club after their recent loss to Sheffield United.

Whether it will or not remains to be seen, but it's evident that the longer that Gino Pozzo runs the club in this manner, the more restless Watford fans will be.