Ten years after the Pozzos’ acquisition of Watford.
June 29, 2012 is a significant day in the history of the Watford Football Club. It is the day that Laurence Bassini’s brief reign ends and the Pozzo period begins.
This is the account, ten years later, of why the ownership change occurred in the first place, how Bassini’s tenure resulted in his suspension from football, why the Italian Pozzos picked the Hertfordshire club, and how the sale was completed amid public and private conflicts.
It’s a narrative full of surprising plot twists that eventually leads to the club’s finest run of football glory since Graham Taylor and Elton John in the 1980s.
To understand how and why the Pozzos took over Watford, go back 12 months to June 2011, when Bassini initially assumed control of the club.
Bassini, who lives in neighboring Stanmore, had previously been declared bankrupt once (in 2007 — the second time in 2014) following his failing management of The Fox, a Georgian tavern and guest house in Ibstone near High Wycombe, 30 miles west of Watford. After that, he claimed benefits for a brief time and discreetly changed his identification. He changed his surname from a “z” to a double “s” as part of the rebranding process. Bazini, as he was born, became Bassini.
“Businessmen experience highs and lows. “That was a low point for me,” he told the Watford Observer in February 2011. “After the bankruptcy, people say things so I changed my name to have a fresh start.”
Bassini had a succession of directorships in limited businesses Hungry Restaurants, Regal Partnerships, Dancing Divas, and Newbeck Management during the previous five years, all of which were liquidated between 2007 and 2008. He also imported and distributed fragrances for PL Multitrade Limited, which was declared insolvent in 1994.
In late 2010, he was introduced to banker Keith Harris, an architect of club takeovers who was then in charge of finding a buyer for Watford, which had been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2001. Lord Michael Ashcroft, the majority shareholder, and former chairman Graham Simpson wanted out, thus Bassini was brought in despite his limited connections to the sport. Bassini testified to a court in High Court evidence that “he had no particular knowledge of football but liked the game”.
Bassini teamed up with noted knee specialist Panos Thomas to spearhead the bid, forming a corporation (Watford FC Limited — or WFCL) in January 2011. The orthopedic physician advised Watford, Arsenal, and other London teams on player care practices. The plan was for Bassini and Thomas to acquire 53.95 percent of the club after Ashcroft, Simpson, and the latter’s wife Yianna agreed to sell their interests for £450,000. Bassini was not a registered stakeholder in WFCL. Instead, Thomas intended to keep the shares in trust for him – at least initially.
The offer letter describing the planned acquisition revealed plans to give an aggregate total of £7 million in loans for the club’s operations, including £3.5 million in working capital provided “out of Mr Bassini’s existing resources” to address an urgent budget gap.
Where that money comes from is critical to the path ahead.
Bassini and former Watford chairman Jimmy Russo, together with the latter’s brother Vince, had begun discussions about Bassini’s desire to purchase the club. The negotiations were dubbed Project Luther in honor of the club’s all-time leading goalscorer and appearance maker, Luther Blissett.
The Russos met Bassini through Gino Magistro, a mutual acquaintance of the latter’s solicitor, Angelo Barrea. The Russo and Magistro families arrived in the UK from the Italian island of Sicily about the same time, and their children grew up together in a close-knit community in the Hertfordshire town of Hoddesdon, a short drive northeast of Watford. Barrea’s father had worked with Magistro at a horticulture firm in the 1980s, so he knew and trusted the younger Barrea.
The Russos helped Bassini advance the sale and provide WFCL’s proof of finances by lending him £3.5 million (in March 2011) and £135,000 (two months later). Bassini would go on to explain that the Russians were effectively purchasing a 50% stake in the club, which he was keeping in trust for them. The High Court agreed with the Russos that the money was always required for repayment because a loan arrangement was in place.
Bassini soon moved into Vicarage Road.
Following an initial board meeting in June, CEO Julian Winter, who had been in office since 2008, resigned after becoming disillusioned. It left a hole, since Winter had been in control of the club’s day-to-day operations and strategy. Michael Jones, the club’s head of business operations for the past 16 years, has also left.
“Watford’s fans will realise there is no quick buck to be made at Vicarage Road,” Bassini told the official club website. “I am not interested in short-term benefits. This group requires serious care to advance toward the aim of sustainability.”
Malky Mackay departed to join Cardiff City that summer. “It wasn’t what I signed up for,” he told an interviewer in 2012. “I was starting to notice something unusual. There were decisions being made that differed from how we would have done things previously.
“There had been a stable group of people making decisions for the good of the club, but now you had a man who was an owner-chairman making his own decisions — which was his prerogative.”
Bassini was not formally appointed as club director until September 2011. By then, money had already been made via player trade. Danny Graham (£3.5 million to Swansea City) and Will Buckley (£1 million to Brighton & Hove Albion) departed, and Watford received a £1 million sell-on payment from Ashley Young, who transferred from Aston Villa to Manchester United. Cardiff also provided compensation for Mackay.
Sean Dyche, Mackay’s replacement, had a philosophical approach to losing players. “I was told: ‘Right, Sean. This is what will happen. “You’re going to lose him, lose him, lose him, and the amount you have to spend is that,” he added with a wry smile in an interview in 2014. “I was willing to work within the confinements, the restrictions, the parameters.”
Bassini’s attitude to administering the team from then on resulted in his being suspended from football for three years for misconduct.
He obtained cash from financing business LNOC by borrowing against future transfer payments and TV revenue, but failed to notify the EFL, violating guidelines.
Email trails and documentation from his own board members and finance department revealed that they were also unaware of what he was doing.
In February 2013, a football disciplinary commission (FDC) led by QCs Alexander Milne, Ian Mill, and Tim Kerr determined that Bassini demonstrated “secrecy and deception” and “disreputable behaviour,” demonstrating a “reckless disregard” of the laws.
Graham’s move to Swansea proved to be significant in the events. The £3.5 million sum was paid in installments, with £2 million in July 2011 and another £500,000 two months later. The remaining £1 million was split into two more installments in January and March of 2012.
As stated in court testimony, money was directed to be sent directly from LNOC to Bassini’s holding company rather than the club. Although all parties eventually admitted that this was not an unusual practice in football, the fact that the club’s board and head of finance, Katie Wareham, were uninformed of the agreement was crucial evidence. LNOC provided a total of £2.6 million in advance loans.
Bassini got off to a bad start with supporters when he failed to show up for a scheduled fans’ forum in November 2011, blaming illness. Graham Taylor, Watford’s non-executive chairman, had to explain. “I am also extremely disappointed that the owner has missed an occasion that would have been of great benefit to him and yourselves,” Taylor added, at one point directing his words directly at the missing owner.”This was a great opportunity for you, Laurence, to sit and answer questions that Watford supporters are very keen to have the answers to.”
In late December 2011, a spate of emails sparked consternation at Vicarage Road and elsewhere.
Watford was set to receive one of the phased payments (£500,000) for Graham’s move. Swansea was approached by LNOC, who instructed them to pay the money straight to them rather than the club.
The mail was passed to the EFL’s head of player administration, Debbie Birch, who was unaware of the agreement. She raised it with Watford club secretary Michelle Ives, who forwarded it to Wareham. “Neither was familiar with the name of LNOC and therefore knew of no reason why the funds should go to them,” according to the FDC. “Messages were passed back up the chain to the Football League and the Premier League, who informed Swansea to pay the money via the ‘Premier League transfer account’ to the club.”
The money LNOC sought was paid from the WFCL account on January 19, 2012, indicating that the transaction did not fall under the purview of Watford’s finance department or board.
After Marvin Sordell was sold to Bolton Wanderers for almost £3 million on transfer deadline day that month, Bassini petitioned LNOC for permission to spend future money. It was the right thing to do, but the league was dissatisfied with the conditions of the agreement and denied the request.
This demonstrated Bassini’s awareness of the need for approval.
“The league contends that they could have been under no illusion but that the same attitude would have been taken by the league to the earlier arrangements reached over the Swansea/Daniel Graham funding,” the Football Development Committee (FDC) heard.
“The simple requirement to notify it of an agreement could hardly have been misinterpreted. Even at this late point, no attempt was made to tell the league of the prior transaction, nor was there any effort to correct the earlier lack of notification.”
Swansea paid the final £500,000 transfer fee for Graham in February. As previously, the money went to the club rather than any other body.
By that point, the Pozzo family’s quest for an English club to purchase was well underway.
“He (Gino, Watford’s current owner) is the one who’s always wanted to expand the football side of our business,” explains Gino’s father, Giampaolo Pozzo. “He serves as the driving force behind all we do. Gino has the highest industrial production, and he has the last word on most of our decisions. Let’s just say he’s the true expert, even if he never played football as a child. He spent his childhood traveling the world and researching, as directed by me.”
But how do you take over a club in another nation without having feet on the ground?
“I have known Gino and Giampaolo for many years. I used to work for Brescia, and our paths crossed several times. Gianluca Nani, Watford’s technical director, adds that he always saw Udinese as a model to emulate. “When I finished working in Italian football, I chatted with Gino. I discussed my time at West Ham and the opportunities available in English football.
“He said to me, ‘If a good opportunity presents itself, I’d like to give it a go’, so I started watching the market.”
Two sources involved in the procurement of a new Pozzo club, to add to Udinese (the Serie A side they have owned since 1986) and Spain’s Granada (purchased in 2009, sold in 2016), confirmed to The Athletic that Crystal Palace were also looked at as a potential option before the focus moved from south to the capital’s northern outskirts.
Nani quit his position as West Ham technical director shortly after the club’s former CEO, Scott Duxbury, retired in 2010. Duxbury stated that he was looking for “new opportunities”. Nani presented Duxbury, Watford’s future CEO/chairman, to Gino Pozzo, and the purchase process moved forward.
“Football in England is very different from football in Italy, so we would not be able to reach the club’s full potential unless we have people locally who understand the difficulties of running the club locally,” Gino Pozzo told the Watford Observer in 2012.
In February of that year, the Italian tabloid Gazzetta dello Sport disclosed the Pozzos’ interest in Watford. However, Udinese director Fabrizio Larini dampened the news. “We have been linked with other English clubs too but these are all journalistic rumours,” stated the manager.
Back at Vicarage Road, Wareham, head of finance, questioned a £900,000 payment to financing firm LNOC that she was requested to execute without “appropriate paperwork,” according to a subsequent court hearing. Wareham was informed that the funds will be used to refurbish the south west corner of Watford’s stadium.
She wrote Bassini, stating that there was insufficient money in the club’s accounts to pay the cheque, and despite his assurance that cash would be moved to cover it, the cheque bounced.
“The south west corner work was not done and still isn’t,” Wareham informed the crowd. “So in terms of the club needing to borrow money to put it at risk when it has not done it, I don’t know if I am best placed to comment.”
The discussion, both at the moment and subsequently in court, reflected a troubled relationship that would eventually come to a climax.
In February, striker Troy Deeney was embroiled in a brawl near a Birmingham nightclub after learning his father was battling cancer. This incident had a significant impact on his life.
“You can’t really see me at the start of the CCTV footage because all the taxis are in the way,” Deeney says in his book, Redemption: My Story. “Then, after I’ve hit this guy and he’s fallen into the side of the taxi, all the taxis move along and it is like the waves parting, and suddenly I’m standing there, right in the middle of the footage just as I kick the lad in the head.”
Deeney was seized by police immediately after the incident, spent the night in a police cell, and was charged with affray the following morning.
“They asked what I wanted to do. I stated I would plead guilty. I had no intention of contesting it. “I knew what I had done,” he admits.
Watford had the day off on Wednesday, but Deeney had to break the news to his boss during training the next day.
“Fucking hell, Troy,” said Dyche. “I thought we were over this type of thing. “I thought we had broken the back of this nonsense.” Later that week, the Deeney incident grabbed the headlines. On March 3, he scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory over Dyche’s future team, Burnley.
The board met 11 days later. Bassini did not attend, and, according to the minutes from the FDC hearing, no one had been aware of any difficulties with future funding. Meanwhile, the planned takeover was progressing.
Who is trying to grease the wheels at the club during these difficult financial times? Jimmy Russo, Bassini’s old supporter.
Russo tells The Athletic that he was introduced to Gianluca Nani, who he knew from his time at West Ham.”He’d asked me, ‘What about the Watford situation?’.”
Russo connected the dots and, with one eye on the money he’d lent Bassini, served as a conduit. “I wanted to see the club in a better position and the Pozzo family had a strong football background, so I made a couple of trips to Barcelona to try and help knit this deal together.”
On March 20, one of those significant meetings took place in Gino Pozzo’s office in Barcelona, when proposals for Watford were discussed. Russo, Duxbury, and Pozzo assembled to try to expedite the transaction. Barcelona defeated Pozzo-owned Granada 5-3, led by a hat-trick from Lionel Messi. The visitors’ team that night included future Watford players Odion Ighalo, Allan Nyom, and Alex Geijo.
Around this time, Filippo Giraldi, who later became Watford’s top scout, conducted due diligence on the club’s whole roster. He not only watched a lot of matches (live on TV, taped, and on the Wyscout platform), but he also paid a few discreet visits to Vicarage Road and elsewhere to gain a feel for the club.
That month, LNOC also wrote to Swansea, alleging losses, despite the fact that the club had already paid Watford for Graham. As a result, the Welsh club forwarded the material to the EFL in early June 2012. The league stated in testimony that this was the first time it learned of the transfer’s financial structure.
Nick Craig, the EFL’s director of legal affairs at the time (and current chief operating officer), launched an inquiry.
“His evidence shows that these were never reported to the league. “He requested an embargo on club registrations, as well as a suspension of future pool payments to them,” according to FDC data.
Watford finished a creditable 11th in the Championship in 2011-12, but off-field issues took precedence.
On May 30, Taylor resigned as chairman, stating, “Having accepted the post of non-executive chairman after being temporary chairman, I have always made it plain that I never saw this as something for the long term.
“I’m going to leave for the Euros as part of the BBC commentary crew, followed by a private trip. This not only shows the limited time I currently have to dedicate to the Watford presidency, but it also gives a natural pause for the club to prepare forward.”
Taylor’s departure coincided with the day Bassini, now temporary chairman, was forced to try to reassure worried employees who had been informed that their pay would be delayed until the end of the month. Bassini denied that there was any “late” payment. “The contracts require pay to be paid near the end of the month. “They got paid on the 30th,” he told the Watford Observer at the time.
There was shortly an episode that would become iconic with Bassini’s time at the club, known simply as “safegate”. It happened near the end of his tenure at the club.
Bassini went to Vicarage Road on June 11, 2012, and demanded the safe’s keys from a senior member of staff. When queried by the Watford Observer, Bassini verified the situation. He said, “I asked for my safe keys. It’s my safe. The staff would not provide them to me. I suspended the individual and had the employee removed out of the building by police.”
Bassini is known to have removed at least one other senior member of staff of their duties around the same period.
During a difficult week, Bassini disputed that the club’s existing bondholders, including Lord Ashcroft, former chairman Simpson, and director David Fransen, wanted him to sell.
payable to offer-document covenants, any payment failure may result in the whole sum (about £7.5 million) becoming payable immediately.
“The bondholders can’t take the club from me. I own the club. “It is all nonsense,” Bassini remarked, admitting that the club is garnering attention. “Four people are bidding for the club. Everything is for sale at a price, but I do not wish to sell.”
At the time, Bassini, who had hired lawyers from UHY Hacker Young to defend the club, distanced himself from the Pozzo involvement. “That was back in February, not now,” he informed me. “He (Gino Pozzo) is not interested anymore. He’s focused on something else.”
Bassini spoke on the potential Pozzo agreement a few days later. “They don’t have the money, so I won’t execute the transaction.He told the Watford Observer, “They didn’t provide proof of funds, and it’s not transparent enough.””The agreement is clearly off. They don’t have the money. “What can I do?”
With discussions raging behind the scenes, the public brinkmanship intensified, with the Pozzo family making a statement about the proposed transaction on Udinese’s official website. “The Pozzo family wishes to clarify that any current news or rumour relative to the acquisition of Watford Football Club should be considered premature,” it said. “While there is a concrete interest, the negotiation has not yet reached the point of being officially signed off, with the signatures of the parties on the contracts.”
Contrary to Bassini’s claims, Watford’s official club position had changed by June 22. “Despite recent claims, the sale of Watford FC to the Pozzo family is proceeding well.There is no problem with finances. According to the statement, both parties aim to reach an agreement soon.
That day (a Friday), Deeney’s father died of cancer. The following Monday (June 25), Deeney was sentenced to ten months in jail for the February nightclub incident, for which he pled guilty to affray. He had six goals in the last 11 games of the season, including four in a row, but he wasn’t sure whether he’d have a club to play for when he got out of prison. He signed a year-long contract extension in March.
“I made it quite clear in my opinion that in no circumstances should he be removed from the club,” Dyche told me. “I responded, ‘We’re a club that values growth. People develop in various ways, and they face different problems. You pay the price, and we just attempt to educate along the way. “You have to give people the opportunity to change.”
After a life-changing stint in prison, Deeney was granted a second opportunity. However, the last stages of the takeover were essential.
On June 26, sources reported an agreement as “imminent”. Duxbury worked with US attorneys Jones Day to defend the Pozzos, while Andrew Andronikou of UHY Hacker Young and James Morris of Walker Morris represented the Club.
Negotiations continued late into the night on June 29 at Jones Day’s offices in central London, with many of those in the room – including Bassini – sleeping little.
“Initially, there were rumors that it might happen, but it did not. Then there were rumblings that it would happen again, but it was postponed, and then it happened, and it went just like that,” Dyche adds with a click of his fingers.
Bassini signed the final papers — for which he is said to have received an estimated £500,000 — at his Stanmore house to conclude the transaction, with Hornets Investment Limited becoming the club’s new parent company.
“We are delighted to have ensured that Watford’s immediate future is safe,” added Andronikou. “The (Pozzo) family has a proven track record of developing great teams on the field while also managing the books off the field. This deal is crucial because it gives the Pozzo football dynasty with a safe base to bring its successful formula to the UK.”
When the Pozzos took control, Watford Leisure Limited owed bondholders £7 million, while £2.1 million, characterized as a “exceptional item” on the balance sheet following the acquisition, was regarded a debt payable to a third party on behalf of the prior owners.
Bassini’s WFCL allegedly borrowed almost £1.5 million in the club’s name (£600,000 in advance for Graham transfer money and £900,000 against TV revenue).
It further said that £568,267 had been advanced to Bassini’s business for the refurbishment of the Red Lion bar opposite the stadium, but no invoices could be discovered.
“The amounts were borrowed in the name of the club, but the funds were not received by the club,” according to a declaration in the club’s November 2012 financial statements. The bar, which Bassini was famously pictured in front of while wearing a bright red builders’ hard helmet, was initially granted to him as part of the takeover deal but was kept under review. Watford eventually achieved an out-of-court settlement with LNOC for the amount due.
News immediately spread throughout Italy that the Pozzo family firm had made a new purchase. Andrea Carnevale, the Pozzo network’s scouting director, took a few days off to visit Sardinia with his family. “I’m delighted and proud to work seven days a week, but sometimes you need a break.
“I was in Rome, with my suitcase packed and plane tickets in hand, when Gino called to say we needed to go to London right away because he had bought Watford.” It had been discussed for a while, but the actual transaction went through rather swiftly.
“Honestly, it totally wrecked my holiday plans but the excitement about this new adventure more than made up for it.”
There were 43 days remaining until the 2012-13 season began.
Within a week, the first major choice was made. Dyche was fired on July 6, despite being hailed by the new owners, who said in a statement that they appreciated his “impeccable conduct, representing the Hornets with honour and dignity at all times”.
“They made the right decision because it would not have worked. “Not because I’m not good at what I do; it’s a different, European-style model,” Dyche added. “The owner and technical director have a big say in everything that goes on: not just the business side but the football side.”
The next day, Gianfranco Zola arrived on the advice of Nani, who had worked with him at West Ham. The former Chelsea and Italy forward was seen to be a good match for integrating international players into the English system, given his familiarity with it.
As the revolution began, the team received 15 new members, 12 of them were from Udinese or Granada.
That season concluded with a defeat in the Championship play-off final against Crystal Palace, and promotion to the Premier League did not come until the 2014-15 season.
By that time, Bassini had been found guilty of misconduct and banned from football for three years, lost a libel case against football agent Sky Andrew, been ordered to repay £4.4 million to the Russo brothers, and been declared bankrupt for the second time. Mr Justice Spencer, a High Court judge, stated during the trial that he “made wild and unsubstantiated allegations against parties and witnesses” and that he “found his evidence on many issues improbable and beyond reason”.
Watford has seen two promotions to the Premier League, six seasons in the top division, an FA Cup final appearance, and 16 permanent head coaches in the last decade. However, the Pozzo deal on June 29, 2012, could have changed the course of those years.
“Football is a long-term project,” explained Gino Pozzo. “You never know what will happen in one or two years.” You must be prepared to adapt your vision based on how things unfold, as there is a distinction between being in the Championship and being in the Premier League.
“We don’t want to jeopardize the club’s finances or the way it is operated in order to do this. We absolutely want to design something that will be stable.
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