There has been much talk of star names arriving at Watford, but the Championship club should not get carried away.
Alessandro Del Piero, Filipo Inzaghi, and Vincenzo Iaquinta are just three of the star studded names linked with moves to Vicarage Road over the past fortnight.
With Premier League legend and compatriot Gianfranco Zola the newly installed boss, while still a long shot, it is not inconceivable one of them may be persuaded to join him.
The arrival of one, and the stardust they would bring to the side would surely be enough, there is no need for the club to go overboard and risk their financial security.
Watford are a well run club, with arguably the best youth academy in the country. The club’s training centre at Harefield has been praised for the way it allows youngsters to combine a sporting education with an academic one, and has been described as the model to follow by Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore.
There is no higher praise than the fact that Dutch side Ajax even sent representatives along to see it first hand for themselves.
Watford finished in a creditable 11th last season, despite losing manager Malky Mackay to Cardiff and striker Danny Graham to Swansea shortly before 2011/12 began.
At the moment it is unlikely the Hornets will be play-off contenders, and have just lost talented defender Adrian Mariappa to Premier League side Reading.
So new additions will be needed, to give them a fighting chance, but it should not be too much all at once. Evolution not revolution is the key, and there is a good chance Zola himself will be able to improve the young players at the club simply by being there.
One only has to look at the disastrous consequences of Doncaster’s penchant for spending big on acquiring on loaning big names such as Pascal Chimbonda and El Hadji Diouf. They were relegated to League One last year in bottom place.
Watford are a club with a lot of potential, and they should continue focusing on what makes them special as they seek to move forward, rather than a big overhaul on star names.
image: © joncandy
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