Post by QPR Report on Aug 23, 2009 16:38:38 GMT
WAtford Official Site - CLUB UPDATE ON SMITH SITUATION
Sun 23 Aug 2009
THE Club would like to today (Sunday) confirm the latest position regarding Tommy Smith's future at Vicarage Road, following speculation over the last few weeks.
Smith again turned out for the Golden Boys yesterday and scored and made a goal in Watford's 2-2 home draw with Blackpool.
Chairman Jimmy Russo has spoken to www.watfordfc.com to explain to supporters why the latest bid for the player has not been accepted.
Russo said: "Despite claims in the press to the contrary, Reading did not match our valuation of the player.
"The guaranteed fees they proposed were less than what was acceptable and the rest of their bid was based upon "jam tomorrow" add ons, which included a hefty proportion based upon Reading achieving promotion to the Premier League.
"In any event, I was told on Friday by a Reading representative that Sir John Madejski has withdrawn Reading from the race to sign Tommy and that they are moving on to other targets."
Watford's Chairman has again reinforced his committed stance to protecting the Club in transfer negotiations.
He added: "We cannot let other clubs take advantage because they feel they can exploit the financial position that the previous regime has left us in.
"We showed in our dealings with Ipswich and Tamas Priskin that we understand the value of our players and that we are fair in our dealings.
Smith scoring against Blackpool
"It is exactly the same with Reading and Tommy Smith. We have to give credit to Marcus Evans at Ipswich for backing his manager and negotiating with us in a quiet and discreet manner. It eventually produced a suitable and appropriate deal for Ipswich, Tamas Priskin and Watford."
A deal for Smith to move to Berkshire had been close and the fellow Championship club were within touching distance of the value placed on the player by the Chairman and Watford Football Club.
"It seems that our request for a £200k payment based on Tommy making a given number of appearances at Reading has prevented the deal from going through - they were that close" commented Russo.
"Given that the evidence available to us suggests that Brendan covets the player and Reading have netted circa £11m with the sales of Doyle, Hunt and Bikey - not to mention the huge wage savings that go with that, I have to say I was surprised when they said that they were no longer interested in signing Tommy because of a clause that is commonplace in transfers today.
"We don't really know why Reading have withdrawn their interest. The asking price was fair and they were really close to the numbers we were looking for.
The current Player of the Year in action on the opening day of the season
"It's up to Reading's Chairman now really and he obviously knows his own business best. It is not our place to comment on why they do what they do."
Smith is the current double winning Player of the Year at Vicarage Road and yesterday notched his second goal of the campaign - this came after a terrific performance by the former Derby man in the 4-2 win at Nottingham Forest last week, in which he scored and had a hand in Watford's goals.
However, if come the close of the transfer window at 5.00pm on 1 September Tommy Smith is still a Watford player - Russo will look forward to seeing Smith continue his current good-form in a Watford shirt.
Russo added: "We have had enquiries from a Premier League Club and a very big Championship club so it's difficult to say how the situation will unfold, but if Tommy doesn't leave the club we know that he will contribute to our cause on the pitch, like he always does."
"Tommy is a top professional, a great player and a good man - let's hope the situation is resolved sooner rather than later."
www.watfordfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10400~1766022,00.html
Sun 23 Aug 2009
THE Club would like to today (Sunday) confirm the latest position regarding Tommy Smith's future at Vicarage Road, following speculation over the last few weeks.
Smith again turned out for the Golden Boys yesterday and scored and made a goal in Watford's 2-2 home draw with Blackpool.
Chairman Jimmy Russo has spoken to www.watfordfc.com to explain to supporters why the latest bid for the player has not been accepted.
Russo said: "Despite claims in the press to the contrary, Reading did not match our valuation of the player.
"The guaranteed fees they proposed were less than what was acceptable and the rest of their bid was based upon "jam tomorrow" add ons, which included a hefty proportion based upon Reading achieving promotion to the Premier League.
"In any event, I was told on Friday by a Reading representative that Sir John Madejski has withdrawn Reading from the race to sign Tommy and that they are moving on to other targets."
Watford's Chairman has again reinforced his committed stance to protecting the Club in transfer negotiations.
He added: "We cannot let other clubs take advantage because they feel they can exploit the financial position that the previous regime has left us in.
"We showed in our dealings with Ipswich and Tamas Priskin that we understand the value of our players and that we are fair in our dealings.
Smith scoring against Blackpool
"It is exactly the same with Reading and Tommy Smith. We have to give credit to Marcus Evans at Ipswich for backing his manager and negotiating with us in a quiet and discreet manner. It eventually produced a suitable and appropriate deal for Ipswich, Tamas Priskin and Watford."
A deal for Smith to move to Berkshire had been close and the fellow Championship club were within touching distance of the value placed on the player by the Chairman and Watford Football Club.
"It seems that our request for a £200k payment based on Tommy making a given number of appearances at Reading has prevented the deal from going through - they were that close" commented Russo.
"Given that the evidence available to us suggests that Brendan covets the player and Reading have netted circa £11m with the sales of Doyle, Hunt and Bikey - not to mention the huge wage savings that go with that, I have to say I was surprised when they said that they were no longer interested in signing Tommy because of a clause that is commonplace in transfers today.
"We don't really know why Reading have withdrawn their interest. The asking price was fair and they were really close to the numbers we were looking for.
The current Player of the Year in action on the opening day of the season
"It's up to Reading's Chairman now really and he obviously knows his own business best. It is not our place to comment on why they do what they do."
Smith is the current double winning Player of the Year at Vicarage Road and yesterday notched his second goal of the campaign - this came after a terrific performance by the former Derby man in the 4-2 win at Nottingham Forest last week, in which he scored and had a hand in Watford's goals.
However, if come the close of the transfer window at 5.00pm on 1 September Tommy Smith is still a Watford player - Russo will look forward to seeing Smith continue his current good-form in a Watford shirt.
Russo added: "We have had enquiries from a Premier League Club and a very big Championship club so it's difficult to say how the situation will unfold, but if Tommy doesn't leave the club we know that he will contribute to our cause on the pitch, like he always does."
"Tommy is a top professional, a great player and a good man - let's hope the situation is resolved sooner rather than later."
www.watfordfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10400~1766022,00.html
