**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
> Forest Green's owner Dale Vince told BBC Sport: "It takes a bit of the shine off winning promotion. If there's any karma in football they'll languish in the Championship and we'll meet them there in a few years' time."
Not a happy chappy to say the least.
From our club statement on hiring him:
"Rob had a contractual provision allowing him to leave Forest Green Rovers at any time to discuss employment opportunities at other clubs and the Hornets are delighted to confirm our discussions concluded today."
Forest Green have got only themselves to blame if they agreed to that being in his contract lmao.
I can understand why they are annoyed this has happened to them, but Watford are well within their rights to do what they have done (provided the approaches only came after the end of FGR's season).
All the whataboutism regarding Silva makes no sense as they are completely different situations.
FGR's season is over and Edwards' contract ends in one month time.
Marco Silva was approached mid season, 6 games into his 2 year contract after Watford has just spent 10s of millions on players for him. Everton offered money for him and Watford said " no. wait till the end of the season", which Everton chose to ignore.
Yeah he probably could, but in the end of the day it is a pretty big opportunity for him and I can understand him wanting to look out for himself.
He could probably have given the owner a ring last night though so he at least heard it from him first rather than the media.
Hardly. Edwards' contract finishes next month, so AFAIK we're entirely within our rights to negotiate with him directly in the same way clubs talk directly to players in the last 6 months of their deals.
The Silva saga started when Everton went directly to Silva to agree terms despite not having our consent to start those talks since he was 9 games into his multi-year contract. Silva then downed tools, eventually got sacked, we sued you for destabilising our season and part of the settlement was that you wouldn't then hire Silva. You then went and hired Silva.
It's not even comparable.
> so AFAIK we're entirely within our rights to negotiate with him directly in the same way clubs talk directly to players in the last 6 months of their deals.
Telling him not to inform FGR is pretty poor behaviour though. Even if you're entitled to speak to him, giving FGR the courtesy of letting them know their manager is likely to leave, so they can prepare for it, is only fair.
There was talk of him renewing his contract last month, so there was probably conversations already going on about that with FGR.
Watford are of course allowed to speak to him per the contract but IMO sounds like they didnt want FGR to know because maybe they are gonna be paying him a cheaper deal. FGR may have increased their offer on hearing Watford were prowling, forcing Watford to pay more money etc.
Honestly just sounds like when youre told by your manager that you cant discuss wages with staff.
So Watford should have announced it and given them chance to counter? Honestly that would be ludicrous. If Edwards wanted them to counter then he could have played us off each other. It comes off as very sour grapes from FGR
There's a difference between interviewing for a job and negotiating personal terms. Also, it's a different situation if your contract is expiring in a month.
But surely you wouldn't tell your current employer until you have agreed personal terms and confirmed you have the new job?
If I'm a boss and I have an employee whos contract is expiring in 3 weeks, why would I be surprised when they seek work elsewhere?
You're speaking in entirely hypothetical situations, and football works completely different to normal life. He also said in an interview recently that contract talks had been parked until the end of the season in order to focus on winning the title.
Hardly hypothetical when we are discussing an event which has literally just happened. Only thing that's changing is the context. Nothing hypothetical at all.
If I had a month left in my contract, yes, definitely. It would be a chance to renegotiate. Also, if I was interviewing for a job and the new job manager told me not to tell my current job manager, I would think that was pretty weird, especially when we are at the wage negotiation end of it.
>Also, if I was interviewing for a job and the new job manager told me not to tell my current job manager, I would think that was pretty weird, especially when we are at the wage negotiation end of it.
Sounds to me that Watford didnt want to enter into a wage war with FGR and were worried about them paying more.
They should be planning for it anyway if it's at the stage where you're a month left on the contract. Sure he could have let them know and it would have been courteous to do so, but he's not obliged to do so.
I don't really disagree, I feel like something is missing from this story because either they offered him a contract and knew he hadn't signed, or they hadn't and they can't be shocked he's leaving. Either way there must have been a conversation?
Maybe there was some deception around him suggesting he might extend and then he didn't? It's definitely a little underhand to keep it all secret though, now the season is over he could have just been honest with Forest Green.
From our club statement on hiring him:
"Rob had a contractual provision allowing him to leave Forest Green Rovers at any time to discuss employment opportunities at other clubs and the Hornets are delighted to confirm our discussions concluded today."
If that's correct then Forest Green have got nothing to complain about since they agreed to him being able to talk to other clubs at any point
Yes, he would have had a notice period in his contract. Even if he was sacked "immediately" they would still have had to pay him for a certain amount of time.
I mean it definitely is, you’re tapping up a manager under contract and telling them not to tell their current employer
Regardless of how long is left on the contract it’s the same thing
From our statement on hiring him:
"Rob had a contractual provision allowing him to leave Forest Green Rovers at any time to discuss employment opportunities at other clubs and the Hornets are delighted to confirm our discussions concluded today."
So no, not the same as Silva at all.
Every other source has his contract as expiring this summer.
However, even if that isn't the case, as per our statement we've operated using the clause in his current contract that allows him to speak to other clubs. Highly doubt we've made it up, or gone about our business without checking that clause exists and is valid. The tweet you've linked does absolutely nothing to dispel those claims, it only questions the length of the contract.
We've also done all this at the end of the season when games aren't being played, unlike with Silva who you tapped up 9 games into his contract lmao.
So yet again, no, it's not the same as the Silva case.
It's the same as negotiating with players running their contracts down. They don't have to tell anyone what they're planning on doing, who they're in contact with.
no it's not, you are legally allowed to approach a manager within one month of contract expiry without the consent of the current club.
Everton contacted Silva a couple of months into a multi year contract without the consent of Watford.
No but they'd have probably given permission anyway due to how little time he had left and Edwards wanting to go, they're just upset about the lack of courtesy. Exacerbated by who their owner is.
I definitely understand his frustration. They (both parties) may have been waiting for promotion to be secured before negotiating. Now that promotion is secured.. hes gone..
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
> Forest Green's owner Dale Vince told BBC Sport: "It takes a bit of the shine off winning promotion. If there's any karma in football they'll languish in the Championship and we'll meet them there in a few years' time." Not a happy chappy to say the least.
From our club statement on hiring him: "Rob had a contractual provision allowing him to leave Forest Green Rovers at any time to discuss employment opportunities at other clubs and the Hornets are delighted to confirm our discussions concluded today." Forest Green have got only themselves to blame if they agreed to that being in his contract lmao.
I can understand why they are annoyed this has happened to them, but Watford are well within their rights to do what they have done (provided the approaches only came after the end of FGR's season). All the whataboutism regarding Silva makes no sense as they are completely different situations. FGR's season is over and Edwards' contract ends in one month time. Marco Silva was approached mid season, 6 games into his 2 year contract after Watford has just spent 10s of millions on players for him. Everton offered money for him and Watford said " no. wait till the end of the season", which Everton chose to ignore.
Not sure how common this opinion is but I have no issues with Watford at all, it just sounds like Rob could have handled it a bit better
Yeah he probably could, but in the end of the day it is a pretty big opportunity for him and I can understand him wanting to look out for himself. He could probably have given the owner a ring last night though so he at least heard it from him first rather than the media.
Lol of course he looks like that
Watford did to Forest Green rovers what they accused of us doing to Marco Silva
Hardly. Edwards' contract finishes next month, so AFAIK we're entirely within our rights to negotiate with him directly in the same way clubs talk directly to players in the last 6 months of their deals. The Silva saga started when Everton went directly to Silva to agree terms despite not having our consent to start those talks since he was 9 games into his multi-year contract. Silva then downed tools, eventually got sacked, we sued you for destabilising our season and part of the settlement was that you wouldn't then hire Silva. You then went and hired Silva. It's not even comparable.
> so AFAIK we're entirely within our rights to negotiate with him directly in the same way clubs talk directly to players in the last 6 months of their deals. Telling him not to inform FGR is pretty poor behaviour though. Even if you're entitled to speak to him, giving FGR the courtesy of letting them know their manager is likely to leave, so they can prepare for it, is only fair.
You might think they would have gathered that given he had 1 month left lmao
There was talk of him renewing his contract last month, so there was probably conversations already going on about that with FGR. Watford are of course allowed to speak to him per the contract but IMO sounds like they didnt want FGR to know because maybe they are gonna be paying him a cheaper deal. FGR may have increased their offer on hearing Watford were prowling, forcing Watford to pay more money etc. Honestly just sounds like when youre told by your manager that you cant discuss wages with staff.
So Watford should have announced it and given them chance to counter? Honestly that would be ludicrous. If Edwards wanted them to counter then he could have played us off each other. It comes off as very sour grapes from FGR
Or it sounds like Watford bullying a lower league manager with 'tell FGR and you won't be considered'
Sounds like he knew what he wanted
Would you let your own employer know that you were interviewing for jobs elsewhere?
There's a difference between interviewing for a job and negotiating personal terms. Also, it's a different situation if your contract is expiring in a month.
But surely you wouldn't tell your current employer until you have agreed personal terms and confirmed you have the new job? If I'm a boss and I have an employee whos contract is expiring in 3 weeks, why would I be surprised when they seek work elsewhere?
You're speaking in entirely hypothetical situations, and football works completely different to normal life. He also said in an interview recently that contract talks had been parked until the end of the season in order to focus on winning the title.
Hardly hypothetical when we are discussing an event which has literally just happened. Only thing that's changing is the context. Nothing hypothetical at all.
If I had a month left in my contract, yes, definitely. It would be a chance to renegotiate. Also, if I was interviewing for a job and the new job manager told me not to tell my current job manager, I would think that was pretty weird, especially when we are at the wage negotiation end of it.
>Also, if I was interviewing for a job and the new job manager told me not to tell my current job manager, I would think that was pretty weird, especially when we are at the wage negotiation end of it. Sounds to me that Watford didnt want to enter into a wage war with FGR and were worried about them paying more.
Which is a red flag for me as an employee.
He's going to Watford, literally the biggest red flag of a club at the moment.
Do you guys not do “two weeks notice?” I’m actually curious if that’s an American thing.
I might let them know if I was a month away from the end of my contract that I'll be leaving so they should hire a replacement.
They should be planning for it anyway if it's at the stage where you're a month left on the contract. Sure he could have let them know and it would have been courteous to do so, but he's not obliged to do so.
I don't really disagree, I feel like something is missing from this story because either they offered him a contract and knew he hadn't signed, or they hadn't and they can't be shocked he's leaving. Either way there must have been a conversation? Maybe there was some deception around him suggesting he might extend and then he didn't? It's definitely a little underhand to keep it all secret though, now the season is over he could have just been honest with Forest Green.
From our club statement on hiring him: "Rob had a contractual provision allowing him to leave Forest Green Rovers at any time to discuss employment opportunities at other clubs and the Hornets are delighted to confirm our discussions concluded today." If that's correct then Forest Green have got nothing to complain about since they agreed to him being able to talk to other clubs at any point
Do you think the club would've given the manager 30 days notice before they sacked him so he could find another job?
Yes, he would have had a notice period in his contract. Even if he was sacked "immediately" they would still have had to pay him for a certain amount of time.
I mean it definitely is, you’re tapping up a manager under contract and telling them not to tell their current employer Regardless of how long is left on the contract it’s the same thing
From our statement on hiring him: "Rob had a contractual provision allowing him to leave Forest Green Rovers at any time to discuss employment opportunities at other clubs and the Hornets are delighted to confirm our discussions concluded today." So no, not the same as Silva at all.
https://twitter.com/DaleVince/status/1524427463899717636?s=20&t=nBqCNf5lDBh-Uzp2mWgaKw Wrong
Every other source has his contract as expiring this summer. However, even if that isn't the case, as per our statement we've operated using the clause in his current contract that allows him to speak to other clubs. Highly doubt we've made it up, or gone about our business without checking that clause exists and is valid. The tweet you've linked does absolutely nothing to dispel those claims, it only questions the length of the contract. We've also done all this at the end of the season when games aren't being played, unlike with Silva who you tapped up 9 games into his contract lmao. So yet again, no, it's not the same as the Silva case.
Lmao what a reach. Hoping we drag you down with us tonight
It's the same as negotiating with players running their contracts down. They don't have to tell anyone what they're planning on doing, who they're in contact with.
https://twitter.com/DaleVince/status/1524427463899717636?s=20&t=nBqCNf5lDBh-Uzp2mWgaKw Wrong
He's got a clause in his contract letting him speak to other clubs. So... Wrong.
Kinda sounds like it's Rob at fault rather than Watford tbh
difference in negotiating within 1 month on contract expiry that you're allowed to do, than talking to someone 8 games into a multiyear contract.
It doesn’t matter It’s still the same thing
Well it quite clearly isn't.
no it's not, you are legally allowed to approach a manager within one month of contract expiry without the consent of the current club. Everton contacted Silva a couple of months into a multi year contract without the consent of Watford.
https://twitter.com/DaleVince/status/1524427463899717636?s=20&t=nBqCNf5lDBh-Uzp2mWgaKw Wrong
And Forest Green have problems off the pitch too given they didn't tie him down to a new contract with his current deal finishing next month...
Nah, that's common place in the lower leagues. Even the majority of players usually only get one year deals with an option of a further year.
True, but then you can't be shocked when someone else comes after them surely?
No but they'd have probably given permission anyway due to how little time he had left and Edwards wanting to go, they're just upset about the lack of courtesy. Exacerbated by who their owner is.
snotty statement but not surprised he is annoyed, trying to run his own business and having a key figure nabbed
Then get him to sign a new deal. He can't be too shocked someone was interested in him with a month left on his deal
I definitely understand his frustration. They (both parties) may have been waiting for promotion to be secured before negotiating. Now that promotion is secured.. hes gone..