Sir Elton John has come under attack after saying that Watford FC, the club he used to run, were "heading for catastrophe". In an interview with the BBC yesterday, Sir Elton thundered, "We know from other clubs that when stability and confidence go there is danger of plummeting into freefall. The chairman and leading shareholders have made it clear they wish to sell the club and this comes after a profit of nearly £8m last year."
He also went on to ask where the money raised from the selling of players had ended up, and reassured fans that he was cross with the suits, not the jersey wearers: "The manager and the players have my full support," he said. "But it is clear that the playing staff has been left threadbare after the sale of leading players over the last year or so, and even now I understand that there are plans for further player sales in January."
However, current chairman Graham Simpson hit back at Elton’s comments. "I’m really sorry that Elton felt he couldn’t pick up the phone and have a chat with me because I’ve got no idea where he’s got this information from," he said to Radio 5 Live. "He certainly hasn’t got it from anybody in our club.
"The only person I know he speaks to sometimes is our manager Aidy Boothroyd and I’ll have to ask if he’s had a chat with him. As far as we’re concerned it’s not the case.
"We had a punt to get back to the Premiership last year and we weren’t successful. Like all clubs, parachute money isn’t going to last forever, we’ve only got one more year left and we have to cut our costs accordingly and that’s what we’ll do.
"I’ve been here six years and when I joined we were on the point of administration. The club is in a great position now and the future’s rosy. I want to make sure our club is in a good, safe position, even if we have to be prudent. If I could find somebody with more money in their pockets than I have I would be more than a delighted to stand down as chairman and make way for them."
