£40m to the winner
Why tomorrow's Championship play-off final is single most lucrative event in whole of sport.
Never in the history of professional sport has one single fixture been as valuable as tomorrow's Championship play-off between Leeds United and Watford.
The £21m earned by Evander Holyfield when he beat Mike Tyson in their 1997 rematch - the richest prize fight ever - is small beer by comparison. The £10m on offer when teams vie for Champions' League qualification is a relative pittance.
A win tomorrow would be worth £41m to Leeds, and £39m to Watford. This is new, extra income they will earn if they win, according to detailed analysis by The Independent. Win or bust, all or nothing, almost. The Independent
Mahon hails boss confidence trick
The way Gavin Mahon speaks of his manager, Aidy Boothroyd, makes it easy to understand why Watford have undergone a transformation from relegation candidates to the brink of promotion.
The Hertfordshire club are one win away from the Premiership and an estimated £40 million windfall. Even if their day out in Cardiff does not go to plan, Watford will receive all the estimated £1.3 million gate receipts after the clubs privately agreed the losing team should gain financially.
Captain Mahon has no doubt about why Watford have come so far so quickly, claiming Boothroyd as the key to their success. He said: "If you had asked me at the start of the season: 'Will you finish in the play-offs?' I'd have probably said: 'Top 10 if things go well for us.' But when you work with Aidy, he gives you belief. He believes you're better than you actually are. He gives you confidence all the time and tells you what a good player you are."
Boothroyd, 35, came into the job late last season with no previous experience as a manager and was written off by many, but the club he may now be guiding into the big time is proof of what installing team spirit can do. Mahon agrees: "His man-management is superb. I remember one meeting when he sat us down and said: 'I don't think you all realise how good I think you are.'
"When your manager says that and you've got players who are willing to work their socks off for each other, you can achieve anything." Daily Telegraph
Absence has made heart grow fonder for Taylor
Watford legend tells why he will be in Cardiff supporting his old club
AS WATFORD fans wend their way to Cardiff tomorrow, to watch the most lucrative match on the planet, a special guest will be preparing to take his place in the VIP section at the Millennium Stadium. Think Watford, think Graham Taylor.
Sir Elton John, as honorary life president, still adds a touch of glitz and glamour to the Hertfordshire club. His face is recognised and his music revered the world over. Yet it is Taylor, at Watford for 16 years in two spells, who represents the heart and soul of Vicarage Road.
It is why Watford invited him and his wife, Rita, to see a spectacle that is worth not only a place in the Barclays Premiership to the winners but also a cash bonanza of about £30 million. And it is why Taylor decided to turn down a prior engagement in Scotland to attend. “He is a Watford institution,” a club spokesman said.
John was also extended an invitation but is tinkling the ivories abroad. Taylor had wanted to take a back seat, to deflect the spotlight on to Adrian Boothroyd, the manager, and his players, but the lure of the occasion, the opportunity to be there, proved too great.
“It's been a great season for Watford but I've deliberately stayed out of it,” Taylor said. “You can't keep going back, I'm a great believer in that things move on. Adrian knows this but if he's ever wanted to talk, we have done. The Times
Burkinshaw still learning as he helps turn Watford from good to great
When Watford secured their play-off berth Aidy Boothroyd handed the 70-year-old Keith Burkinshaw a well thumbed copy of Good to Great. Jim Collins's bestseller concludes that blue-chip businesses build their success on employees whose thoughts and actions reflect their disciplined nature. Boothroyd, half Burkinshaw's age, read it three years ago and felt it was time his assistant did the same. "You never stop learning," says Burkinshaw in his soft Yorkshire growl. "It's interesting. Get it and read it."
His eyes have opened to Boothroyd's unorthodox approach to management. "We don't act like there's any difference in age and that's the beauty of it. We've a nice blend," he says. "He's not completely different from other people I've worked with but he's willing to do anything to get that extra 1% out of whatever he can. I don't think I've ever come across anybody that goes into so much detail and tries to uncover every stone." The Guardian