"Knowing the Watford owners" - Exclusive: Tom Cleverley decision sparks fresh debate | OneFootball

Watford surprisingly dispensed with the services of Cleverley earlier this week

There was a fair amount of shock when Watford announced they were parting ways with Tom Cleverley this week.

The 35-year-old played 181 games for the Hornets before first becoming their interim manager in March 2024, before landing the role permanently.

Despite missing out on a play-off spot, the job he did this season was generally regarded a positive one, leading to surprise when the club decided to sack him at the start of May.

We asked pundit Joe Jacobson what he thought of the decision.

Watford criticised for "trigger happy" Cleverley decision

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Jacobson said: “I am shocked, because I just think that where they finish the season, I know they were in the play-off mix for a little while early on and dropped out a little bit.

“But knowing the Watford owners, what they're like recently with how trigger happy they can be, I'm in one way surprised that they didn't get rid of him earlier on in the season.

“I think they kept him, and I thought, ‘great, you know, he deserves the opportunities, he's done well there’, and, you know, I don't think they've got a major expectation of promotion this season, especially.

“So now I just find it a bit strange that they've gone and done it at the end of the season. If they weren't happy with him, what was stopping them from doing this a while ago?

“It doesn't really add up for me, and I think Tom Cleverley's done a good job in the circumstances there, and at some point, Watford do have to be sustainable with their managers and do have to have a little bit of continuity.

“It worked earlier on in the ownership, but for the last few years, you can see how poor it's been.

“You're just desperate for a manager there to have a couple of seasons, a couple of transfer windows at least, to get the team that they want and to be able to mould them and how they want to do it.”

Post-Cleverley next steps unclear for Watford

The replies to Watford’s announcement on X tell a story in themselves, one of Cleverley doing a good job with the resources he’d been given.

Many believe the squad isn’t quite up to scratch but, even so, the former Watford boss didn’t have them a million miles away from contention.

For prospective new managers looking in, it will raise plenty of questions. Having put together a decent season, as a club legend recently turned to management, what exactly would the owners be happy with?

Most will not have Cleverley’s standing at Vicarage Road, so likely will not fancy their chances of lasting much beyond the year or so he lasted, and that lingering fear will not make recruitment any easier.

That leads straight into the issue: what exactly was to be gained by Cleverley’s sacking?

He still held a good reputation among fans, he had certainly given them a decent season, if not amazing, and there was a sense of something being built.

Unless the power brokers at Watford have an elite manager at their fingertips to replace Cleverley, it’s difficult to see where they might find a better candidate for the job, given the tricky sell that the club is at the moment.