Tom Cleverley fighting to save Watford job as owners consider 22nd change in 13 years
Tom Cleverley is on the hot seat at Watford after claiming just four points from a possible 18, though the Hornets are only two places off the play-offs in what is his first full season in charge
Tom Cleverley is fighting to save his job at Watford amid claims that former Villarreal boss Jose Rojo Martin has been lined up to replace him.
Former England midfielder Cleverley oversaw the longest unbeaten home run at Vicarage Road for 48 years and his removal would spark a fans’ revolt if owner Gino Pozzo makes his 22nd change of head coach in 13 years.
But a poor run of four points from a possible 18 since Boxing Day has left Cleverley vulnerable to the most notorious trigger finger in English football. Martin, also known as Pacheta, is reported to have agreed terms to join Watford - and he would not be coming to Hertfordshire as an assistant.
Cleverley’s popularity among the fans resulted in a huge tifo in his honour being unfurled before Tuesday night’s dismal 2-1 home defeat by Preston. Pre-season favourites for relegation, his 17-match unbeaten run at home with a thin squad made him a hero among Hornets foot soldiers.
READ MORE: Wrexham splash the cash to boost Championship promotion hopes with transfer coupREAD MORE: Leeds boss Daniel Farke gets his wish as Manor Solomon stars in Norwich winAnd Cleverley, who took over from the sacked Valerien Ismael 10 months ago, has mounted an unlikely play-offs challenge despite the club selling £35 million worth of players - Yaser Asprilla, Ismael Kone and Wesley Hoed - and reinvesting only £3m in new signings last summer.
The Hornets currently sit eighth in the Championship table, just a point outside the play-offs. But the diehards’ recent chant - “I don’t care about Gino, he don’t care about me, all I care about is Tom Cleverley” - may be about to backfire on them.
In the early years of his ownership, Watford fans were largely supportive of Pozzo’s revolving door for managers, and they achieved promotion to the Premier League in 2015 despite having four head coaches in one season.
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But some of his later changes - notably Nigel Pearson being sacked with two games of the season to go during the Covid-hit 2019-20 campaign, and jilting Xisco Munoz just seven matches into the season after he won promotion in 2021 - have been baffling.
And the darkening mood on social media suggests there will be an air of mutiny at Coventry on Saturday if Pozzo wields the axe again. Pacheta, 56, was sacked by the Yellow Submarine after just 12 games in November 2023, his last coaching position among eight Spanish clubs he has managed.
Watford have not commented on the links with Pacheta, but since Javi Gracia - who led the Hornets to the FA Cup final in 2019 - they have had 11 permanent head coaches in five-and-a-half years. Cleverley admitted after the defeat to Preston that his side need to improve.
“It’s what we are unfortunately at the minute, a very inconsistent football team,” Cleverley said. “We were nowhere near it. They ran harder, they ran faster, they won every first contact, every second contact.
“We’re throwing the games into the hands of the gods, we’re always giving ourselves mountains to climb. We’ve got a great record when we go ahead so that should be a good incentive to go ahead. But we don’t look like a team who’s willing to take that step at the moment."
After a severe backlash from fans on social media, Watford finally issued a statement late on Thursday evening confirming Cleverley will be in charge for the Hornets’ game at Coventry and distancing the Pacheta links as “pure speculation” - but did not offer him any assurances about his longer-term future.
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