Championship manager sacked after Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers & Sheffield Wednesday fixtures

Watford have sacked manager Tom Cleverley just days after a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday that saw Watford finish the season in 14th and 11 points adrift of the play-off places.

A wretched end to the season ended all hopes of the Hornets finishing in the top six as they lost four of their last five games, with the draw against Sheffield Wednesday preventing the club from ending the campaign with five-straight losses.

They were beaten 2-1 at West Brom in April before losing 2-1 at home to Burnley and then 1-0 at Portsmouth. In their final away game they were beaten 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers. Their only win since April came against Hull City, as they defeated the Tigers 1-0 at the start of last month.

Watford’s play-off challenge fades away in spectacular fashion

After beating rivals Luton Town 2-0 on February 23, the Hornets sat in ninth place but just three points outside the top six. However, in their last 12 games they would go on to pick up just 9 points with two wins, three draws and seven losses.

After drawing with the Owls, Cleverley reflected on where things went wrong for Watford this season: “We’ve not scored enough goals and we together have to realise that was a big part in why the play-off charge wasn’t sustained. Now it’s for all of us to recognise why didn’t we sustain these these results and learn from that.”

Cleverley’s dismissal comes amid a spate of sackings late into the season with Tony Mowbray leaving West Brom, Omar Riza being sacked by Cardiff City and Johannes Thorup dismissed by Norwich City. Marti Cifuentes has also been placed on gardening leave by Queens Park Rangers and is not expected to retain his position at the club.

Watford give reasoning for Cleverley sacking

In a club statement, Watford pointed to how Cleverley had made them look like contenders for a play-off spot in the first part of the season but with performances and results taking a nosedive since the turn of the year, they opted to part ways with the Manchester United academy graduate.

Sporting director at Vicarage Road, Gian Luca Nani, said: “We thank Tom for his service – not just in his role as Head Coach but for everything he has given Watford as a player and member of staff.

“But the time has come for a change and to build on what we believe is a young and talented squad that will have benefitted from the experience of the Championship this season.

“It has been a privilege to work closely with Tom; to understand how he sees the game and his enthusiasm for everything here. He deserves to be recognised for this and I’m sure he will have a bright future in the game. Tom will always be part of Watford in recognition of all that he has achieved over so many years.”

The Hornets have plenty of time to draft in a new head coach before the start of the 2025/26 campaign, which begins on August 8. The fixtures for the new season will be released at the end of June.