“Knowing the Watford owners” – Exclusive: Tom Cleverley decision sparks fresh debate.

Watford announced this week that they would be parting ways with Tom Cleverley, which surprised many.

After playing 181 games for the Hornets, the 35-year-old took over as interim manager in March 2024 and was later appointed permanently.

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

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

Watford is criticised for “trigger happy” Cleverley decision.

In an exclusive interview with Football League World, Jacobson stated, “I am shocked, because I 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 Watford’s owners and how trigger happy they can be recently, I’m surprised they didn’t get rid of him earlier in the season.

“I believe 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 have a high expectation of promotion this season, particularly.

“Now I just think it’s strange that they did it at the end of the season. If they weren’t happy with him, what was keeping them from doing this sooner?

“It doesn’t really add up for me, and I think Tom Cleverley has done a good job in the circumstances, but at some point, Watford need to be sustainable with their managers and have some continuity.

“It worked earlier in the ownership, but over the last few years, you can see how bad it has 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.”

After Cleverley, Watford’s next steps are unclear.

Cleverley’s responses to Watford’s announcement on X provide a compelling narrative of his effective use of available resources.

Many believe the squad isn’t quite up to par, but the former Watford manager didn’t rule them out of contention.

Prospective new managers will have many questions. What would the owners be pleased with after a decent season, given that a club legend has recently taken over management?

Most will not have Cleverley’s reputation at Vicarage Road, so they are unlikely to last much longer than the year or so he did, and lingering fear will make recruitment difficult.

That brings us to the question of what Cleverley’s dismissal was intended to achieve.

He still had a good reputation among fans; he had given them a decent, if not spectacular, season, and there was a sense that something was being built.

Unless the power brokers at Watford have an elite manager on hand to replace Cleverley, it’s difficult to see where they could find a better candidate for the job, given the club’s current situation.

Read more on sportupdates.co.uk