Watford sack Cleverley after failing to make play-offs

Watford person sacked caput manager Tom Cleverley aft they failed to marque it to the Championship play-offs.

The Hornets finished 14th successful the array with 57 points, 11 points down sixth-placed Bristol City, having won conscionable 1 of their past 9 matches of the play (D2 L6).

In fact, they finished the run connected a five-match winless streak, with their final-day 1-1 gully against Sheffield Wednesday ending a tally of 4 consecutive losses.

Cleverley took implicit connected an interim ground successful March 2024 aft Valerien Ismael’s departure, earlier being confirmed successful the imperishable relation the pursuing month.

Watford FC confirms the departure of Tom Cleverley arsenic Head Coach.

— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) May 6, 2025

“The clip has travel for a alteration and to physique connected what we judge is simply a young and talented squad that volition person benefited from the acquisition of the Championship this season,” sporting manager Gian Luca Nani said.

“It has been a privilege to enactment intimately with Tom; to recognize however helium sees the crippled and his enthusiasm for everything here. He deserves to beryllium recognised for this, and I’m definite helium volition person a agleam aboriginal successful the game.”

Former Manchester United midfielder Cleverley was the archetypal Watford manager to implicit a afloat play successful complaint of the nine since Javi Garcia successful 2018-19.

He took complaint of the squad for 59 matches successful each competitions, registering 20 wins (D14 L25) to decorativeness with a triumph percent of 33.9%.

His 1.24 points per crippled successful the Championship is the champion by a Watford manager since Slaven Bilic, who near the nine successful March 2023.

Watford are yet to marque a determination connected Cleverley’s replacement, arsenic they look for their 10th imperishable manager since Nigel Pearson was sacked successful July 2020.