Former Manchester United Midfielder Tom Cleverly Appointed Interim Manager Of Watford

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Adesina David

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Watford have dismissed manager Valerien Ismael after a horrendous run of 1 win in 10 league matches, with Tom Cleverley named as caretaker head coach.

Cleverly had previously been managing the Hornets Under-18 side after he retired from football in 2023.

Watford, who are placed 13th on the log, have stated that Tom Cleverly's staff will be “confirmed in due course”.

Former Barnsley and West Brom manager Ismael joined Watford in May 2023, but a run of poor results in recent matches resulted in his dismissal.

Valerien Ismael's exit means the Hornets are in search of their 11th head coach since 2018 and 8th gaffer since the culmination of the 2020/21 season.

Since the exit of Sean Dyche in 2012, Gianfranco Zola, Giuseppe Sannino, Oscar Garcia, Billy McKinlay, Slavisa Jokanovic, Quique Sanchez Flores, and Walter Mazzarri have all had stints in charge of the side.


Additionally, Marco Silva, Javi Gracia, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri, Roy Hodgson, Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Chris Wilder have also managed the English side.

Valerien Ismael became manager of Watford in May 2023, after a spell in Turkey with Super Lig giants Besiktas.

The 48-year-old has managed several clubs in his career, including; Wolfsburg, LASK, Barnsley, and FC Nurnberg.

This Frenchman was also manager of West Bromwich Albion from June 2021 to February 2022.

The defeat on Saturday, March 9, 2024, against Coventry City was their third in four matches and sixth in their past eight games.

Watford's only victory in their previous 10 matches came against basement boys Rotherham.

Anyway, the Championship club put out a statement following the dismissal of Valerien, appreciating him and his staff for his contribution to the club.

However, the Hornets shared that administrators of the club, “consider it an appropriate time to make a change to improve results”.

Meanwhile, Interim manager Tom Cleverly played for several teams in his career, including; Leicester City, Wigan Athletic, Everton, Aston Villa, and Manchester United.

He made 379 club career appearances, scoring 35 goals and providing 33 assists in all competitions.

Cleverly also played for the national team of England, making 13 appearances, scoring no goal and providing 3 assists.

Tom Cleverly won the Premier League title in 2013 with Manchester United and he was also part of the Watford's side that made it to the FA Cup final in 2019.

The Englishman was expected to reach massive heights in his career, having been touted as a big prospect at Manchester United.

Unfortunately, he failed to meet up to the lofty expectations heaped on him, however, managerially one can't tell what to expect.

Excellent footballers sometimes do not end up as great managers, while players who didn't do exploits during their football career often rule the world as managers.

Tom Cleverly's first manager as caretaker boss of Watford will be an away clash against Birmingham City on March 16, 2024.