Watford announced on Monday night the departure of manager Claudio Ranieri in a club statement. The Italian manager was appointed on the 4th of October last year but managed only seven of a possible 39 points during that span.
Having only been in charge at Watford for 112 days and overseeing 14 games at the club, the Italian manager now finds himself yet again without a job. Ranieri declined staying on at Sampdoria past last season after guiding the Serie A side to a ninth-place finish.
Watford’s club statement read, “The Hornets’ Board recognizes Claudio as a man of great integrity and honor, who will always be respected here at Vicarage Road for his efforts in leading the team with dignity.”
“However, the Board feels that, with nearly half of the Premier League campaign remaining, a change in the Head Coach position now will give a new appointment sufficient time to work with a talented squad to achieve the immediate goal of retaining Premier League status…No further club comment will be made until this new appointment is confirmed in due course.”
Claudio Ranieri only managed to eek out two wins and a draw in his 14 matches at the club, piling up 11 defeats along the way. Ten of the 11 losses came in the Premier League plus an embarrassing 4-1 loss to Leicester in the third round of the FA Cup. The two wins, however, were memorable ones for the Watford faithful; a 5-2 win against Everton at Goodison Park, and a 4-1 win against Manchester United at Vicarage Road. Watford scored 17 goals and conceded 34 in that period.
Ranieri signed a two-year deal upon his appointment back last fall. His timely sack comes after Watford suffered a demolishing 3-0 home defeat to fellow relegation rivals Norwich City on Friday night. The loss saw Watford drop into the bottom three for the first time this season, with 18 matches left to play in the campaign.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood predicted Ranieri’s exit saying, “The manner of the defeat was very poor. The crowd at Vicarage Road voted on their feet. By the end of the game, it (the stadium) was almost empty. They couldn’t even be bothered to stand around and show their discontent after the game. They just left. They’ve given up on it. They’re shouting, ‘You’re going to get sacked in the morning.’”
“It’s almost a culture there. What they’ve got used to is getting rid of the manager. Sometimes you bring a manager in, the grass isn’t always greener and I think they’ve found that. Hopefully, they can find someone now. Listen, he’s not going to stay there. That’s for sure.”
Ranieri’s departure makes him the eighth Premier League manager to lose his job this season. Also relieved of their duties were Xisco Munoz, whom he replaced at Watford, Steve Bruce (Newcastle United), Nuno Espirito Santo (Tottenham Hotspur), Daniel Farke (Norwich City), Dean Smith (Aston Villa), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United) and Rafa Benitez (Everton).
70-year-old Claudio Ranieri famously won the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2015-16 and has previously managed in England with Fulham and Chelsea. The Hornets will be looking for their 15th manager since the Pozzo family took over the club in 2012. Ranieri’s exit means Watford have now sacked five head coaches since Javi Gracia left the club in September of 2019 (Quique Sanchez Flores, Nigel Pearson, Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz and Claudio Ranieri). Early reports reveal that the club is looking to bring in 74-year-old former Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson, and might announce his appointment as soon as Tuesday.
Watford travel to bottom-of-the-table Burnley on Saturday, February 5th in a must-win game for both teams.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero