Nigel Pearson, the third manager of Watford this season, has been fired with just two games left for Watford. Watford said in an official statement, “Watford FC confirms that Nigel Pearson has left the club with immediate effect,” Nigel will leave Watford three points above Bournemouth and the relegation zone. Firing Pearson was a surprise after he was able to bump Watford from the bottom of the table.
Watford’s Performance this Season
Compared to their last season, Watford’s performance has not been great. So far, the club’s has had only eight wins and eighteen losses. Nigel Pearson, Watford’s third manager this season, recently was fired. Prior managers before Pearson were Javi Gracia and Quique Sanchez Flores, although both only lasted a few months. After Flores’ termination in December, Pearson became the new manager.
From there, Pearson greatly affected Watford in the beginning as he won many games against the likes of Wolves, Manchester United, and Liverpool. Watford’s wins against Newcastle and Norwich were also crucial to keeping the Hornets from the bottom three.
In recent events, Watford won two out of eight of their last games. The club looked at Pearson to why they have not performed well. The club’s loss against West Ham (3-1) on Friday became the turning point for Pearson, which led to his sacking. In total, Pearson was able to win seven games this season.
The club originally wanted Craig Shakespeare, Pearson’s assistant, to take charge in Watford’s remaining two games but declined out of loyalty for Pearson. The club will replace Pearson with Hayden Mullins, and have Graham Stack as his assistant. It will be up to them to make sure that Watford will not be relegated in their last two games.
Watford is making an enormous risk of letting go of Pearson. Pearson was able to win seven games for the club while Gracia and Sanchez were only able to get a combined total of one win.
Did Watford Make the Right Choice
Watford is making an enormous risk of letting go of Pearson. Pearson was able to win seven games for the club while Gracia and Sanchez were only able to get a combined total of one win. Since Pearson’s start in December, he was able to bring the club to 17th place, which none of the other managers was able to do. Pearson was able to win for Watford, but the club officials should also take consideration of the players.
The players have gone through too many managers, and ever since the firing of Gracia and Sanchez, their morale should be at an all-time low, which could explain why their performance is not exceptional.
Nigel Pearson
Like many other managers, Nigel had a football career and played as a defender for Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough. Nigel retired after seventeen years and shifted as a manager at Carlisle United.
Nigel later moved to manage at a few other clubs, including Leicester City,Hull City, and Belgian side Oud-Heverlee Leuven. Finally, in December 2019, Nigel became the new manager at the club. On July 2020, club officials were enraged after their loss against West Ham and Nigel was fired after an intense argument with Watford owner Gino Pozzo.
Nigel learned of his sacking on Sunday at Watford’s training ground, which shocked the players. The players admired and respected Pearson even if they are used to frequent changes to the manager position.
Main image credit:
Embed from Getty Images