July 20 – Not one, not two, not three – but four. That’s how many managers English Premier League Watford have had this season after they dispensed with services of Nigel Pearson on Sunday.
In what can only be described a ludicrous panic move, the struggling London club got rid of Pearson with just two games remaining of the season as they sought to avoid the dreaded drop into the second tier Championship.
When Watford appointed Pearson in December, they were rock bottom and six points adrift. Now they are 17th and three points above the drop zone, a marginal improvement perhaps but an improvement just the same.
Yet with dangerous games to come against Manchester City and Arsenal, the owners clearly thought someone else would be better placed to motivate the players to survive in the top flight. That job has been handed to Watford’s under-23 coach Hayden Mullins .
Watford will argue that Pearson only had a short-term contract until the end of the current campaign anyway but such is their notorious lack of patience, he becomes the third manager sacked by the club this season following the exits of Javi Gracia and Quique Sanchez Flores.
Watford’s players are understood to be shocked by the latest decision but perhaps they shouldn’t be given the club’s brutal record of sacking managers.
Whoever ultimately replaces Pearson on a permanent basis will be the Hornets’ 13th manager in nine years.
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