Claudio Ranieri was officially sacked by Watford despite only three months of coaching there. The Italian manager was considered unable to lift the Hornets out of the relegation zone.
Ranieri, 70, was only appointed as Watford manager on 4 October, replacing the sacked Xisco after winning only two of his first seven Premier League games this season.
But with Ranieri, Watford’s achievements did not improve. Tom Cleverley et al only won twice in the next 13 matches, one of which was when they beat Manchester United 4-1, which led to the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskajer.
Watford also fell into the relegation zone, precisely in position 19 with 14 points from 20 matches. In total they only won four times, drew twice, and lost 14 times. This bad trend made management run out of patience and kicked Ranieri.
“Watford confirms the departure of head coach Claudio Ranieri,” read a Watford statement on Tuesday (25/1/2022) early morning hrs.
“The club’s board of directors recognizes Claudio as a man of great integrity and honor, and will always be honored at Vicarage Road for his efforts to lead this team with dignity.”
“However the board feel, with the Premier League remaining halfway through the season, the changes being made now will allow the new coach sufficient time to work with this talented squad to stay in the Premier League next season,” Watford said.
Throughout his career in England, Ranieri has coached Chelsea, Leicester City, Fulham and Watford. The greatest success he achieved with the Foxes, when they won the Premier League 2015/16.
Watford now have less than two weeks to name a successor. They will only compete again on February 5, when they travel to Burnley’s headquarters.
(adp/raw)
