sunderland afc

Pundit urges Sunderland to rival Watford for ex-Sheffield United manager.

Published

3 months ago

April 7, 2024

Since taking over as Watford FC’s temporary head coach, Tom Cleverley has proven successful, and the team is finally starting to accumulate points to avoid relegation.

Valerien Ismael parted ways with the Hertfordshire-based team after the Hornets went on a miserable run of one win out of eight games prior to the former Manchester United and Everton midfielder taking over the team’s leadership temporarily.

Football analyst and former Watford loanee Carlton Palmer offered FLW his thoughts on another candidate for the manager’s position, pointing to the seasoned Paul Heckingbottom as a possible successor in the event that Cleverley is not offered the position permanently.

Carlton Palmer’s verdict on next Watford FC manager

Former England international Carlton Palmer thinks Watford FC should give Paul Heckingbottom serious consideration when selecting their next manager.

The former Sheffield United manager undoubtedly has experience in the Championship, which would help Watford make wise plans for the upcoming year.

Palmer, in an exclusive interview with Football League World, stated: “Tom Cleverley is making good progress at Watford and is increasing his chances of landing the position long-term.

“In his four games in command, he has truly stabilized the ship, winning one, losing one, and earning two draws against teams vying for promotion. You cannot in any way criticize the work he has done.

“Paul Heckingbottom is somebody who I admire, and he is available, despite links to the Sunderland job, so I’m very surprised that he still hasn’t been snapped up yet.

“He performed admirably with Sheffield United during his previous stint in the division, helping the team advance with some outstanding play.

Despite the limited funding, he performed admirably there as well, and I felt it was unfortunate that he ultimately lost his job.

“Whether Paul would be interested in the job, given the way the Watford hierarchy hire and fire managers, would remain to be seen, but he definitely would be someone I would personally look at, given that he remains out of a job for now.”

Watford board face tough choice

Carlton’s assessment of the two potential candidates for the job is extremely valid.

Tom Cleverley has made the step up from Under-18 lead coach to first team coach brilliantly. He has taken a side that were under-performing their match stats to a team that take their chances when given them.

Even though he hasn’t yet got them playing well on defense, if given the opportunity to manage Watford long-term and given the summer transfer window to gradually mold the team into his vision, there’s no reason he can’t lead the team to greater heights in 2024–2025.

However, Watford may be viewed as dark horses for the upcoming season if they choose to forego Cleverley in favor of a player like Paul Heckingbottom.

Due to the termination of parachute payments, the club will be operating on a tighter budget than in previous years, but that shouldn’t be a major concern because Heckingbottom is in charge.

He knows how to stretch that type of budget to its maximum, and will get the Hornets playing high-scoring, positive football with defensive solidity at the base.