January 24, (THEWILL) – Claudio Ranieri has been reportedly fired by Watford after a run of eight Premier League games without a win. Watford slipped into the relegation zone after a 3-0 loss at home to Norwich on Friday, after only two league wins under Ranieri.
Ranieri is Watford’s second manager to be fired this season. The Italian was hired in early October after Xisco Munoz was fired when the club was 14th in the table. The team has yet to make an official declaration about the situation.
Watford has been overtaken by Norwich and then Newcastle, who beat Leeds on Saturday, to drop to 19th place heading into the winter break
Since the Pozzo family took over Watford a decade ago, Ranieri was the club’s 14th permanent manager appointment. The three-month tenure of the 70-year-old began with a 5-0 loss to Liverpool, though he rebounded with a 5-2 win over Everton a week later.
Watford then went on to lose 1-0 at home to Southampton and Arsenal before beating Manchester United 4-1 at home on November 20, for what was Ranieri’s final triumph as Watford manager.
Seven league defeats, one draw with Newcastle, and a 4-1 FA Cup third-round loss to Leicester were among the nine games that followed.
Despite not winning since November 20, Watford has the advantage of having played one game fewer than Newcastle, who are a point and a position ahead of them in 18th place, and two fewer than Norwich, who are two points and two positions ahead of them in 17th place.
Picking up any number of points in these games, as well as results in their remaining matchups against the clubs surrounding them, will be important if Watford is to stay up.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
