Watford had an excellent start under interim manager and former club captain Tom Cleverley in their Championship match against Birmingham City.
The 34-year-old was appointed at Vicarage Road until the rest of the season after the Hornets declared they had fired Valerian Ismael following a run of one win in ten league games, which saw them fall behind in the fight for the play-offs.
And the former Manchester United midfielder, who had previously coached Watford’s U18 group, secured a critical three points against a struggling Blues side that is just above the relegation zone heading into the international break.
Sunderland have also struggled for form in recent weeks, going without a win in seven league games. The Black Cats also fired their manager, Michael Beale, but their fortunes have not improved under interim manager Mike Dodds, and they are currently in 12th place, with their chances of making the play-offs all but gone.
However, in an announcement made on Tuesday afternoon, Birmingham confirmed that manager Tony Mowbray would take a formal medical leave of absence until the start of the 2024/25 season, with former boss Gary Rowett placed in interim charge to steady the ship from now until the end of the season, an option that both Sunderland and Watford may consider when planning for next season.
Gary Rowett’s Birmingham City tenure could be Watford and Sunderland audition
The former Millwall manager is back in the Championship dugout after leaving the Lions by mutual consent five months ago, to assist his former club stay in the level next season.
It was the end of the 50-year-old’s four-year time at The Den, during which he had clearly overachieved given the resources at his disposal, having barely missed out on the play-offs in three of his four seasons in command.
With the Blues in a precarious position in the standings, it was no surprise to see a familiar face welcomed back to St. Andrew’s. The club had failed to win any of their six games under the guidance of Mowbray’s assistant, Mark Venus, who took over for the 60-year-old last month after the club announced he needed medical treatment and would have to step away from first-team duties.
The West Midlands club’s leadership felt it essential to make a third managerial change this season, welcoming Rowett back for the final eight games of the season, and given his record in the second tier, it’s easy to see why.
Rowett has averaged a point per game with four different clubs in the division, however his time at Stoke City was far shorter than his other stints in the Championship.
And, with eight games to save the Blues, the powers that be at Vicarage Road and the Stadium of Light may be keeping an eye on the situation and may make a move for the 50-year-old in the summer in the hopes of returning to the Premier League.
However, the opportunity to manage Watford is not without challenges. The managerial merry-go-round in WD18 is not an appealing proposition, considering the lack of job security, with 12 different managers coming and going since the 2019/20 season.
Similar to Wearside, they have gone through six managers in the same era, and with the margin for success so thin, a run of poor performances may send you out the door as quickly as you stepped in.
Beale’s tenure as Sunderland’s permanent manager was the shortest in club history, with one fewer match than Paolo di Canio’s 13 in 2013.
However, Rowett has demonstrated his ability to manage at this level in recent years and may be a viable alternative for Watford to explore ahead of the next season.
Tom Cleverley has eight games to shine
While being thrown into a management role at this point in the season is not ideal, it does allow Cleverley to demonstrate his potential as a manager and a possible alternative for the Hornets to consider in the summer.
Watford demonstrated a clinical edge that had been lacking in recent weeks against Birmingham, capitalising on an error by Emmanuel Aiwu to score the game’s only goal.
The performance was far from comfortable, with Venus’ team outscoring the visitors in practically every area of the game, but the only number that matters is the one on the scoreboard when the referee blows the final whistle.
These eight games will provide Cleverley with valuable experience dealing with a variety of issues as a manager, and they might make or break him despite the fact that he is still in the early stages of his management career.
In recent years, the Hornets have frequently appointed an experienced coach, with Chris Wilder, Slaven Bilic, Roy Hodgson, and Claudio Ranieri all taking the helm at Vicarage Road. However, if Cleverley continues to excel from now until the conclusion of the season, the hierarchy may be obliged to change their strategy in order to achieve more regular results and return to the top flight.
Unfortunately for Dodds, things aren’t going as planned this time around, and Sunderland’s recent dismal form has almost certainly left him out of contention for Beale’s permanent successor. Rowett, on the other hand, has a chance to get his name on the list.
