Former Newcastle United managers Chris Hughton and Sam Allardyce have emerged as two of the front-runners alongside Claude Puel in the race to become the next Watford boss.
Nigel Pearson – another ex-Mag – was surprisingly shown the door with just two games remaining following the Hornet’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham last Friday night.
He took over the reigns earlier on in the campaign, and had appeared to turn their season around as he picked them up while sitting bottom of the table with just one win in 15 games.
Now Watford have made a huge gamble with just two games left, leaving them looking for their FIFTH manager of the season ahead of crucial games against Man City and Arsenal.
While both may be looking for a return to top flight football after long spells without work, Hughton and Allardyce would be better off staying well away from the vacant hot seat, with Watford’s track record in recent years making them the most volatile club in the division when it comes to hiring and firing managers.
Former Southampton and Leicester man Claude Puel is currently the favourite with the bookies, and former Toon midfielder Joey Barton is also an outside bet at 25/1 for his efforts in charge of Fleetwood Town.
Here is the full list of odds, courtesy of BetVictor:
- 6/4 Claude Puel
- 8/1 Sam Allardyce
- 10/1 Chris Hughton
- 10/1 Zlatko Dalic
- 10/1 John Terry
- 10/1 Hayden Mullins
- 12/1 Danny Cowley
- 12/1 Thomas Frank
- 16/1 Steven Gerrard
- 16/1 Alan Pardew
- 20/1 Lee Bowyer
- 20/1 Steve McClaren
- 20/1 Mauricio Pochettino
- 25/1 Rafael Benitez
- 25/1 Joey Barton
- 25/1 Roy Keane
