Watford legend Barnes says club need to put new manager in control

Watford legend John Barnes says the club's players "no longer feel a sense of responsibility" because managers have not been empowered to make big decisions.

Barnes pointed to the examples of Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta, and Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola, as a blueprint for allowing the head coach to spearhead the club.

At Vicarage Road, eight head coaches have been hired and fired since relegation from the Premier League in 2022, with each of the last three campaigns ending in bottom-half Championship finishes.

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The former winger, arguably the club's greatest ever player, believes the Watford's issues are "symptomatic of football as a whole" and says the hierarchy and fans must get behind a manager.

It is understood that Italian coach Alessio Dionisi will take the reins in the coming days.

Barnes told The Watford Observer: "Watford’s issues at the moment are symptomatic of football as a whole.

"When you continue to sack managers, the players no longer feel a sense of responsibility because they know the manager is not empowered to make big decisions, knowing they'll eventually be shown the door.

"It's the same as the situation we've seen at Manchester United and their turnover of managers - Watford are similar.

"They've had good managers, good players and spent money but until they stop blaming managers and make players more accountable and responsible, things won't improve on the field.

John Barnes (Image: Other)

"This is not an issue unique to Watford, they just need to keep the faith with their next appointment. If you look at Arsenal, they have shown faith in Mikel Arteta over many years and are now Premier League champions and Champions League finalists.

"The club can't be stuck in the past and the glory days under Graham Taylor in the '80s. It's similar to how Liverpool eventually enjoyed success – they stopped feeling the pressure to recreate past glories, like Mikel Arteta has also changed the mindset at Arsenal, not comparing his team to Arsene Wenger's Invincibles.

"If you look at Coventry, Frank Lampard is a good manager and you don’t necessarily need to spend millions of pounds to get promotion back to the Premier League.

"Fans need to support the manager, arguably more than they support the players, in the same way that Arsenal fans will back Mikel Arteta over and above any individual player.

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"If the new manager is worried about losing games and the fans' reaction to that, the club is not going to move forward. In that environment, players absolve themselves of responsibility.

"All of the top clubs put their manager in control – whether that be Pep Guardiola at Manchester City or Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. That’s what Watford need to do next."

Barnes played 238 matches for Watford between 1981-87, scoring 64 goals during a period when the Hornets finished second in the top flight in 1982-83 and reached the 1984 FA Cup final.

He revealed he is still in touch with some of his former team-mates from that era but is not involved with the club.

Barnes said: "I'm in a WhatsApp group with Luther Blissett and some of the other old boys and they're well invested in Watford's fortunes and keep me in the loop.

"We speak every week. I'm close to several of the ex-players and do help out with the club where I can.

"I'm not directly involved with the ownership or actively involved in that way, compared to the likes of Luther."

John Barnes was speaking on behalf of Historic Newspapers, home to the world’s largest private newspaper archive and personalised newspaper gifts.