Moussa Sissoko sends Tom Cleverley message at Plymouth Argyle after Watford sack
Watford midfielder Moussa Sissoko has sent a message to former Hornets boss Tom Cleverley following his appointment as Plymouth Argyle’s new head-coach.
Sissoko and Cleverley were initially teammates at Watford, and played together throughout the 2021/22 campaign as the Hornets were relegated from the Premier League in 19th place.
The former French international soon left the club to join Nantes, while Cleverley retired from playing a year later, but they returned to working together last summer as Sissoko rejoined Watford on a two-year deal following his former teammate’s permanent appointment as manager of the Vicarage Road side in April 2024.
Cleverley led the Hornets to a respectable 14th-placed finish last season, in what was his first full campaign in management, but he was sacked by owner Gino Pozzo last month to the dismay of the majority of supporters.
It has not taken the 35-year-old long to return to the game, however, and he was confirmed as the new Pilgrims boss on 13 June after Football Insider had revealed that Cleverley was in advanced talks with Plymouth to become their new man in the Home Park dugout to lead them to League One promotion.
Moussa Sissoko sends ‘good luck’ message to Cleverley after Plymouth appointment
Watford had some much-needed stability under a manager that knew the club well with Cleverley, and fans’ reactions to his surprise sacking in May were extreme.
The Hornets have moved to replace Cleverley, with Uruguayan head-coach Paulo Pezzolano appointed on 13 May, but Sissoko has now taken to his Instagram story on Wednesday (18 June) to wish his former teammate and boss well, saying: “Good luck my friend” and tagging the new Greens boss into a picture of him at Home Park.
It is clear that the 35-year-old is still held in high regard by many at Vicarage Road, but both parties must now look to move on as they each try to gain promotion out of their respective leagues next season.
Plymouth are plotting a big summer window to return to the Championship as soon as possible
Football Insider verdict
Plymouth’s ambitions to return to the Championship at the first time of asking has been on full show with their appointment of Cleverley, after many had tipped him to stay in second-tier management, while Argyle chief executive Andrew Parkinson insisted he was “highly sought after” [Plymouth Argyle] prior to taking the job at Home Park.
The former England international certainly did not do a bad job at Watford, but his success at Plymouth will be determined by a much different factor to that of the Hornets, with anything other than a genuine challenge for promotion next season likely to be deemed a failure by Pilgrims bosses.
| Games managed | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points-per-game |
| 52 | 19 | 9 | 24 | 1.27 |
Football Insider revealed on Monday (16 June) that Plymouth are plotting a move for Portsmouth striker Christian Saydee, with Wigan Athletic also interested, and that would be a smart signing after he helped Pompey win promotion to the Championship in 2023/24.
Cleverley will have to do without Argyle hero Ryan Hardie next term, after he joined Wrexham earlier this week, but the club have banked around £700,000 [Plymouth Live] from his departure, and so that will likely be used towards new arrivals.
The BBC have also recently reported that former Real Madrid and Wales star Gareth Bale is fronting a US-based consortium’s attempt to take over Plymouth, and so further investment could soon follow in Cleverley’s side, with Argyle looking well-placed to stage a strong attempt at returning to the Championship at the first time of asking.