Bournemouth and Watford - after the ridiculous sacking of Pearson - to join Norwich in the drop

Bobby Moore Paolo Maldini Diego Maradona Javier Zanetti Johan Cruyff Jude Bellingham

WATFORD, Bournemouth and Norwich were promoted to the Premier League together in 2015.

And after the ridiculous sacking of Nigel Pearson (below) at Vicarage Road, I fear they will be returning to the Championship as a trio after Survival Sunday.

I fancy Bournemouth to win at Everton, but it won’t be enough to save them if Aston Villa get a point at West Ham – as I believe they will.

And I can’t see Watford saving their skins by winning at Arsenal after sacking one head coach too many.

To many neutrals, who think they treated Pearson poorly, it will serve them right.

I feel for caretaker Hayden Mullins. He was thrown to the lions with two games to go, against Manchester City and the Gunners, and if the Hornets go down he will have a relegation on his CV, which is unfair.

Up until now, Watford supporters have always backed owner Gino Pozzo when he has made a change.

When people outside the club said they were wrong to get rid of Quique Sanchez Flores, Marco Silva or Javi

Gracia, Watford fans – the best judges, because they know what they have been watching every week – overwhelmingly agreed with Pozzo’s decisions, even if they were brutal. But if they go down, after dumping Pearson with only two games to go, the spell will be broken.

And once a club owner loses the supporters’ trust, things can go downhill rapidly.

In the Pozzo family’s portfolio of continental clubs – Udinese, Granada and Watford – none has ever been relegated on their watch. Struggling Udinese beat Serie A champions-elect Juventus in Italy to reach the brink of safety on Thursday night and now Pozzo needs another minor miracle.

But even if Mullins pulls a rabbit from the hat at Arsenal, Watford’s fate is not in their own hands.

Short memories are all too common in football and if the Hornets are relegated, Pozzo would do well to reflect that they were down and out – seven points adrift of safety – when Pearson arrived.

It’s thanks to him that they even stood a chance of survival and he should have been given the chance to complete the job.

For the best part of five years, Watford have been worthy underdogs, reaching the FA Cup Final and breaking Liverpool’s 44-game unbeaten record in the Premier League, which was the shock result of the season bar none.

But it will be hard to justify Pearson’s treatment at any price if they go down.

And for me, the saddest part is that there will be little sympathy from fans of other clubs if that happens.

JUDE BELLINGHAM is the best player I’ve ever seen at his age, and I’m sure he will be a big hit at Borussia Dortmund. But Birmingham City retiring the No.22 shirt to honour a teenager who played 44 games and scored four goals? Do me a favour! We should be celebrating the export of an exciting prospect to one of Europe’s top clubs instead of scoffing at Birmingham’s gesture – which may have increased the pressure on a 17-year-old boy. I watched Bellingham playing for the Blues’ youth teams when he was 15 or 16, and I walked away from games thinking, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen a talent like him’. As well as ability, he had a fantastic work ethic, and there was also a bit of arrogance about him. And if he makes as much impact at Dortmund (above) as Jadon Sancho, he’s going to be a headline act. It’s not Bellingham’s fault that Birmingham have retired the No.22 shirt. But what’s that all about? If it’s a ‘thank-you’ for generating around £30million of income in the transfer market then dozens of clubs would be doing it. Did Birmingham retire the No.8 shirt when Trevor Francis became the first £1million footballer? No, and thank goodness, because I wouldn’t have been able to wear it when I moved to St Andrew’s! When I saw that Birmingham had retired a jersey, at first I dreamed it might have been in honour of the No.8 who beat World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry to player of the season. Only joking (I think). But when you look at the list of shirts that have been retired down the years, you realise it’s a misplaced gesture: