Scott Parker did a fine job at Bournemouth last term, guiding the club to promotion to the Premier League in his first year in charge. However, he was sacked just four games into the new season. Bournemouth has struggled since and is staring relegation in the face. Did the club make a mistake sacking Parker back in August?
Bournemouth Could Suffer Instant Relegation
Bournemouth has had a tough time on their Premier League return so far. The Dorset club is in a relegation scrap and could suffer an instant return to the EFL Championship. For those looking for a sportsbook bet on relegation, you can get -300 for Bournemouth to drop down to the second tier. Southampton is priced at -250, while Everton is available at +100.
Gary O’Neil’s appointment as caretaker manager back in August coincided with a six-game unbeaten run that saw them rise up the table, but that ended in October, and between then and the beginning of March the Cherries only won twice. Relegation looks almost certain unless they can go on a miraculous run in the latter stages of the season as a number of January arrivals have been unable to stop their downward spiral.
Parker Takes Cherries Up
Parker got Fulham promoted to the Premier League during his time at Craven Cottage, and he had a great year in the Championship with Bournemouth last season. The Cherries missed out on the top spot to rampant Fulham, but they secured second place to seal automatic promotion to the Premier League. Bournemouth was consistent all season, picking up 25 wins, drawing 13 times, and suffering just eight defeats. They racked up an impressive 88 points and finished just two points behind the Cottagers.
In the weeks leading up to the 2022-23 season, Bournemouth was relatively quiet in the transfer market, and Parker was very vocal about that. There seemed to be tension between the manager and the board, which worsened due to Bournemouth’s bad start on the field.
They claimed a superb win over Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the 2022-23 Premier League season, with Jefferson Lerma and Kieffer Moore netting in a 2-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium. However, Bournemouth went on to lose 4-0 at Manchester City and 3-0 at home to Arsenal. On matchday four, the Cherries were thumped 9-0 at Liverpool, which proved to be Parker’s final game in charge.
Despite Bournemouth facing three big hitters and taking three points, Parker was relieved of his duties after just four league matches. Shortly after his dismissal, Gary O’Neil was put in caretaker charge before being appointed permanent boss in November.
Parker said goodbye to English soccer and took charge of Club Brugge in Belgium in December. However, he has had a mixed bag of results during his three months in charge, and the pressure is mounting on the Englishman after several bad results.
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Related: Onyedika’s Coach At Club Brugge Parker Sacked
What Next for Bournemouth & Parker?
Parker did superbly well to take Bournemouth up, and not backing him in the transfer market could turn out to be a big mistake by the Cherries board. Bournemouth dropped to the foot of the Premier League table after the gut-wrenching loss to Arsenal at the start of March.
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Parker has had a tough time in Belgium, and we could see him back in the Premier League in the not-so-distant future. As for Bournemouth, they are likely to be a Championship club next season if the results do not improve.
