The Premier League has its first sacked manager. What’s behind Scott Parker’s departure from Bournemouth?

The patience of the management of football clubs is becoming increasingly rare and in every league we see several changes in coaches during the season. Many fans and experts debate at the start of the new season who will be the first unlucky one to be dismissed. The Premier League already knows the answer to this question.

Scott Parker was sacked by Bournemouth management after just 4 rounds of this season’s Premier League season. Only Christian Gross, Kenny Dalglish and Paul Sturrock have survived an earlier sacking in this league.

Prior to Parker’s dismissal, the Cherries had suffered 3 losses in a row during which they failed to score a goal, and on Saturday they even suffered the biggest defeat in Premier League history (shared with Ipswich and Southampton).

Still, Parker’s sacking took most of the footballing public by surprise. After all, his charges had an extremely tough time in the aforementioned games. They faced Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, which would have been a problem for anyone.

Now, however, the club from the south coast of England were facing slightly easier opponents and thanks to the 3 points gained from the opening round against Aston Villa, the fans had hope that under Parker they would add another important point to their collection in the fight for salvation.

But instead of preparing for the next game, Parker may be looking for a new engagement and Bournemouth a new coach. Why did the club’s management resort to such a radical solution after the 4th round?

It is unlikely to have been driven by results or performances against Top 6 opponents who will be challenging for the title this season. The reason may be more likely to be found in the strained relationship between Parker and management of late.

The Cherries didn’t strengthen much in the summer – money was only spent on two players, stopper Marcos Senesi (£13.5m) and midfielder Marcus Tavernier (£12.5m). Then goalkeeper Neto, midfielder Joe Rothwell and right-back Ryan Fredericks came in as free agents.

Compared to the strengthening of the likes of Nottingham Forest or even Fulham, this looks very paltry indeed. And that’s how Parker saw it. And he didn’t hide his displeasure in his post-match interviews.

“It’s not a very surprising result, the quality at this level where we are at the moment is much higher than the quality we have. I feel sorry for the fans and the players, but to be honest, we are not equipped enough to operate in this league.”

It is not always the case that a manager will see the management bring in all the desired reinforcements, but the open criticism towards the management that Parker has shown is very unusual.

After the pre-season game against Real Sociedad, he stated that the squad was not big enough and he had virtually no defenders available. Reportedly, even club owner Maxim Demin subsequently warned Parker to be more moderate in his statements.

According to some football experts, Parker’s comments were the reason for his sacking. To be honest, I was very surprised by his behaviour after games and his comments about the club’s (in)activity in the transfer market,” Sky Sports reporter Mark McAdam told Sky Sports.

“That’s not what Bournemouth is about. For the last 10 years they have been going by the motto ‘Together we can do anything’. This club went from League 4 to the Premier League and stayed there for five years. They’ve done it by sticking together and it doesn’t look like that inside the club at the moment. The opinion of the club and the manager on the transfer window is very different.”

Parker’s comments have also started to affect the mood in the cabin, according to The Athletic website. Compared to last season, when he maintained a good relationship with the players and was committed to everyone, some of the squad began to feel that he was losing confidence in them. Reportedly, he didn’t even communicate much with the players off the pitch.

“In order for us to move in the right direction as a team and as a club, it is imperative that everyone has a unified view of our strategy to run the club in a sustainable manner.”

The strained relations with the management and the bad mood in the cabin seemed to leave no other option but to end the mutual cooperation. Bournemouth’s 0-0 draw with Wolves on Wednesday was led by a member of the coaching staff, Gary O’Neil, who is in charge of the team until Parker’s successor arrives.

Names such as Sean Dyche, Chris Wilder, Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Harry Redknapp are being mentioned in connection with the post. However, this is only speculation for now.

The Cherries next game is on Saturday at Nottingham Forest. Both teams will want to come away with 3 points from this important encounter. Will Bournemouth be looking to win them under a new manager?

Source: Sky Sports, The Athletic