Bournemouth Relieves Scott Parker of His Duties as Manager at the Club

Four Premier League matchdays in and already the first manager scalp was claimed with Scott Parker being sacked by Bournemouth following their 9-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

The Cherries board has apparently seen enough from the manager who got them promotion back into the Premier League after two seasons of absence. But the run in England’s top flight has been nothing of the one they enjoyed in the EFL Championship under Parker.

An Opening Day Promise Bournemouth has Long Forgotten

The Premier League opening day was one to remember and gave hope in the early parts of the journey the Cherries endure this term. At the Vitality and with the supporters spurring them on, they beat Aston Villa 2-0 to open their account and collect three points.

Sadly, since the early jubilation, it has only been downhill as the club played the next three and lost as many games. They took on the most in-form team in Arsenal, the previous champions Manchester City, and then a ruthless and unforgiving Liverpool team looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the season. This is one of the reasons one does feel sympathy for the Englishman.

During these three brutal encounters for any side just promoted to the top flight, they scored no goals and conceded a high of 16, the most in the league and six more than the next team who is Leicester City. Added to the misery during these one-sided affairs, at the top end of the pitch, they only managed to get in on goal with 14 shots taken, with as little as four hitting the target.

Their opponents had a field day against them and managed a combined total of 52 shots at goal and 25 shots hitting the target. But thankfully, Scott Parker left them with a parting gift and got them qualification into the third round of the Carabao Cup where they host Everton at the Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth has announced that a search for his successor is already underway and that Gary O’Neil will be in charge until they’ve selected and signed their next manager.

Via Sky Sports:

"Bournemouth were beaten 9-0 at Liverpool on Saturday; Bournemouth co-owner Maxim Demin: “Our search for a new head coach will begin immediately”; Gary O’Neil takes interim charge of the team, assisted by Shaun Cooper and Tommy Elphick; Bournemouth are 16th and host Wolves on Wednesday"

The Questions Asked During This Torrid Time

• Why didn’t he change the team’s approach for any of these games? His last visit to Anfield with Fulham proves that more could have been done to avoid such heavy defeats and try for at least a point;
• Yes, the loss was expected but why weren’t things tightened up at the back to avoid humiliating losses such as the nine-goal defeat and the four-goal defeat?;
• Losing a respectable 1-0 while having the odd chance on the other end could have kept spirits high. What was the game plan for all three games?
• Why wasn’t more work done to help Scott? They only brought in five new players.

What next for Bournemouth?

They will host Wolves on Wednesday evening and it is unlikely that they will find a new boss in the next 24 hours unless the plan of sacking Scott Parker was long in the discussion. The timing of his departure couldn’t be more ill-timed, quite frankly.

There are about 48 hours left before the most important transfer window closes. The new manager will have to come in and will have had little say in their little transfer business completed this summer.

Will There Be Anymore Surprises in the Premier League This Week?

With midweek matches coming this week, there is bound to be some more madness this early in the league campaign. All of Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester City, and Wolves, have underperformed since the first day of EPL action.

They are a few dressing room spats and a couple of bad results away from receiving the same fate as Scott Parker saw this week. The only question is: who will be next to get the boot?