Scott Parker

SlowDownDerek said:
So why did he leave?
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Hard to know for sure my own gut feeling is that Eddie wanted a crack at winning the league again but didn't get the assurances he wanted regarding transfers....the board obviously felt the squad was good enough which is why we signed nobody..... but i think we can rule out the new coach theory tbh.....as I said Jones came in when Eddie left.... Woodgate came in when Jones left and Gary O'Neill joined when JT left....these appointments were made out of necessity not design.
 
Supa, Parker and Jones.

Supa represented a threat to Bond when he was manager and was pretty promptly despatched. He is no longer a player but is very much at the heart of the club. Any new manager would want to bring people in that he trusts. That’s where JW was different as he was temporary. Eddie’s time was dependent on trust and loyalty in the same way as the Liverpool dynasty of the 70s and 80s was.

Supa was visible with players on the pitch pre match (those cones don’t place themselves) and I would expect SP will want his own people out there. That would make sense. He will want the whole coaching staff to be on message and not influenced by or comparing with what has gone before. I would see that as essential for any new manager. The last thing this squad needs is any hint of division, they all need to be on board with SP 100% and any historical loyalty can’t be allowed to compromise that.

I don’t know how much of a role Supa has with the players but I would expect it to be minimal or nothing at all. But as an ambassador for the club he is invaluable, the last visible and high profile link with the community. I very much hope he will stay.

Graeme Jones move to Newcastle was not hard to figure. From Gateshead and starting out coaching in the north east with youngsters, that’s where his heart is. He has always been a Newcastle fan and supporter. He has had an impressive career as a coach, much of it with Martinez at club level and also with Belgium. Seeing him as part of the England set up demonstrates his standing within the game.

Luton was his only foray into management and it seems a combination of money and covid ended that. Maybe Bournemouth was a good opportunity and stepping stone to get back into the game but when Newcastle came calling it was a no brainer. Maybe his role and future is as a coach rather than manager (I’m not sure what the actual difference is between head coach and manager). He was an excellent person to bring in for us (and we got £250,000 in compensation from Newcastle apparently, so that was a good deal).

He left at the end of January and the writing was already on the wall for JT who was sacked very early in February. So, stay at Bournemouth with the manager/ head coach position uncertain or go to Newcastle? Easy choice. Jones was way out of our league given his track record as a coach.

It would make sense to assume that the club were aware that GJ was about to leave and had JW lined up to replace him. Jones has spoken highly of JW in the past so may have had a role in suggesting him?


Edited to say. I misunderstood, thought the question was why did Jones leave, not why did Eddie leave. Re the latter, there is a string view, backed up by two club sources, that Max wanted Eddie out in January 2020 but that Jeff was instrumental in keeping him. Not sure why Max wanted him gone but I guess there must have been some rumbling deeper issues.
 
Topfarrier said:
Hard to know for sure my own gut feeling is that Eddie wanted a crack at winning the league again but didn't get the assurances he wanted regarding transfers....the board obviously felt the squad was good enough which is why we signed nobody..... but i think we can rule out the new coach theory tbh.....as I said Jones came in when Eddie left.... Woodgate came in when Jones left and Gary O'Neill joined when JT left....these appointments were made out of necessity not design.
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I believe the above is more likely to be one part of the equation over why he left.
 
fred1407 said:
Understand that the board haven’t even had to curtesy to

understand that all through this fiasco these servants to the club did not receive one single phone call to explain what was going on. Very disappointing and again speaks volumes our board
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Not so sure that is all too surprising. If we'd have given people the heads up they'd have been given them the green light to look elsewhere, possibly leaving before a new manager came in, and if the SP approach failed we may have been left with no staff, as well as no manager.

Yes I'd like to think it was handled personably, but I do think we needed to be cut throat to protect the business.
 
Fletch's role over the years has been pretty nebulous and undefined. He's spoken in the past about any and all of:
Scouting
Player liaison, settling new players into the area
Media duties
Community duties
Bibs and cones (and dressing room DJ) on matchday
And a bit of coaching (though less so at these higher levels)

Pretty sure that's why he's been kept, there's enough flexibility on his remit to allow Parker the space to do what he wants whilst keeping Fletch on for other areas. Happy to see it.
 
Topfarrier said:
Hard to know for sure my own gut feeling is that Eddie wanted a crack at winning the league again but didn't get the assurances he wanted regarding transfers....the board obviously felt the squad was good enough which is why we signed nobody..... but i think we can rule out the new coach theory tbh.....as I said Jones came in when Eddie left.... Woodgate came in when Jones left and Gary O'Neill joined when JT left....these appointments were made out of necessity not design.
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I completely disagree that the new coach theory can be ruled out. There had been a clamour for new ideas from certain sections of supporters for over two years. They weren't likely to impose on Eddie whilst he was achieving what was asked of him yet he'd just failed so how likely is it that they'd continue to let him continue with everything his own way?

What transfers do you think Eddie expected? Its well documented on here that we had the best squad in the league as it was. Joking aside we clearly had a decent squad, as good as any manager could expect. If JW nearly got them promoted you'd think EH would have had half a chance.
 
My theory on EH is that the board wanted to go down the 'Head Coach' role (as is the title for Parker) rather than 'Manager' which could be seen as all too consuming, and probably more powerful than the board's palate allowed.

EH, my his own admission, was too much of a control freak and to suddenly water down his role and control could have been the breaking point IMO.
 
Bitzer said:
I won't be too disappointed if Parker starts his process by building the team from the back. As you say people have always moaned that we are too loose defensively. It doesn't mean we can't still play attacking football.
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Attacking football ?
A bit disappointing to see Fulham could only manage to score 9 goals at home in 19 games last season.
 
Da Bomb said:
My theory on EH is that the board wanted to go down the 'Head Coach' role (as is the title for Parker) rather than 'Manager' which could be seen as all too consuming, and probably more powerful than the board's palate allowed.

EH, my his own admission, was too much of a control freak and to suddenly water down his role and control could have been the breaking point IMO.
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I think this is probably most accurate. Board want to restructure the 1st team mgmt setup, with Howe still being the main man as head coach, but obviously this didn;t appeal to Howe.
 
fritter said:
Supa, Parker and Jones.

Supa represented a threat to Bond when he was manager and was pretty promptly despatched. He is no longer a player but is very much at the heart of the club. Any new manager would want to bring people in that he trusts. That’s where JW was different as he was temporary. Eddie’s time was dependent on trust and loyalty in the same way as the Liverpool dynasty of the 70s and 80s was.

Supa was visible with players on the pitch pre match (those cones don’t place themselves) and I would expect SP will want his own people out there. That would make sense. He will want the whole coaching staff to be on message and not influenced by or comparing with what has gone before. I would see that as essential for any new manager. The last thing this squad needs is any hint of division, they all need to be on board with SP 100% and any historical loyalty can’t be allowed to compromise that.

I don’t know how much of a role Supa has with the players but I would expect it to be minimal or nothing at all. But as an ambassador for the club he is invaluable, the last visible and high profile link with the community. I very much hope he will stay.

Graeme Jones move to Newcastle was not hard to figure. From Gateshead and starting out coaching in the north east with youngsters, that’s where his heart is. He has always been a Newcastle fan and supporter. He has had an impressive career as a coach, much of it with Martinez at club level and also with Belgium. Seeing him as part of the England set up demonstrates his standing within the game.

Luton was his only foray into management and it seems a combination of money and covid ended that. Maybe Bournemouth was a good opportunity and stepping stone to get back into the game but when Newcastle came calling it was a no brainer. Maybe his role and future is as a coach rather than manager (I’m not sure what the actual difference is between head coach and manager). He was an excellent person to bring in for us (and we got £250,000 in compensation from Newcastle apparently, so that was a good deal).

He left at the end of January and the writing was already on the wall for JT who was sacked very early in February. So, stay at Bournemouth with the manager/ head coach position uncertain or go to Newcastle? Easy choice. Jones was way out of our league given his track record as a coach.

It would make sense to assume that the club were aware that GJ was about to leave and had JW lined up to replace him. Jones has spoken highly of JW in the past so may have had a role in suggesting him?


Edited to say. I misunderstood, thought the question was why did Jones leave, not why did Eddie leave. Re the latter, there is a string view, backed up by two club sources, that Max wanted Eddie out in January 2020 but that Jeff was instrumental in keeping him. Not sure why Max wanted him gone but I guess there must have been some rumbling deeper issues.
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Following our "performance" at Selhurst Park late in 2019, I can totally understand why Max might have wanted Eddie out early in 2020. I think most of the away support that night felt the same way.
 
Bourne Mouthy said:
Following our "performance" at Selhurst Park late in 2019, I can totally understand why Max might have wanted Eddie out early in 2020. I think most of the away support that night felt the same way.
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wouldn't surprise me if people higher up were split over keeping Howe on as long as he did in the end.

board were happy to accept him leaving in the end, reports indicated he was interested in staying before the meetings that week. If they truely wanted him to remain, they would have worked something out.
 
MB1980 said:
wouldn't surprise me if people higher up were split over keeping Howe on as long as he did in the end.

board were happy to accept him leaving in the end, reports indicated he was interested in staying before the meetings that week. If they truely wanted him to remain, they would have worked something out.
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..think Eddie was just burnt out by the end and ran out of ideas which subsequently got us relegated...that AND having no fans in Dean Court probably..he had given so much of his life and soul to the club something I will always admire him for...indeed one wonders if the experience of failing with us (if failing is in reality what it was?) tore him apart and hence he hasn't wanted to rush back into management...
 
Garbo said:
..think Eddie was just burnt out by the end and ran out of ideas which subsequently got us relegated...that AND having no fans in Dean Court probably..he had given so much of his life and soul to the club something I will always admire him for...indeed one wonders if the experience of failing with us (if failing is in reality what it was?) tore him apart and hence he hasn't wanted to rush back into management...
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Yeah, I also think he's a very deep thinker. Look how long it took for him with the dealings at Celtic. He spoke to Burnley well over a month before he eventually went there. I don;t think theres many jobs around (at least at present) that would be a good fit for him. Part the reason he's taken so long out. I think he's extremely particular around certain criteria needing to be met.
 
I don't believe it was ALL down to Eddies skills...obviously some of it...but it was a good mix of players..with several 'leaders' and 'characters' among them.. Elphick...Arter...Kermorgant...Francis...Pugh..Pitman, Daniels and Francis for examples...all gelling together in a potent and very positive force.
Parker doesnt give me the impression from the way of his talking, that this bunch of players will rally around him..he seems a bit sort of shy....but I could be reading him wrong! He looks away from the interviewer most of the time. at the floor - not a good sign. We probably need an arrogant b@stard like Clough to get this club /team moving.

There needs to be a massive cull of players for a start...and reliable types to replace them....this will take a couple of seasons for Parker to get above mid table as I see it.
 
MB1980 said:
I think this is probably most accurate. Board want to restructure the 1st team mgmt setup, with Howe still being the main man as head coach, but obviously this didn;t appeal to Howe.
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If that's the case why have the board appointed Parker?..... it's well documented that he wanted to get away from that type of set up.
 
MB1980 said:
Yeah, I also think he's a very deep thinker. Look how long it took for him with the dealings at Celtic. He spoke to Burnley well over a month before he eventually went there. I don;t think theres many jobs around (at least at present) that would be a good fit for him. Part the reason he's taken so long out. I think he's extremely particular around certain criteria needing to be met.
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What's the likelihood of Eddie getting the Fulham job - then meeting us in the play-off final. That would be bizarre, with both clubs being managed by their ex-managers!
 
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