Bournemouth: "Parker's exit has nothing to do with results."

Bournemouth have sacked boss Scott Parker just four games into the season following Saturday’s 9-0 demolition at the hands of Liverpool.

Parker led the Cherries to promotion last season but has been dismissed after 14 months in the job, with the team having won one of their first four Premier League matches.

That victory came on the opening day against Aston Villa, but since then they have also lost 4-0 to Manchester City and 3-0 to Arsenal prior to the drubbing at Anfield.

Parker indicated after the game that he felt the club had not spent enough this summer – paying £22.6m for two players and making three further free transfers.

But Bournemouth’s owner, Maxim Demin, appeared to react to those comments as part of his statement confirming Parker’s sacking.

He claimed: “In order for us to keep progressing as a team and a club as a whole, it is unconditional that we are aligned in our strategy to run the club sustainably.”

So where do Bournemouth fans stand following the departure of a manager who took the them back to the top-flight and are they disappointed to see the back of their boss?

“Am I surprised at the decision? No,” Tom Jordan from Back of the Net tells FansBet.

“Maybe it came a little bit earlier than I’d expected and I think most fans would agree with me there.

“If anything, I think this club has worked on an ethos and a set of values which means everyone has to work together and I don’t think Parker got it one bit.”

🍒 “I’m relieved…”

🫤 “Our ethos, I don’t think Parker got it one bit.”

👎 “The comments he made were appalling.”

❌ “This is nothing to do with the results.”#afcb fan @TomJordan21 from @afcbpodcast shares his thoughts on Scott Parker's sacking… 👋 pic.twitter.com/eaP9YFYBSh

— FansBet (@FansBet) August 30, 2022

Parker joined Bournemouth in June last year, on the very same day that his departure from Fulham had been officially finalised.

The former Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham, Tottenham and Fulham midfielder, who was also capped 18 times for England, left Craven Cottage following their relegation from the Premier League.

That had been his first role in senior management following a successful coaching career, which included stints with Tottenham’s under-18s and as Fulham’s caretaker manager.

He then guided Bournemouth to the Premier League in his first season in charge, but had since suggested that he had been frustrated by the club’s transfer business this summer.

And Tom feels as though his inability to grasp the values set out by the club and its owner, rather than solely the results on the pitch, that led to his downfall on the south coast.

“It’s not been good for the club but it’s nothing to do with results,” he says.

“We’ve played three top teams and been dispatched comfortably and that was to be expected.

“The comments that he made after the Liverpool game were appalling – saying that the players aren’t good enough and we’re under equipped.

“We’ve got something like 11 players with Premier League experience and when we were promoted last time we had three.

“I’ve got to thank Scott Parker for the promotion I guess, yes we had one of the best squads the Championship has seen, but he got the job done.

“However, here at the football club the motto is ‘Together anything is possible,’ but we were anything but together with Parker at the helm and I respect the board and the owner for sticking to those values.”

Gary O’Neil will take interim charge, assisted by Shaun Cooper and Tommy Elphick as Bournemouth host Wolves on Wednesday – a side who sit below them in the Premier League table and are yet to win a game.

But the search for Parker’s permanent replacement has already begun with Sean Dyche the early favourite to become the next Bournemouth manager.

Dyche has been out of management since April, when he was sacked by Burnley at the end of last season.

During his ten-year-spell at the club, Dyche was promoted to the Premier League on two occasions and also guided the Clarets to the Europa League in 2017/18 after a 7th-place finish.

Dyche is renowned for building a strong defensive unit during his time at Burnley and could be the perfect option to tighten the defence at Bournemouth.

“In terms of who we’re going to get in next, I’m really not sure just yet as it’s all happened so quickly,” says Tom.

“I know Sean Dyche has been linked and we’re set up in a way that would probably suit him and he’s used to working on a small budget in the Premier League.

“As long as it’s someone that has those values of the football club at heart then I’m all for it.

“Ultimately, I’m relieved as there was a real distance between the fans and the manager and the board and the players so it was all over the place.”