Fulham replace Claudio Ranieri with caretaker boss Scott Parker
by Jack Kitson / 28 February 2019, 17:56TweetFulham have sacked Claudio Ranieri and replaced the former Premier League winning manager with first team coach Scott Parker who takes over on a caretaker basis until the end of the season.The decision came less than 24 hours after Fulham suffered a damaging defeat to relegation rivals Southampton at St Mary's, a result which left the Cottages a sizeable 10 points adrift of safety with only 10 games left to play.
Ranieri, who oversaw just 17 league and cup matches spanning 106 days, is the sixth Premier League managerial casualty of the campaign, and Fulham's second after the club axed Slavisa Jokanovic in November.
In fact, this is the fourth successive season in which a top-flight club has axed TWO managers, as Fulham follow in the footsteps of West Brom, Swansea, and Fulham.
In a statement Chairman Shahid Khan said:
“I am asking Scott Parker to serve as our Caretaker Manager. Scott’s immediate assignment is merely to help us stabilize, grow and rediscover ourselves as a football club.
"If Scott can answer that challenge, and our players respond to the opportunity, perhaps victories will follow in the months ahead.
“What’s most important at this moment, however, is to regroup in a smart and deliberate manner that will serve our long-term vision for sustainable success. If we’re able to do that and win some matches to make a stand late in the season, all the better.”
Can Parker do the impossible and save Fulham from the dreaded drop?
Extremely unlikely, given the staggering 10 point gap, but if you fancy a flutter they are priced at 25/1 to conjure up the Great Escape.
Parker's first match in charge is a tasty West London derby against Chelsea, followed by a trip to Brendan Rodgers' Fulham, Liverpool away, then Man City at home. Yikes.
Claudio Ranieri HATES this time of the season...
— The Sack Race (@thesackrace) February 28, 2019
- Atletico Madrid: Resigned, MAR 2000
- Valencia: Sacked, FEB 2005
- Roma: Resigned, FEB 2011
- Inter Milan: Sacked, MAR 2012
- Leicester: Sacked, FEB 2017
- Fulham: Sacked, FEB 2019#FFC
