We are about to enter a crucially important phase in the Shahid Khan era at Fulham. The decision about who you want in charge of your football team is likely the most important decision to be made for any owner, particularly when the club is in a fragile position. It’s like surgery to me. Everything has to be done carefully and concisely, yet each move has to also be made with complete confidence and any mistake can be catastrophic.
For me the fatal move this season was replacing Slavisa Jokanovic with Claudio Ranieri. While I think that Slav’s days were numbered, I would rather have stuck with him than have Ranieri at the helm, purely because of just how different the footballing philosophies were of the two men. There are a heck of a lot of ‘ifs and buts’ when it comes to life in general, never mind football, and sometimes we are better just getting on with it than going down the rabbit-hole and trying to dissect every decision ever made. That’s not to say that those in charge shouldn’t be assessing, evaluating and learning, but as fans we shouldn’t worry too much about what is behind, and instead focus on the road to come.
The question now for Khan is who is his man to take the club forward following our terrible Premier League return. Arguably Khan’s only successful appointment has been Jokanovic, with Rene Meulensteen, Felix Magath, Kit Symons and Claudio Ranieri all failing to live up to expectations, some drastically worse than others. However, with five years now under his belt as the owner of Fulham I believe that lessons have been learned from each of these.
In classically Fulham fashion, we have turned in three very solid displays since our relegation at Watford at the start of the month, and have won three on the bounce with three clean sheets. When Scott Parker took over he had Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City in his first four games so losing his first four was hardly a surprise. We did get a decent reaction from the players, however, and weren’t far off taking points from the Chelsea and Liverpool games in particular. Parker has clearly had an impact.
Scott Parker understands Fulham. He knows what it is like to play for the club, and this is something that can’t be underestimated. There is no doubt in my mind that he has the heart for this job. The question for me now is does he have the head for it? We have been better since he took over, and three wins in a row is a barely believable but I feel that he got things wrong at both Leicester and Watford. I think he was outmanaged in both of those games which is a worry for me. He is still developing his own way of playing but the early signs are that he prefers a style more Jokanovic than Ranieri, something that I’d welcome at the club. My fear is that the games that we have won, not taking anything way from them individually, have been games played with no pressure. Already relegated, we have been playing for pride and while it’s great to see pride restored to an extent, it’s a different ball game entirely getting results in the Championship.
It could work, but it’s not a decision to be taken lightly. Parker is turning a lot of heads and making a lot more fans believe in him. Clearly the players like playing for him, but we have no idea what the squad will look like come August. All we can do as fans is sit and wait.
#COYW
For me there is absolutely no room for any more poor judgement calls as regards the next Fulham manager or player recruitment going into next season. I believe it’s not the appointment of SP as caretaker that has brought about the all to late improvement on the field of play. This has more to do with the reappointment of Stuart Gray as a 1st team coach. A highly respected coach within the game. Get the manager appointment right, get player recruitment right this summer & we might stand a chance of securing promotion back to the PL come May 2020.
We have improved under Scott.He is surrounded by good men and he should be given the chance to lead us forward.Mistakes have been made.Now is the time to learn from them not dwell on them
Interesting analysis. Despite the concern that Scott maybe perceived as inexperienced and too close to the players following his time as a player, I would favour his appointment as Player Coach but with a senior more experienced Director of Football to work alongside. The latter would have greater knowledge of the overseas player opportunities and front up to Tony Khan and his interventions. Importantly this latter appointment would report directly to the Chairman with only a dotted line to Tony Khan. Who this person might be is more difficult but it has to be someone with recognised stature across the worldwide football world as well as the UK soccer scene. If the money was right and the reporting lines clear cut, would someone like Wenger be an option. Or there must be others. What is clear is that we can never be a serious Premiership club unless we appoint a heavyweight proven operator who can work with and add to Scott Parker’s undoubted long term potential.
Scotty could work in the championship with Stuart Gray al-la Lampard at Derby, But with a lot of out of work championship managers available it going to be a big call to appoint him.
The guy Scott brought in from spurs is also a good coach and results have improved dramatically since he joined.
Get Slav. back withScott for a season. Great football style and fantastic experience for scott
Get Slav. back with Scott. Excellent football guaranteed and fantastic experience for scott.
I believe we made mistake in firing Jokanovic, in his last 2 season he improves our squad and result in second half, I know Premier league is different ball game, but we should have stick with him till December. regarding Gray, he was missing piece in our Premier league and who had taken the decision to replace him was big mistake….I would like this squad to be retain for next season with seri, auguissa and sess has to show their love for our club, apart from Mitro and Chambers( whom we should sign for next season) and second half babel nobody put 100% this season.
Scott Parker is the best placed man for the job. It would be great to have some consistency at the club for a change. The Board will have learnt much from this season. There is obviously going to be a huge clear out of players, and SP knows more than any incoming Manager the quality and personality of the existing squad; he also knows the young up and coming players, and can plan for them to fill certain positions in the near future. TheBoard must have learnt so much from this difficult season: that football is not a computer game, but is about building a living breathing team, with personalities that need to fit together. Alex Fergusson knew that that was vitally important, and would often take time with player’s families, to make sure they were going to fit into the team before signing them.
One of the best loan signings was Ryan Babel, which has shown that getting experience players works.
.One of the reasons we had so many problems this season was that the promotion side was broken up, too many loan players having to return to their clubs, I hope that the short term fix will end. New players must be signed before training restarts, to give everyone time to prepare for the new season.
Scott Parker, has proved that he can get results; he knows the player, both senior and youth teams, and they like working with him; he knows what type of players will be needed for the future; he knows the Club, and how it works. He would be an excellent choice to be the next full
time manager. He needs the Board to give him backing, they need to listen to him, and give him time to plan for the promotion challenge.
Scott Parker is an obvious choice when you hear the names of Steve Clarke and Neil Lennon being banded about. He has the respect of players and there is more chance of some of them staying if he is giving the managers job. No matter who is manager the board need to revise there transfer strategy and let the manager have more input.If we had a decent right back then we might have been closer to avoiding relegation. Next season right back is essential as is another full back who could play on either flak. Another centra defender who can defend high balls and crosses and an additional striker. Dwight Gayle sounds good.Less unknown foreign imports and more player who understand the English leagues
I hope they will swallow their pride and invite Jokanovic back.
I support the appointment of Scott Parker as first team coach but with an experienced Director of Football to shield him from the pressures and proven inexperience of Tony Khan. This person would report directly to the Chairman with only a dotted line to his son. Stability has to be name of the game. This heavy weight appointment would need to have proven international experience but with no aspiration to hands on management. Not sure who this person would be but Arsene Wenger would be a possibility and of course the money would have to be right. But if the goal is to be a fully established premiership team then the Khans need to make this sort of investment. Clearly I am not advocating Ranieri for this role!
Derek is right about Stuart Gray. But if it was Scott Parker who asked for his return then it shows good judgement and a level of humility that is a trait of good management. I also understand that Scott paid the fines of two junior players when he felt that they had been hard done by under a previous manager. A decent man? He seems to be well respected by the players. We have a better chance of holding on to key players if he stays. Give him the job.