Chris Wilder is in talks with Fulham about succeeding Scott Parker at Craven Cottage, according to various reports this afternoon.
Parker left his job as Fulham boss earlier this week to take over from Jonathan Woodgate at Bournemouth having failed to keep the Whites in the top flight. The former Fulham midfielder saw his contract mutually terminated after a dramatic deterioration in his relationship with the club’s ownership.
Steve Cooper was thought to be Fulham’s first choice to take on the role, but press reports have suggested that the Londoners are not enamoured with the prospect of buying £3m to take the former England youth boss and his backroom staff from Swansea, who has guided to successive Championship play-offs. Wilder has emerged as a potential alternative with the 53 year-old holding initial discussions with leading Fulham figures last night.
Wilder has been out of management since leaving Sheffield United earlier this year with the Blades on the brink of relegation from the top flight. His achievements in lifting his boyhood club from League One to the Premier League in the space of three years were remarkable and, with Fulham placing a premium on Championship experience, the former Oxford and Northampton boss could be a compelling candidate.
It remains to be seen how Wilder, who lost his battle at Bramall Lane for full control of Sheffield United’s recruitment, would adapt to Fulham’s data driven transfer policy, currently overseen by director of football operations Tony Khan.
Lets Hope This Happens . Tony Khan Will Need To Step Back A Bit and Let CW Call the Shots !
Nothing against Chris Wilder but he’s coming into a complete disaster club. Whilst that idiot Tony Khan has all the fingers in all the pies we won’t recruit a Manager with any credentials. Time to go Khan.
Abrasive, strong willed guy who doesn’t suffer fools. Just what is needed to quickly assess and trim the huge squad of overpaid, under achieving misfits that inhabit Motspur Park.
Promotion with Oxford, Northampton and Sheffield United (twice) prove his ability.
A fantastic first season in the Premiership adds to his experience.
It all started to go awry last season and, although he recruited well with Ramsdale, he also came unstuck with Brewster-although I think Brewster will be a good Championship asset in the coming season. Wilder’s demand for full control of transfer dealings at Bramall Lane suggest that, perhaps, the Brewster signing was not entirely down to the manager.
From all the candidates that have been mentioned, with the possible exception of Eddie Howe, Chris Wilder has the right credentials and, if it happens, it looks as though Shahid Khan has made an excellent decision; one that augurs well for our promotion campaign.
First of all thank our lucky stars that Parker gone.
CW will need to be his own boss , that means tony Khan will have to give him control.
No chance. Half the reason he left Sheffield United was because he couldn’t get full control of the transfer policy. There’s no way he’ll be able to work with TK.
I think CW would be great for Fulham. Have to believe they would have thrashed out the TK recruitment approach before he joins.
Sheff Utd played with real spedd and determination, which would be a breath of fresh air.
Punditweb says: “Chris Wilder has generally set up with a three at the back formation, with three aggressive midfielders, two strikers and buccaneering wing-backs, who help provide overloads on either flank, where 70% of Sheffield United’s attacks usually come from.”
Sounds good.
I know that the modern way is to not have the manager in control of transfers but l think that is wrong and judging by some of the current players the club has signed TK’s methology has given us more than a fair share of “not good enoughs”. However as l cannot see TK not being involved it is going to be difficult to get a decent manager.
Doesn’t matter who comes in as coach/ manager they will always fail with Tony Khan pulling all the stings
So please Tony for the sake of our club stand aside letting somebody knows what they are doing
Whoever takes over as Fulham manager will have to deal with Tony Khan’s incompetence and interference. He is the real problem at the club.Please let’s get our incoming and outgoings sorted out by the end of July at the latest. Chris Wilder looks a good choice. The only other name being banded around I consider worthwhile is Bilic. Time will tell.