Scott Parker: just a honeymoon period?

[Milo]

Good win today, and against Everton.

I am interested however in what everyone thinks Parker brings to the team as a manager?

What is his style?


Personally I think it is just good man management and allowing his backroom staff more influence. I am concerned that the "honeymoon effect" might be giving us some false confidence.

However, I do believe if we keep the team next year then they have enough quality to get promoted again and it is indeed mainly just good man management we need to get the most out of them. So therefore he would be a good managerial appointment in that regard.

[Steeeeeeeeeed]

He was just on BBC Final Score, and pretty much said he really wants the job. Certainly seems very enthused and saying the right things, comes across very positive and determined.

[AnOldBrownie]

Agreed.   I'm already Scott Parker in...but

2 clean sheets in a row, two wins against top 12 sides AND the team looks well structured offensively and defensively...

beat Cardiff next week and I don't see why Scott shouldn't be the man leading Fulham into the Championship next season.

Players play for him.  Owners like him.  He can keep his coaching staff who has been getting good play on the pitch.

Come on you Whites!!   Now it's about getting Cardiff relegated along with us.


Wait...you meant Bournemouth...right?

Claudio has proven that experience isn't the sole requirement of becoming a good manager.   Scott Parker could end up becoming Fulham's own version of Eddie Howe.

[gang]

I think a big difference is that we have a defensive coach. Joca didn't listen to him with disastrous consequences.

[Twig]

Agree with Milo in that I don't see a Scotty Parker playing style yet.  But in addition to the two wins, the players acquitted themselves well against Chelsea and other top sides.  Perhaps we could do worse than stick with SP and start planning now for the summer rather than suffer yet more disruption with a new appointment.

[jeffc4golf]

Would be nice to hear some of the parker out critics on here they seem to be a bit absent tonight

[Skatzoffc]

I think a big difference is that we have a defensive coach. Joca didn't listen to him with disastrous consequences.

Agreed.

But Joka didn't have the defensive coach Stuart Gray. He was let go at the start of the season when Parker came in.

[snarks]

You can see SP's style it's more possession based but not like SJ. There is a practicality to the defending, they are not afraid to boot it if necessary. He's turned AFZA into a good player for Fulham, although he is helped by chambers along side him.

[Nero]

Hardly a Honeymoon period when he lost his first 5, He down what over more experienced managers have failed to do notice the defence was the main problem and got a defecse coach in Stuart Gray in to help sort it and seems to have built a bit of team spirt

[General]

I think you have to be extremely careful... notice how results also took a more significant upturn when Stuart Gray came back into the coaching staff. I think he seems like a Ray Lewington type - never really on the front line or given the credit, but gets this club and is happy as a second man to help guide and manage when needs be.

Yes results have improved, but they have improved since we got relegated and I think that is more down to the players shift in attitude and having something to play for. We can all see significant improvements to a man of each player and when Parker first came in, those weren't there as much.

I don't want Fulham to do a Man Utd, where they make a rushed decision when the pressure is off and players have something to play for and make the assumption things will stay the same. I think Parker would stay at the club if we got in a more experienced Manager and someone he could learn off, so why not do things that way? Silly to put all your eggs in one basket.

[BigbadBillyMcKinley]

I'm still not sure to be honest.
Yes, we've won two on the bounce, but that is probably more to do with the players not being under any pressure and playing more relaxed. Scott has been around the team twice now, and both times we have got worse. He doesn't have the experience to get us up, but then on the flip side, how does anyone learn without trying?

[Skatzoffc]

Hardly a Honeymoon period when he lost his first 5, He down what over more experienced managers have failed to do notice the defence was the main problem and got a defecse coach in Stuart Gray in to help sort it and seems to have built a bit of team spirt

But nobody expected much from his first 5 in all honesty, or if they did, they must have been crazy.
lol,
Very tough fixtures

Agree with most on here tho.

Still not sure myself but if it means we can keep some decent players then I'd go for SP and see how he gets on.
No guarantee of success with the people "the management" appoint....

[Statto]

Agree with OP.

This squad was always going to get better (a) as the season progressed and they got to know each other and (b) as others have said, with the pressure off after we were relegated. I attribute our recent wins to those factors more than anything Parker has done.

Also agree with those pointing out, quite rightly, there was nothing impressive about his first 5 games, when it mattered.

With all that said I agree with the OP that if we can keep this team together, all it needs is a safe pair of hands to steer it to promotion next year and Parker, whose USP appears to be man management, may well provide that.

Also agree it's relevant that the majority of the Khans' managerial appointments have been poor, so there's no guarantee that the alternative to Parker will be a half decent manager anyway.

[Steeeeeeeeeed]

He just has to stop calling Harry Redknapp "Dad" :-)

[AnOldBrownie]

I think Parker would stay at the club if we got in a more experienced Manager and someone he could learn off, so why not do things that way? Silly to put all your eggs in one basket.

What do you want him to learn that he hasn't already learned under Slav and Claudio...or with other managers that have coached him when he was a player?

How to not work with his assistant managers?

How to not play defense?

How to alienate players like Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon?

[Andy S]

There is no reason for anyone to decide yet on our manager for next season but if Scot keeps winning he certainly makes a good case for getting the job

[Asotosyios]

Even though I am very happy with the two consecutive wins and clean sheets, I still think we should get a more experienced manager next season. Parker's experience as manager at the end of the season will consist of 10 games and this is a very small sample for us to decide thart we should roll the dice with him. He might prove to be the new Eddie Howe or the new Tim Sherwood and it will be as risky as when we gave the permanent role to Kit Symons after a few good games.

I would like us to get someone with more experience (not necessarily in the Championship or in England), some experience in winning and a reputation for good football. Yes, the Khans have made mistakes when it comes to managerial appointments, but let's not forget they brought Jokanovic too. I would like them to interview Thomas Christiansen, the ex-Leeds manager. He has experience of the Championship and the English football, has won a league title (albeit in Cyprus - also two runner-up finishes), didn't do badly at Leeds and the football was easy on the eye.

[YankeeJim]

If he could just teach Frank that pirouette.....

[Milo]

I noticed Gray was very vocal addressing the players before they came on.. suggesting for me he is being given more a free reign under Parker to mark his influence c.f. under Jokanovic.

Also were the various short corner moves a product of Matt Wells? Seeing as we've not seen them previous? Or you think could be Parker slowly introducing things as he gets his feet under the table?

Also noticed that Sess on the RW under Ranieri was mostly a disaster. Today in the second half he really grew into it?

[F(f)CUK]

In relation to playing styłe, he has got the team running and trying much harder. Been waiting for this all season.