Claudio Ranieri Out. Scott Parker In.

It’s 2013/14 all over again!

Fulham football club has decided to be on their third manager this season after deciding to relieve Claudio Ranieri of his managerial duties and replace him with assistant Scott Parker.

For Ranieri, this marks the end of an era that only lasted three months while picking up just three wins and 12 points in the table out of 17 games. He was deemed a safe bet by Fulham’s ownership and boardroom to get Fulham out of the relegation places. Instead, they sit 19th in the Premier League with 10 games to go. Along with that, Ranieri was in charge when Fulham were knocked out in disgrace by Oldham Athletic in the Third Round of the FA Cup and when the scandals surrounding Aboubakar Kamara took place.

With Fulham deciding to go for a third manager, this might as well be seen as a failure by their own admission. Stability was demanded in order for the club to stay among the 20 best teams in England and the complete opposite has happened instead. No longer can you blame Slavisa Jokanovic for all this demise. This time, blame has to go towards those higher up for picking the players to sign and for picking the managers who struggle to guide the first team to victory. Oh, should we mention this board is delivering complete distrust towards the supporters for the constant price gouging and poor handling of tickets for home games this season?

It’s not like Ranieri is blameless here whatsoever. His “Tinkerman” nickname shined through in all its true colors to the point where Tom Cairney and Ryan Sessegnon went from future seven figure transfer targets to not even playing their natural positions to not even being a part of the starting XI. Jean-Michael Seri, the crown jewel of the £100 million transfer spending bonanza, has looked a shell of who he was back at Nice without a consistent role. Lastly, there has been complete instability across the backline and in goal all season long as no one has been able to stake claim to a permanent starting position in any of those areas barring maaaaaaaaaaybe Joe Bryan and Alfie “when he’s fit” Mawson, and that’s pushing it if you want to build a Premier League level team through them. Huddersfield may be the one team below this sad lot in the table, but you have to go back to Randy Lerner’s Aston Villa for a more poorly run Premier League football club in recent memory.

Now, about Scott Parker. There’s just no other way to put it other than how on Earth can you ask for any quality manager to do well at a place that has become a poisonous chalice. Whenever any football club hits this nadir, that’s where they are until everything surrounding it is gone. Scott Parker was a quality human being during trying times after the club were previously relegated from the Premier League some five years ago, and his leadership will be necessary in these trying times. But for him to do so as a manager, for the first time in his coaching career no less, is going to be difficult at best and I am in no mood to imagine how it would be at worst. I do wish the former player all the best, because with what lies ahead, he is absolutely going to need it.