Scott Parker leaves Fulham and joins Bournemouth

Scott Parker has left Fulham by mutual consent and become the new manager of Bournemouth on a three-year contract.

The 40-year-old had been in charge at Craven Cottage since February 2019 when he initially became caretaker boss following Claudio Ranieri's departure. His arrival didn't come in time to save Fulham from relegation to the Championship.

Despite heading into the 2019/20 seasons as one of the favourites for automatic promotion, Parker's side struggled throughout much of the season, labouring to a playoff place after the restart in the summer of 2020. They beat west London rivals Brentford in the playoff final to ease the pressure on him.

Fulham played some decent football at times on their return to the top flight, but ultimately couldn't do enough to fight off an immediate relegation back to the Championship, and Parker's future was once again up in the air.

Cottagers chairman Shahid Khan said in a statement: “Through promotion and relegation alike, Scott has always enjoyed my support as our head coach. Scott’s departure does nothing to shake my confidence, however. We will hire a new head coach who is capable of achieving our goal of promotion and will be committed to Fulham and its supporters. And we will field a squad that will respond, compete and win. Onward.”

Parker now joins Bournemouth following the expiration of Jonathan Woodgate's contract. The Cherries finished sixth in the 2020/21 season, failing where Parker succeeded and losing to Brentford in the playoffs.

“I believe this is the perfect fit for both parties,” Parker told Bournemouth's website.

“I’m familiar with Bournemouth because of my relationship with Harry Arter [his brother-in-law]. It’s a football club I know well from watching him over the years.

“The ethos, the reputation, the journey and the challenge here is something that’s very exciting for me and my staff.

“We want to build a team the fans can be proud of and one they feel represents them. We can’t wait to get started.”