Of all the days to stick the boot in on former West Ham United favourite and Burnley manager Scott Parker, this is arguably not the day to the do it.
What was supposed to be a Manchester City procession turned into something very different, and much more turgid, at a tense Turf Moor. Yes, Pep Guardiola’s side are sitting at the Premier league summit for the first time since losing 2-0 at home to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham in August; a shock result then, an abomination now.
Let’s all laugh at Arsenal, etc.
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But for all of Burnley’s battling spirit – Erling Haaland’s fifth minute goal an unexpectedly early winner – the second relegation of 2025/26 has now officially been confirmed, just 48 hours after West Ham consigned Wolves to the Championship.
Speaking of West Ham United, a dreadful run of one win in 25 Premier League matches surely puts Scott Parker out of contention should the London Stadium hotseat find itself empty again in the relatively near future.
Mark Noble considered Scott Parker for West Ham United job
Seven months ago, before Nuno Espirito Santo replaced Graham Potter, Hammers News were told that Scott Parker was one of the candidates on Mark Noble’s shortlist.
Noble played alongside Parker at Upton Park, of course.
Now, Burnley had only four points to their name from a possible 18 on the day when West Ham gave Potter the boot. But Parker’s stock was looking fairly strong at the time. So much so that a potential return to East London – the recently-departed Karren Brady pushed for Nuno and got her wish – did not seem entirely outlandish.
Parker had recently secured promotion with a third different club; Bournemouth, Fulham and Burnley. Only he, Daniel Farke and Steve Bruce have achieved that.
Furthermore, Burnley marked their top-flight return with a commanding 2-0 win over Sunderland – a result which aged particularly well – a creditable point with Nottingham Forest, and stoppage-time defeats by both Liverpool and Manchester United.
Relegation was always more likely than not, but Burnley looked destined to at least make a good fist of things.
Instead, while Wednesday’s gallant 1-0 loss by Man City was a throwback to those resilient early-season days, one win in 25 matches across a near six-month stretch places Parker firmly in limbo.
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Plenty of footballers have been slapped with the ‘too good for the Championship, not good enough for the Premier League tag’ over the years. See Dwight Gayle, Cameron Jerome, Adam Armstrong, Robert Earnshaw.
If you were to make a hypothetical XI of those players – Gayle and Armstrong leading the line ahead of Tom Ince and Matt Phillips – Scott Parker would surely be the barking instructions from the touchline.
Add in relegation with a highly-talented Fulham side, and his sacking by Bournemouth in the aftermath of a record-equalling 9-0 thrashing by Liverpool, Parker’s Premier League record as a manager reads; 76 games, ten wins, and a dismal win percentage of 7.6 per cent.
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