The stats behind Scott Parker’s time at Bournemouth

Bournemouth have bit the bullet first in the Premier League and have sacked manager Scott Parker after just four games this season.

We’ve taken a look into where things have gone wrong for the Cherries this season and what Parker’s record at Bournemouth looks like. 

 

2021/22 season 

Scott Parker arrived at Bournemouth ahead of their 21/22 campaign in the Championship, after they had finished 6th in the previous season and lost in the playoffs. 

Immediately Parker had to deal with the losses of number one goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and star player Arnaut Danjuma. 

Danjuma was Bournemouth’s top goalscorer throughout the 20/21 campaign as he scored 17 goals and got seven assists. 

From the off, Parker was happy to place trust in several youth players as Bournemouth went about rebuilding their squad. 

Bournemouth had the fifth youngest squad in the Championship last season with an average age of 24.7 years old. 

The likes of Jaidon Anthony, Jordan Zemura, Mark Travers and Gavin Kilkenny were all handed first-team opportunities and they all played their role in Bournemouth’s promotion. 

Scott Parker’s side found themselves second in the table heading into January and he was heavily backed in the January transfer window, to ensure they got over the line. 

Bournemouth brought in the likes of Kieffer Moore, Siriki Dembele, Todd Cantwell, Ethan Laird and Nat Phillips. 

Bournemouth finished the season on 88 points and managed to hang onto their second-placed spot, behind Fulham. 

Scott Parker’s side played a possession-based brand of football, which saw them average 57.1% possession throughout the season. 

They took 12.6 shots per game and scored 74 goals in total, an average of 1.94 per game. 

Despite getting over the line and capping off an impressive season, there were already some doubts about this squad's adaptability to the Premier League.  

Scott Parker already had one relegation on his CV from his time at Fulham as he found out the hard way just how tough the Premier League is for newly promoted sides. 

 

2022/23 season 

Bournemouth started their Premier League campaign well with an opening day victory against Aston Villa. 

In a bid to make them more defensively compact, Parker switched to a back five with Jefferson Lerma dropping into the back line. 

Aston Villa managed just two shots on target against Bournemouth and Jefferson Lerma and Kieffer Moore’s goals were enough to seal the three points. 

After the Villa game, things got tough and quickly for Scott Parker’s side. 

They would then face, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool in their next three Premier League fixtures and this is where the problems begin. 

Bournemouth shipped 16 goals in each of those three matches and they failed to hit the back of the net in any of them. 

Of course, Bournemouth’s Premier League survival was never going to hinge on results against the top six, but some of the underlying statistics were a cause for concern. 

The Cherries have accumulated an xG of just 1.3 across their opening four league fixtures, by far the fewest in the league. 

On top of this, they have averaged an xG against them of 7.4, the second largest in the Premier League, only behind Nottingham Forest. 

As Bournemouth’s statement alluded to though, the sacking of Scott Parker was down to more than the results on the pitch. 

Parker’s post-match comments suggested that he still felt they were short of quality and not at the competitive level he was hoping his squad would be. 

During this transfer window, Bournemouth have brought in five players, with three of those coming in as free transfers. 

It seems as if Parker and the higher-ups at Bournemouth had a different vision for the club and so to part company now and not later was probably wise. 

Bournemouth do find themselves as one of the favourites for relegation as things stand though and they need to get this next appointment spot on.