Premier League
Bournemouth sack manager Parker after Liverpool thrashing
Bournemouth manager Scott Parker was sacked by the newly-promoted Premier League club on Tuesday, three days after they were thumped 9-0 at Liverpool for their third straight defeat.
The struggling south-coast club are fourth from bottom of the standings with three points from four games.
“I would like to place on record my gratitude to Scott and his team for their efforts during their time with us,” the club’s owner, Maxim Demin, said in statement.
“However, in order for us to keep progressing as a team and a club as a whole, it is unconditional that we are aligned in our strategy to run the club sustainably.”
Bournemouth said their search for a new manager would begin immediately and first team coach Gary O’Neil would take over in the interim. They host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.
Demin’s comments appear to be a response to Parker’s post-match interview at Anfield after their Premier League record-equalling defeat
Parker said he was “not surprised” at the result and that he needed some new signings to strengthen his side, who finished runners-up in the second-tier Championship last season.
“It doesn’t surprise me. This is currently where it is at this moment in time. The players need help. Today proved too big a challenge. The levels were far too big,” the 41-year-old said after Saturday’s defeat.
“We’ve got a decision to make as a club. There will be days like this. Time will tell. It’s a huge disappointment, a real humbling experience.
“We have some days where hopefully we can get some help in and support and help the current team, who came up from the Championship,” he added.
KLOPP SYMPATHETIC
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he felt sympathy for Parker.
“When I heard the news, I realised how important it is in this moment to have the right owners at the club,” Klopp said.
Bournemouth are owned by Russian-born British businessman Demin who in 2019 assumed full ownership of the club after he had acquired an initial stake in 2011.
But under him the club have only signed Marcus Tavernier from Middlesbrough and Marcos Senesi from Feyenoord apart from free agents Ryan Fredericks, Joe Rothwell and Neto this season.
“Some clubs are owned by countries but others have a structure like us and maybe Arsenal,” Klopp said.
“The three teams that have come up (from the second-tier Championship)… Nottingham Forest are spending, Fulham are and I can’t remember Bournemouth doing a lot, which is difficult for a coach. I felt for Scott.”
After winning their opening game of the season at home to Aston Villa, Bournemouth suffered defeats in three successive games but those fixtures came against ‘Big Six’ opponents in Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
While Parker’s sacking, after just 25 days of the league season, was a surprise it was not without precedent.
Paul Sturrock was sacked by Southampton nine days into the 2004-05 campaign while Peter Reid lasted 12 days of the 1993-94 season before parting company with Manchester City.
Newcastle have also hit the eject button quickly on several occasions with Kenny Dalglish (1998), Bobby Robson (2004), Kevin Keegan (2008) and Ruud Gullit (1999) all departing in August.
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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