AFC Bournemouth
Highly-decorated coach Scott Parker is regarded as one of the brightest young managers in the country.
Appointed in June 2021, Parker became the 29th permanent manager/head coach of AFC Bournemouth since they joined the Football League in 1923.
He holds the prestigious UEFA Pro Licence – the highest coaching qualification in Europe – and has managed in the Championship and Premier League.
Parker enjoyed a long and distinguished playing career, predominantly as a central midfielder, making 590 appearances for club and country. He captained England and also donned the armband for several of his clubs.
A graduate of the FA’s School of Excellence, he progressed through the youth ranks at Charlton Athletic and made his debut as a 16-year-old in August 1997.
Capped by England at under-16, under-18, under-21 and senior level, Parker was named young player of the year at the Valley in 1998/99.
He made 15 appearances as the Addicks won promotion to the Premier League in 1999/2000 and established himself as a regular in the top flight after returning from a loan spell with Norwich in November 2000.
Voted Charlton’s player of the year in 2002/03, Parker was named PFA young player of the year the following season having joined Chelsea in January 2004.
Prior to moving to Stamford Bridge, he won the first of his 18 senior caps when he replaced Wayne Rooney during a 3-2 defeat by Denmark in a friendly at Old Trafford.
Parker featured 17 times for Chelsea in 2003/04, making four appearances in the Champions League, including both legs of their semi-final defeat by eventual runners-up Monaco.
He played four games in the Premier League as Jose Mourinho’s team were crowned champions before injury robbed him of the chance of lining up in the League Cup semi-finals and final as Chelsea ran out winners after beating Liverpool.
In July 2005, Parker moved to Newcastle and made 26 appearances as they finished seventh in the Premier League, his debut season on Tyneside brought to a premature end when he was struck down by glandular fever in March 2006.
The illness ended his hopes of forcing his way into the England squad for the World Cup finals in Germany.
He succeeded the retired Alan Shearer as Newcastle captain ahead of the 2006/07 season and his club form earned him a recall to the England squad following an absence of more than two years, Parker starting in a 2-0 defeat by Croatia in a European Championship qualifier.
In March 2007, Parker was presented with the UEFA Intertoto Cup plaque, the Magpies having won the trophy in 2006.
Parker signed for West Ham in June 2007 and won a host of individual awards – and another England recall – during his four-year stay with the Hammers.
He was named supporters’ player of the year for three seasons in succession between 2008 and 2011, Premier League player of the month for February 2011 and Football Writers’ Association footballer of the year in 2010/11.
In February 2011, Parker came on as a half-time substitute in England’s 2-1 win against Denmark to become the first player to win his first four caps while playing for four different clubs.
Parker made 129 appearances in all competitions for West Ham before signing for Tottenham Hotspur in August 2011 following the Hammers’ relegation from the top flight the previous season.
He was named Premier League player of the month for November 2011 and England player of the year for 2011 having featured in seven of his country’s nine internationals during the 12 months.
In February 2012, Parker captained England during a 3-2 defeat by the Netherlands at Wembley before he was named in the PFA Premier League team of the year for 2011/12.
He started all four England games in the 2012 European Championship as Roy Hodgson’s team topped their group with wins against Sweden and Ukraine and a draw with France before they were knocked out on penalties by Italy in the quarter-finals.
Parker made his 18th and final appearance for England when he came off the bench during an 8-0 win against San Marino in a World Cup qualifier in March 2013.
He made 50 top-flight appearances as Spurs finished fourth and fifth in his two seasons with the club before joining Fulham in August 2013.
Following Fulham’s relegation to the Championship in 2013/14, Parker made a further 90 league appearances across three seasons for the Cottagers before hanging up his boots in June 2017.
Parker took a number of his coaching badges during his playing days and received the prestigious UEFA Pro Licence in 2016.
During a period out injured in his final season at Fulham, Parker helped then Cottagers head coach Slavisa Jokanovic in a coaching role.
Just days after announcing his playing retirement, Parker was appointed under-18 coach and club ambassador at Tottenham.
A year later, he returned to Fulham as first-team coach under Jokanovic and continued in the role following Claudio Ranieri’s appointment in November 2018.
Parker was installed as caretaker-manager of Fulham when Ranieri departed in February 2019 and presided over three successive wins in the Premier League, his first away victory coming against the Cherries in April 2019.
He was named permanent head coach in May 2019 and guided the Cottagers back to the top flight at the first attempt after overseeing a 2-1 win against Brentford in the Championship play-off final at Wembley in August 2020.
In his first full season in management in the Premier League, Parker received plaudits for Fulham’s style of play under his stewardship.
Sir Alex Ferguson, in an interview with a social media outlet, was asked which young managers he rated highly and said he felt Parker had “done a great job”.
Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles with Manchester United, added: “I’ve watched them a lot and they keep playing their football.
“They don’t change and don’t panic. They keep with the beliefs of their manager and I think that’s a great indication of how good he is.”
The highlight of the season for Parker’s team was beating champions Liverpool at Anfield in March 2021, with Fulham eventually finishing 18th.
