Fulhamish Round Table – Claudio Ranieri
Written by Ben Jarman on 1st March 2019
Well, there you have it. It’s finally over; after 106 days, 16 matches and 3 wins the tenure of Claudio Ranieri has come to an end. The team have shared their frustrations on the podcast many times, but here is a summary of our thoughts on Claudio Ranieri’s sacking from across Fulhamish.
Sammy James
The biggest shock of yesterday, was just how long it took for the news of Ranieri’s sacking to be confirmed. Rumours were swirling about from full-time yesterday that it was a matter of when not if.
I look back at Claudio’s time quite simply, he was brought in to save Fulham from relegation and he’s failed. Unlike the mistake made under Felix Magath, the Khan’s have acted swiftly, realising that CR isn’t the man to lead us out the Championship. My hope for Scott Parker is that he galvanises the team, brings the fans a few good moments between now and May, and leaves us well-prepared for a tough season next
Jack Collins
Footballing identities are hard things to build, and genuine starlets with the club in their hearts are even rarer in the modern game. Within 106 days, Claudio managed to all but erode the former, and decimate the confidence of the latter – leaving Fulham rudderless, devoid of the creative spark which we had grown to love; and isolating Ryan Sessegnon to the point where he looked so much a shadow of his former self that there were times where I thought I’d imagined his dazzling season last year.
Read Jack’s full column on Claudio here.
Ben Jarman
Claudio Ranieri is a boom or bust manager, but ultimately his recent record has been hugely inflated by his fairytale success with Leicester. Greece, Nantes, Valencia and now Fulham have felt the ill-effects of Ranieri’s tenure. My genuine frustration with Claudio lies purely with his reluctance to change a system that was clearly detrimental to the players, and even more so to results. His ostracising of Fulham’s key core from last year didn’t help his cause, and ultimately the relationship with the fans never materialised. His first win felt scrappy, fortuitous and eye-watering and nothing changed from there. As much as Ranieri is a nice guy, his failings scream above the noise of quote-churning press conferences and shots aimed at Aboubakar Kamara.
I am please to see Scott Parker given a chance to audition for the role of permanent manager, and hopefully provide Fulham with a Darren Moore like boost at the end of a torrid season. My only concern is that if Fulham do appoint someone new, we will lose him in the fall out. This season is a right off, but Scotty will send us down swinging I am sure.
Farrell Monk
`“Risk-free” is a phrase that will forever haunt the minds of Fulham fans. It was the same way Magath’s ultimately disastrous appointment was viewed by Shahid Khan back in 2014.Under Felix at least the performances did improve, albeit slightly, and positive results appeared to give fans hope. Under Claudio though, the opposite has occurred. It is not just the manner of the defeats, (playing defensive football with an unconvincing defence is incompetent) but coupled with the alienation of fan favourites Sessegnon and Cairney. The club captain’s perplexing replacement on 70 minutes last night turned even the most stable fans to fury. Evidently the “risk-free” option was to stick rather than twist three months ago.
Dom Betts
Claudio Ranieri. One of the eras I wish never happened. Been a disaster from the start. He was just never the right fit for us. It was about time we got rid and got Scott Parker in to hopefully regain some pride for the rest of the season. Hopefully him and Stuart Gray can do that for us. 1 down in Ranieri, and 1 more to go in Tony Khan. Managers will come and go, but we’ll remain constant, Fulham loyal. UTF
Cameron Ramsey
Labelled a “risk-free” appointment after Slavisa Jokanovic’s departure, Claudio Ranieri’s reign was anything but. The eccentric Italian inherited a set-up that was leaking goals however, despite promising a resilient resolution to our porous tendencies, the ‘Tinker Man’s’ pledges were soon uncloaked as farcical falsehoods. Thank you for your typically mystifying pressers, Claudio, but your fast food bribes didn’t fool us. Scotty Parker, we are behind you unconditionally. No more of this Tom Cairney on the touchline nonsense, though.
You can read Cam’s 5 thoughts on the Southampton game here.
George Singer
Sacking Ranieri seems like the correct logical step. Right now, the priority is to start to rebuild our attractive attacking philosophy, bring key personnel back on side, and most importantly bring the feel good factor back to the Cottage. In this regard, Scotty is probably the most suitable option, until a true replacement is recruited in the Summer.
In hindsight, the position was clearly a poisoned chalice, and it’s sad to see the tinkerman lose his legendary status in England. However, his poor tactical choices, depressing style of football and bizarre press conference quotes will not be missed.
AF
Interesting that Shad Khan’s statement doesn’t mention about securing our place in the Premier League. He want’s Scott to ‘stabilize, grow and rediscover ourselves as a football club’ – something we can all agree has been desperately lacking. Looks as if a low pressure environment might benefit all at our club, and maybe most Ryan Sessegnon and Tom Cairney!
FourFourDrew
So there it is. The least surprising dismissal in recent memory. In just five months, Claudio managed to unite the fans – in their dislike of him. He did it through an obvious lack of plan and his strange desire to alienate our two biggest assets – and more importantly fan favourites.
It’s true, our problems this season stem from more than just the manager. But Claudio’s strategy hasn’t helped. The club has become toxic, and it’s up to Scott Parker to stop that particular rot. He’s perhaps not the most inspiring appointment, but much like his functional, World War One solider haircut, he might be just the straightforward guidance we need until May. Up the Fulham.
