If we’ve learned one thing this weekend, it’s that 9-0 defeats aren’t great for a manager’s job prospects. Funny that. While Jack Ross paid the price for Dundee United’s Kyogo Furuhashi-inspired demolition at the hands of Celtic, AFC Bournemouth are also on the looking for a new head coach.
Scott Parker, on Tuesday morning, become the first Premier League boss since Sir Bobby Robson in 2004 to lose his job before the end of August. At least, if there is one positive Cherries fans can take after a damaging couple of days, it’s that there is ample time left in the season to right the many, many wrongs of that Anfield humiliation.
And it’s not as if there is a paucity of high-level tacticians searching for a fresh start either.
Here are five out of work managers Bournemouth could, or should, be considering.
Marco Rose
Do not underestimate the pulling power of the Premier League. Ralph Hasenhuttl took over struggling Southampton following a second-placed Bundesliga finish with RB Leipzig. And Rose, available after leaving Borussia in May, may be tempted to make a similar move, his once-glittering reputation dented after a difficult spell at the Signal Iduna Park.
Rose, unlike Parker and Eddie Howe, would not be a homegrown appointment. But his penchant for fast-paced, forward-thinking football will appeal to the Bournemouth bosses. As would his ability to get the best out of talented, technically-gifted youngsters a la Jordan Zemura and Jaidon Anthony.
“I trust Marco in everything,” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told Sky Deutschland after his compatriot’s trophy-laden spell at Red Bull Salzburg.
“Marco can have any job and could do any job too, he is really the most hyped (coach) of all at the moment, everyone is asking about you.”
Sean Dyche
The first name on many lips as soon as the news of Parker’s sacking filtered through. Dyche, like Rose, finds himself scouring the available vacancies after a shock sacking in the spring. His proven track record in the Premier League – Burnley overachieved on a limited budget for so long – means the gravel-voiced gaffer is almost certain to be right near the top of any preliminary managerial wishlists.
“He’s a good manager,” Bournemouth legend Harry Redknapp tells talkSPORT. “Good guy, top class. If I was going to take somebody, he’d be top of my list.
“I’m a big Bournemouth fan and go every game. Anybody who comes in and keeps them up with that squad will do a miracle. It would be a fantastic achievement.”
Jose Bordalas
A name that will be less familiar to those of you on the South Coast, Bordalas has more in common with Dyche than Parker or Howe. The former Burnley boss would have been proud of the job the tough-as-titanium tactician did at Getafe; turning relegation candidates into a side capable of grinding out the most hard-fought wins with grit, desire and determination. Getafe even secured European qualification under his watch.
Adi Hutter
It’s not really Bournemouth’s style to go for a Roy Hodgson or a Sam Allardyce. 52-year-old Adi Hutter is far more aligned with the club’s policy of recruiting young, hungry talent with a desire for exciting, front-foot football. Another graduate from the Red Bull finishing school, Hutter guided BSC Young Boys to their first Swiss title since the 1980s before going on to do sterling work with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Marcelino Garcia Toral
This pint-sized general of a tactician is a master of the ‘new manager bounce’. And how Bournemouth need that right now. Marcelino took perennial underachievers Valencia from fourth to 12th in his first season in 2017/18, guided Athletic Bilbao to a top-half finish and, inside just 15 months at Villarreal, the Yellow Submarines went from the depths of the second tier to the dizzying heights of the Europa League.
His high-intensity personality could provide the quick jolt of energy Bournemouth need.
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