Club BruggeIf everything goes according to plan, Club Brugge will present Scott Parker (42) as the new head coach this weekend. Everything points to the arrival of the Englishman, who led Fulham and Bournemouth to the Premier League.
Unless Club Brugge and Scott Parker do not find each other in the end, the 18-time England international will succeed Carl Hoefkens. With two promotions in his pocket, the Londoner has to get blue and black out of her crisis. The deal is not yet complete, although it is expected that after days of negotiations it will be on Saturday.
LOOK. Carl Hoefkens is no longer Club Brugge’s trainer
Parker may not have been the main candidate on Verhaeghe and Mannaert’s list, but he was highly regarded by the board. The Danish national coach Kasper Hjulmand and Steven Gerrard were at the top, but for various reasons did not respond to Club’s interest. Parker did – the ex-midfielder of Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham and Tottenham, among others, had been unemployed since late August after being fired from Bournemouth. Partly because of the 9-0 defeat to Liverpool after he also lost by big numbers to Man City and Arsenal, but mainly because he had questioned the board and their transfer policy since the start of pre-season. He criticized the policy – Parker felt his team was under-strengthened for the Premier League.
At the beginning of this week, especially after Gerrard, among others, turned out to be absolutely unfeasible, it became increasingly clear that Parker would be the right man. That will soon translate into an agreement, barring surprises. Parker also enjoys interest from Norwich City, but has a clear preference for Club himself. If an agreement is still not reached, the national champion would still have a plan B in hand.
With the expected arrival of Parker, Club not only brings in a valued footballer, he can also present successes as a coach. He brought Fulham back to the Premier League in 2020 and, although after the relegation with the same Fulham, did so again with Bournemouth. After he worked successfully at the top of the Championship twice, he will soon be able to try at the top of the Jupiler Pro League.
As a player, Parker was a permanent fixture for years at successively Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham United, Spurs and Fulham. At the Hammers he was Premier League Player of the Year in 2011, despite the relegation. At Newcastle he succeeded Alan Shearer as captain, while Chelsea paid a whopping £10 million for him. Things that underline that Parker is a personality in English football.
If Club Parker actually stricts what is expected, his first day of work will follow on Monday. The technical staff, who were given the task of preparing the match in Genk, still do not know their fate. It remains to be seen how many assistants Parker himself will bring and what will remain of Hoefkens’ staff.
One search is not the other, or why Club Brugge and the football association see no bones in the double role of Bart Verhaeghe (+)
“Mignolet has obscured a lot”: Degryse about Club’s past year and the next, “which will be important for the image of Mannaert and Verhaeghe” (+)
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.
