Claudio Ranieri met with his Fulham bosses on Thursday and the Cottagers relieved him of his duties, setting up the London club for a three-manager Premier League relegation season.
Again. Woof.
[ MORE: PL relegation picture in focus ]
Ranieri took over for Slavisa Jokanovic in November, with the club mired in last place via five points in 12 matches.
The former Leicester City and Chelsea boss has overseen 16 matches, with Fulham acquiring a further 12 points.
Scott Parker will serve as caretaker manager, and Fulham did not put too much blame on Ranieri. From FulhamFC.com:
Fulham fans sing "you don't know what you're doing!" at Claudio Ranieri. Then hold a banner up criticizing Tony Khan.
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) February 27, 2019
The Cottagers sit 10 points back of 17th place Southampton despite splashing big summer money on Aleksandar Mitrovic, Jean Michael Seri, Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa, and Andre Schurrle amongst others.
They were a sexy pick to compete for a Europa League place but have instead wallowed in the relegation zone all season.
Is that on Ranieri? His resume suggested him as an ideal candidate to quickly bring a new team together, but it hasn’t happened and the side continues to ship goal after goal.
That seems likely to be down to players more than system, but here we sit with Jokanovic-Ranieri-Parker ready to be the new Jol-Meulensteen-Magath.
Claudio Ranieri: “The disappointment is very high... Always in my career I’m used to working hard. Until it is mathematically impossible I continued to fight it.” #FFC #SOUFUL pic.twitter.com/AylSExRxAD
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) February 27, 2019
