Opinion: Scott Parker's Burnley departure felt inevitable, but it's still sad to see him go

Scott Parker’s departure has been on the cards for a while, in fact some will argue it’s come far too late, but confirmation of the club’s relegation last week proved to be the final death knell.

Off the back of that 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, Parker held talks with the board this week where it was mutually agreed a parting of the ways would be beneficial for all involved.

That feels like the most sensible course of action, it has to be said. The growing toxicity between Parker and the fanbase has felt unsustainable for a number of months, if we’re being honest.

While the 45-year-old is a Championship promotion specialist, winning three promotions from three attempts, all it would have taken was a slow start to next season and the knives would have been out straight away.

A large section of the fanbase had made up their mind a long time ago and you never saw a realistic way for him to win them over. If we’re being brutally honest, many fans weren’t even having him last year.

Once the fans have turned, it’s very hard – virtually impossible you could say – to get them back.

Parker admitted as much himself when I asked him this very question last week.

“I think that's the biggest challenge,” he conceded in the build up to the Man City game.

“Let's be honest in terms of my relationship, I get that there is a huge challenge there for me in terms of that and the bottom line is really, in terms of how I get them back, is by winning. That's just really it.”

Writing was on the wall

The problem is, wins have been too hard to come by this season. There’s been just four of them from 34 games.

We had to endure a seven-game losing streak just before Christmas, soon replaced by no win in 16. The writing has been on the wall since then.

Even now, the Clarets have won just one of their last 25 league games. Typically, you just don’t survive those types of runs.

But it’s still sad to see him go. After all, this is a man that was putting the finishing touches to that incredible 100-point Championship promotion only 12 months ago.

While Burnley have been spoiled in the second tier in recent times, it’s important to remember those types of season aren’t normal. Especially not with the numbers and statistics Parker was able to oversee.

To do it off the back of what he inherited too, arriving to a squad of players that didn’t really want to be here, and what followed during the final few weeks of that chaotic summer transfer window, makes that achievement all the more impressive and noteworthy.

Not only that, he’s just a real, honest, classy guy. A proper principled family man.

Of my 10 years working in this profession, he’s by far the best I’ve dealt with in terms of answering the tough questions, fronting up when needed while being respectful and appreciative of the fact it’s the journalist’s job to interrogate and quiz, as long as you do so in a fair and balanced manner. Others ought to take note.

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At times though it almost felt cruel on Parker to keep him in post. While he will take the ultimate responsibility for this season’s failings, he’s not the only one to blame. And yet he was the one front and centre taking the bullets every time, while others remained out of the limelight.

The uncomfortable truth is, could any manager have kept this squad of players up? I have my doubts.

Last summer’s recruitment, said with hindsight of course, simply wasn’t up to scratch, leaving Parker to plough on with one hand tied behind his back.

Could he have done better? Of course he could, 20 points from 34 games is a poor return and many expected better, even if relegation was still highly likely.

A 15 per cent Premier League win ratio across his spells with Burnley, Fulham and Bournemouth will only continue to haunt him too.

But I’m sure, personally at least, Parker will be rueing a huge missed opportunity to put that particular narrative to bed, but the support and backup just wasn’t there.

Emotional

For much of the season, particularly these last few months where it’s been rocky with the fans, I’ve been reminded of a quote from Parker himself from last season.

In the midst of the promotion battle with Leeds and Sheffield United, I asked Parker about Chris Wilder’s public outbursts in the media.

Parker replied, in a calm and definitive manner, how it is usually those who are able to keep their heads and keep their emotions at bay that are able to come out on top – and so it proved.

Whereas this season, Parker has often struggled to keep his emotions in check, particularly in his pre-match press conferences. That’s not a stick to beat him with by the way, he should be applauded for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, but it highlights the contrast from only a year or so ago.

Parker deserves the best wishes from everyone of a Claret persuasion. Perhaps his spell continued too long, but that’s not his fault, that’s on the board. But he’s a man that genuinely cared and did his best by the club. In some respects, he deserved better.

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