Claudio Ranieri was sacked by Fulham, following their 2-0 loss at Southampton. The club lost faith in the Italian with this defeat, as Fulham fought a relegation battle, with 10 points off safety having 10 games remaining.
When Ranieri took over the Fulham job from Slavisa Jokanovic three and a half months back in November, they were at the bottom with just five points from 12 games. During his time at St.Mary’s, Fulham collected 12 points from 16 matches. With Ranieri’s departure, Scott Parker, the first team coach will take over as the caretaker charge.
The clubs decision makers concluded that was time for Ranieri to sign off and later the club chairman, Shahid Khan said (h/t The Guardian):
“Claudio Ranieri agreed to my decision that a change was in the best interest of everyone. No surprise to me, Claudio was a perfect gentleman, as always. Be assured he is not solely to blame for the position we are in today.
“Claudio walked into a difficult situation, inheriting a side that gained only one point in its prior eight matches, and he provided an immediate boost by leading our club to nine points in his first eight matches. Though we were unable to maintain that pace thereafter, I am grateful for his effort.”
The club, perhaps, expected Ranieri would resurrect Fulham the same way he did Leicester. This expectation however was not realised. What one needs to understand is that managing teams who are fighting to survive in the league is not something which the Italian excels at. He is more suited to run mid-table teams as long as instant success is not demanded.
On the eve of his departure, Ranieri said (h/t The Guardian):
“I am obviously disappointed with the recent results and that we could not build on the good start we made following my appointment. I would like to thank the club, the players and the fans for the support they have given me.”
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