Bournemouth sack Gary O’Neil despite Premier League survival
By Story Agencies, June 19, 2023Bournemouth have sacked Gary O’Neil despite the head coach keeping the club in the Premier League last season.
O’Neil took over as interim head coach following the sacking of Scott Parker in August and was given an 18-month deal in November.
He picked up 36 points during his time in charge and guided the club to a 15th-place finish in the Premier League, with many believing he was a Manager of the Year candidate.
Bournemouth’s significant targets
Explaining the decision, Bournemouth owner Bill Foley said “we have identified a number of significant targets in the transfer market” and “this change in direction will provide us with the best platform from which to build.
“Gary will go on to have a long career as a head coach or manager, but we feel that, at this moment in time, a change is in the best interests of this football club. I would like to place on record my thanks to Gary and wish him all the best for the future.”
Foley also added, “A new head coach will be announced shortly.”
“This is news that caught me by surprise and the footballing world, particularly after the way Gary O’Neil kept them in the Premier League.
“He went in under difficult circumstances, and went through a few sticky patches, particularly after the World Cup, where things didn’t look good at all.
“But it was from the middle of February onwards when the club was bottom of the Premier League and staring down the barrel of returning to the Championship, that Gary O’Neil somehow managed to turn things around. They went on a brilliant winning run of six wins in nine matches.
“But when you look at the final throes of the season, they lost all four of their final games, and it wasn’t the happy ending to the season that perhaps the fans and the board expected, hence why they’ve decided to make this change.
£75 million project
“They’ll see it as a positive and proactive move for the football club. The new owners at Bournemouth came in November, they have huge, ambitious plans for the stadium, and for the training ground, they invested heavily in January, with £75 million spent.
“They don’t just want to take the club forward off the pitch, they want to take it forward on the pitch, and that means being a Premier League club, not just for another season or two, but for many years to come.
“The club will be looking at this decision and saying, ‘Right if we make this decision now, the new manager will come in, have the whole of pre-season, the whole of the transfer window and by the time the fixtures come in thick and fast at the start of August, he will be up and running and ready to go’.
“A change, say, five games into the season if the club didn’t have the start they were looking for, would have been more damaging than making the change now.