Fulham Manager Scott Parker must be wringing his hands with despair as top World Cup bookmaker Paddy Power hammered another nail into his coffin today. The Irish bookmaker has boldly decided to pay out as cash on all singles and multiples on Fulham to be relegated…with the London club having played only three games so far this season!
After years languishing in the Championship, Fulham returned to the Premier League for the 2018/19 season but failed to stay up. After a further year in the Championship, the team won the play-off final and resumed play in the Premier League just weeks ago. But there is little joy so far for Fulham fans as the Cottagers have experienced three consecutive defeats with a total of 10 goals conceded. The Cottagers’ 3-0 home loss to Aston Villa earlier this week was the last straw for Paddy Power, and the relegation pay out is the bookie’s second-earliest in its trading history.
Fulham’s defence has been woeful this season and football pundit Jamie Carragher (himself a former defender, at Liverpool) was withering in his assessment of the team after the most recent defeat, saying “It was that bad we were actually laughing”. Ouch!
It’s no surprise that the nation’s bookies agree with Carragher. Betway offer odds of 4/11 that Fulham will go down and Paddy Power itself is continuing to take bets on the matter, with odds available of 1/ 4 for bets made after today’s announcement.
Manager Scott Parker may also be considering his position as pressure mounts at Craven Cottage. The former England international played for Fulham for four years in the twilight of his playing career and he is passionate about the club. But Premier League owners are pretty ruthless in dispatching under-performing managers and bookmaker BoyleSports offers odds of 4/1 that Fulham owner Shahid Khan will make Parker the next manager to leave his post.
Fulham fans may wish to stay positive a while longer though; after all, the season has only just begun. They can take heart from Paddy Power’s earliest pay out 11 years ago – on Stoke City. The Potters managed to avoid relegation and Paddy Power was forced to eat humble pie!