Stats: Comparing Phil Parkinson to Gary Megson, to Owen Coyle, to Neil Lennon and to Dougie Freedman

Phil Parkinson has LEFT Bolton Wanderers.

This may come as a huge shock to you, but it’s true.

This is yet another Phil Parkinson post, by the way, in case you didn’t realise. Parkinson’s departure has seen some very bizarre posts from the honest and heartfelt to the flip-flopping from those who have spent the last two years being super critical of the man’s tactics.

In charge for a shade over three years, Parkinson took charge of 157 games as manager of the club - the longest serving since Sam Allardyce left the club in April 2007.

Being the fifth manager since Big Sam moved on, how does Parkinson compare to his immediate predecessors? Note that I have discounted Sammy Lee from this list. The candidates in the race are Gary Megson, Owen Coyle, Dougie Freedman and Neil Lennon. Interestingly, only one of this motley crue is gainfully employed as a football manager, with Lennon being back in the Celtic hot seat, for some reason.

Despite being in charge of the club for 30 games longer than any of the others, Parkinson doesn’t have the best win ratio of the lot:

PARKINSON - 31.21%

MEGSON - 27.27%

COYLE - 33.33

FREEDMAN - 33.66%

LENNON - 22.5%

In terms of wins, Parkinson leads the way:

PARKINSON - 49 wins (157 games)

MEGSON - 27 wins (99 games)

COYLE - 42 wins (126 games)

FREEDMAN - 34 wins (101 games)

LENNON - 18 wins (80 games)

Not brilliant all round, wouldn’t you say?

Given credit for being a wonderful person, Parkinson has, so far, avoided most of the criticism for his shocking record in charge of the club - but isn’t it interesting to see the numbers behind the games?

A familiar stick to beat Parkinson with has been his apparent reliance on defensive football, sacrificing an attacking spirit in order to play to his team’s strengths, so let’s look at how many games have been drawn and lost per manager:

PARKINSON - 34 draws, 74 defeats

MEGSON - 27/45

COYLE - 24/60

FREEDMAN - 33/34

LENNON - 26/36

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Parkinson leads the way in terms of draws and defeats. This is a slightly unfair statistic to judge him on given he has been there longer than the rest but I’m sure that it will fit one agenda or another.

So where do you think Parkinson ranks in the hierarchy of Bolton bosses in recent years? Do the numbers lie? Is Parkinson the best we’ve had since Allardyce left?

Let us know your thoughts.