Scott Parker

[nealmac]

I meant to say this after the England game the other night.

Far be it from me to criticise the England team, but is it just me or is Scott Parker very average? He comes across as not being disciplined enough, shite at reading the game and poor at tracking runners. If you put him up against the likes of Alonso, Mascherano, Lucas (not being biased, I only picked these guys because I know more about them) or to a lesser extent, Essien, Song and even De Jong, you can easily see where his downfall is. I'd also add that he's quite weak at going forward. He reminds me of Matt Holland in many ways. He has that "lazy" streak about him. Even Busquets or De Rossi get forward more than Parker does. I'm not saying he's not a good player (when he's with Spurs or West Ham), but he's certainly not the hero the media make him out to be. Busquets or De Rossi

And apart from all that, the camera fucking loves him, to the point where he's now referred to as "Close Up" during our office Euro 2012 discussions. Count the amount of lingering Scott Parker close ups you get in an average match. You may be surprised.

 

[Modo]

Imo he's one trick pony. He just defends. Doesnt offer anything going forward.
To mention him and Alonso in the same breath is an insult.

 

[hmmmmm1]

He does a lot of that last ditch tackling which is so rated by the English fans.

If he was in the right position he wouldnt to do that and his passing makes momo look like alonso

 

[mark1975]

He's better than Gareth Barry, the only thing he's really been guilty of is trying to do too much and overdoing it in situations where it's been easier to play the easy short pass.

 

[OLD_Lewy]

he's alright, he strengthens through the middle quite well, he just doesnt seem to pick a pass very often but thats why he plays alongside gerrard, probably the best person we have for the job unfortunately

 

[Ryan]

He's better than Gareth Barry, the only thing he's really been guilty of is trying to do too much and overdoing it in situations where it's been easier to play the easy short pass.

He's a different player to Barry. Besides, he's not Mark. Barry was immense for Man City all year, is far FAR better than Parker on the ball, and has actually done it for a top side in his life.

Parker is the typical British midfielder - rubbish on the ball, but he works his cunt off and slides in for a tackle often enough. That gets the crowd excited.

Barry's much better.

 

[gkmacca]

It's not fair to say he 'just defends'. He did a whole lot more than that when he was at Newcastle and West Ham and Spurs. True, under The Hodge he's clearly not encouraged to stray from his position, but neither is Gerrard, and both would offer far more in a more flexible system. (But I don't like Parker either, so I'm not disagreeing much!)

 

[Fox]

he is only there due to injuries to Wilshere and Lampard/Barry

Wilshere and Gerrard will be partnership from now on until Stevie retires then Hendo can take over 😉

Stevie is having a great championship so far, hope he keeps it up

 

[refugee]

Wilshere and Gerrard will be partnership from now on until Stevie retires then Hendo can take over 😉

I very much doubt that. That's way too attacking.

 

[Fox]

I very much doubt that. That's way too attacking.

Stevie is attacking less and less, Wilshere can tackle as well

Remember how well Stevie played with Scholes for england many years ago, similar here

 

[kingjulian]

They need some legs in that midfield to take the play forward in an effective way. Or they have to learn to pass the fuck out of it and move forward as a team....

That's the biggest weakness in this English team. They won't lose by a big margin, but they will struggle to win a game outright. As they get deeper into the tournament, that's not actually a bad situation to be in.....the question is can they get there? Ukraine will be no pushovers.

 

[Mystic]

In my opinion Scott Parker and Jordan Henderson are very similar in ability and style, Scott Parker just has a bit more bite in his tackles.

 

[Delinquent]

In my opinion Scott Parker and Jordan Henderson are very similar in ability and style, Scott Parker just has a bit more bite in his tackles.

 

[juniormember]

In my opinion Scott Parker and Jordan Henderson are very similar in ability and style, Scott Parker just has a bit more bite in his tackles.

😱

 

[Fabio]

He's a different player to Barry. Besides, he's not Mark. Barry was immense for Man City all year, is far FAR better than Parker on the ball, and has actually done it for a top side in his life.

Parker is the typical British midfielder - rubbish on the ball, but he works his cunt off and slides in for a tackle often enough. That gets the crowd excited.

Barry's much better.

Yup. I agree

 

[Mystic]

Based on international form anyway...

 

[Loch Ness Monster]

Barry allowed City to throw all kinds of players forwards and held his own in midfield against the best of the Prem. Hugely underrated by most. Parker isn't the player he was as a young man, his body is fucked and he just sits and tackles now. As a younger player he was much more dynamic and scored and created at the level he played at. Never good enough for England really but we ain't got much else due to a phenomenal amount of injuries.

 

[mark1975]

Well, whatever we say about them both, Parker's doing alot better than Barry did last time out when he got laughably shown up at International level.

 

[nealmac]

If he is, I wouldn't describe it as "a lot" better. "Marginally" with be a closer approximation. Parker really looks out of his depth in that England team.

 

[kingjulian]

Barry was attrocious when he played for England. Its a good thing he is injured. All the Irish fans saying Barry is a better player are just being mischievous...

 

[Gary25]

Very average player imo. No real quality on the ball, lacks pace and mobility. Sure he gives his all and can win a tackle but he's nowhere near as good as the media make out.

He'll get rings run around him for 80 mins then have a storming last 10 making last ditch tackles all over the place and run the length of the pitch in the 93rd min, hold his back in anguish and the commentator will say something along the lines of 'scott parker still battling on through the pain, a throwback, a true warrior'
All a cover up to hide his limitations.