The midfield

[Howaythelads]

We're blaming this on Parker AGAIN?

 

Parker's DMFing yesterday was at least as good as Butt's best day, you know, the days when everyone is pissing all over themselves to call him Godly.

 

We got slightly out-posessioned yesterday because they were Man-Frigging-United and we're just an average squad missing half our first team. NOT because of Parker. How does Scholes scoring goals immediately correlate to blame on Parker?

 

Sorry, but jumping on some comments made about Parker being to blame for a goal is too simplistic.

 

When I talk about Parker I'm talking about his contribution over the entire time he's been at the club. During that time it's clear his passing isn't up to the role of anchorman, he is nowhere near as good as Butt in this role and never will be because he doesn't have the range of pass, he doesn't have the ability to read the game as well and see the pass before he's even received the ball. This is what really good anchormen do. Butt does this and also like really good anchormen he does it in an unspectacular style that goes largely unnoticed. Meanwhile, Parker dives into last ditch challenges, wonderful 100% blood and thunder stuff, but he twirls as though he's drilling for oil and passes the ball backwards 90% of the time, slowing down our attacks in a ridiculous fashion.

 

All in my opinion of course.

 

I can only think of one midfielder who could hold their head up high on that point, and evan THAT'S a tenuous one.

 

Rob Lee, Ginola, Solano, Gary Speed... That took me barely 10 seconds to think of. You might also be able to add Robert and maybe some of the underrated ones such as Acuna in as well.

 

Christ, this is becoming a habit.

 

 

I guess what I meant in the original sentence was their quality of contribution. I wouldn't question the commitment of Parker, in that respect he does seem to contribute everything he can, it's just not very good.

[oldtype]

I disagree with the assertion that thrusting forth incisive long passes is a must for any great anchorman. Just take a look at Vieira, he isn't exactly a magical long-range passer (although I'll admit his short-range ability is class,) but he makes it up with his immense movement which gives him the capability to rush into the box and score the occasional goal. Something, incidentally, that Parker has shown that he is capable of doing. (Of course, he doesn't have Vieira's physical presence, but nobody here is accusing Parker of being one of the greatest holding midfielders in the history of football.)

 

For that matter, I honestly don't see where all this "Butt is an amazing passer" talk is coming from either. Call me shortsighted but I honestly don't remember any instances in this season where a long-range killing pass from Butt has set up a goal for us. No, he's not exactly belting everything into the stands, but I'd only rate his passing ability as distinctly average. He seems to have marginally better vision than Parker does, but whether that makes him a significantly better player is debatable at best.

 

Yes, Parker is not a distributor by any stretch of the word. His passing technique isn't exactly world class, and he seems to suffer from tunnel vision when he picks up the ball, only noticing players directly in front or behind him. But in my view these are weaknesses that can be overcome by his inherent strengths. The key to Scott Parker is his ridiculous spirit and stamina coupled with an instinctive knack for covering and constant off the ball movement. He knows where he has to be to stifle the opposing attack and he has the physical capability to get there. I think this is the main reason why he is so often slagged off as "invisible." All his good stuff happens off camera, where he's constantly running around and getting in the way. Couple this with some above-par offensive capabilities and I say you've got a potentially cracking anchorman.

 

I won't dispute that Parker is suffering from some bad coaching, or that his leadership credentials are questionable at this point in his career. Both of those points are certainly true. However, I do not believe that they merit all this talking in absolutes, calling him "hopeless" and "must-sell." The way I see it, he's one of the only players in our squad that can honestly say that he is one of the best in the Premiership at what he does. The question we should be asking is not how to get rid of Scott Parker, but how to make him fit into our style of football. Until this is clearly a lost cause, I strongly argue that he should not be written off.

 

 

[Northern Monkey]

We're blaming this on Parker AGAIN?

 

Parker's DMFing yesterday was at least as good as Butt's best day, you know, the days when everyone is pissing all over themselves to call him Godly.

 

We got slightly out-posessioned yesterday because they were Man-Frigging-United and we're just an average squad missing half our first team. NOT because of Parker. How does Scholes scoring goals immediately correlate to blame on Parker?

 

Sorry, but jumping on some comments made about Parker being to blame for a goal is too simplistic.

 

When I talk about Parker I'm talking about his contribution over the entire time he's been at the club. During that time it's clear his passing isn't up to the role of anchorman, he is nowhere near as good as Butt in this role and never will be because he doesn't have the range of pass, he doesn't have the ability to read the game as well and see the pass before he's even received the ball. This is what really good anchormen do. Butt does this and also like really good anchormen he does it in an unspectacular style that goes largely unnoticed. Meanwhile, Parker dives into last ditch challenges, wonderful 100% blood and thunder stuff, but he twirls as though he's drilling for oil and passes the ball backwards 90% of the time, slowing down our attacks in a ridiculous fashion.

 

All in my opinion of course.

 

I can only think of one midfielder who could hold their head up high on that point, and evan THAT'S a tenuous one.

 

Rob Lee, Ginola, Solano, Gary Speed... That took me barely 10 seconds to think of. You might also be able to add Robert and maybe some of the underrated ones such as Acuna in as well.

 

2 things:

1) I meant current players.

2) "Contribution", not "committment".