Just How Good is Scott Parker?

Now, if you ask 10 people who in their view is the best signing of the Premier League 2011/12 season, 3 out of the 10 people would probably say Scott Parker.

I’ve always been a bit confused by this. Firstly, I don’t think Scott Parker has been that amazing for Tottenham. Yes, he’s been very tidy and solid for Spurs. But has he really been the best signing of last season? I’m unsure, especially considering the impact Sergio Aguero had on Man City.

But let me be clear. I don’t hate Scott Parker. I do think he is a very good DM, perhaps one of the best in the Premier League. He can pass, tackle and retain the ball sensationally. While his personality makes him extremely likeable too. Parker is tenacious, determined and selfless in his pursuit to win. I just feel he is a bit overrated, that’s all.

But how does Tottenham’s Scott Parker match up with other leading defensive mids in the Premier League?

Stats via EPL Index

Defensive Stats:

Key: Green = Best, Orange= second best & Red =Worst

Without a shadow of a doubt, having fantastic defensive stats is imperative for a top class defensive mid. It kind of goes without saying. But Parker’s defensive stats, are decent. But they are by no means amazing, but they aren’t poor either.

In terms of tackles won, Parker sits right in the middle out of the players analysed. One of Parker’s strengths is his tackling and it does reflect in the stats. But he is by no means the best tackler in the Premier League. Lucas Levia had the best tackle win percentage, he won an impressive 76.47% of his tackles.  It’s interesting the player with the worse tackling win percentage is Tiote. I feel for such a solid, mobile and imposing midfielder, Tiote should be winning far more tackles. Looking at Tiote’s stats generally, they aren’t impressive. Perhaps this is why clubs such as United and Chelsea have cooled off interest in the £20million rated man.

One of the parts of Parker’s game which I feel is often underrated is his reading of the game. If you watch him closely, you can tell he read the game very astutely.  Parker may look like a bull in a china shop, but I feel he often gets away with this thanks to his good understanding of the game. He can roam out of position, pick up the ball and move it on for his team within a matter of seconds. Parker made the most interceptions out of the players analysed, by quite a bit too. What I find intriguing is that the top three interceptors are the English lads, Parker, Carrick and Barry. This little stat tell us, that in certain positions, English players really do understand their role and do have a football understanding. Sometimes English players are portrayed as clueless footballers whose best abilities are their courage.

One defensive area where Parker lags behind is aerial duals. The other defensive mids are far comfortable in winning balls in the air.  But there are other aspects to Parker’s defensive games which isn’t that great either. Parker has made the most defensive errors out of the players analysed, this correlates with the number of times he has been disposed too. The number of times Parker has been dispossessed has surprised me. I always felt one of the strengths of Parker’s game was his ability to retain the ball, but obviously, he is either spending too long on the ball or opposition are closing him down quickly as they know he’s not the fastest nor the most agile of players. But what’s incredibly impressive is how Gareth Barry, in 34 games was only been dispossessed 17 times. Faurlin only played 20 times, yet he lost the ball nearly double the amount of the Man City man. Barry may not be everyone’s favourite footballer (to hell, no one really likes him), but he certainly is very tidy and does the job in a disciplined manner.

Attacking and Passing

Now, the attacking abilities of a defensive mid are not that vital as say as a winger, striker or an attacking midfielder. But, it does give an indication on how well rounded the player is and how influential he is.

In terms of passing, Scott Parker has seen a lot of the ball. It does show how influential he has been for Spurs. But, what I find more interesting is the accuracy of Parker’s passing, the England international’s pass accuracy was 90%. It was the best alongside United’s Michael Carrick. Without a doubt one of the strengths of Parker’s game is his ability to pass accurately. This is of course, is very vital if you’re a defensive midfielder, as one of your roles is to link the defence to the midfield.

Parker v Rest

Parker v Sandro

Key- Green = Best, Red = Worse

Now, this is an intriguing comparison, due to both playing for Spurs and both being defensive midfielders. By the end of the season, Redknapp often played both players, but Sandro was utilised in a more defensive role than Parker. But looking at the defensive stats, Sandro dominates Parker. The Brazilian has a better Aerial win percentage, a better ground dual percentage and a better tackle percentage too. But both players seem to have a weakness in retaining the ball. This maybe a concern to Spurs, as losing the ball in the central areas of the pitch, is catastrophic especially with Spurs being a dynamic attacking side. For me, Sandro looks the more comfortable in defensive mid, he has the ability to not only keep it simple, but he does the basics well enough.

Parker v English Lads

This is a hard one. Parker, Barry and Carrick are players of very different styles. In some respects, one of the three (Carrick ) is arguably England’s best passer, while another (Barry) is probably England’s best keep it simple player and the other one, Parker is probably the most comfortable in attacking and defending.

From a creative and passing perspective, Carrick edges Barry and Parker. Carrick made the most passes and had the best pass accuracy. From a defensive perspective, it’s very close again too. But looking at the stats, I feel Carrick is the most comfortable defensively. Out of the three, he had the best win percentage for aerial duals, ground duals and came second best for interceptions. Carrick may not be the most dominating of midfielders, but for me he’s more rounded than Barry and Parker. Some may argue, Carrick isn’t a defensive mid, I firmly believe he is. Of course, he isn’t a typical defensive midfielder. He is one, like Parker, who joins attacks when the momentum is with his side. It does surprise me how Carrick is under used by England.  If England are really determined to keep the ball, Carrick must be utilised. He is someone who keeps things ticking in midfield, and off the ball he can win his fair share of duals too. But with the same token I can see why England managers have chosen Barry and Parker. Both lads add reliability, grit and drive to England. Look at Barry, he rarely loses the ball. While Parker, reads the game sensationally well, something that is crucial for international football.

Conclusion

Image via WhoScored

So, just how good is Scott Parker?

Well, he certainly is a good footballer. He is a player most teams wouldn’t mind having knocking about. But is he the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League?

The answer to that is no.

In my eyes and in the eyes of the stats, he isn’t even the best English defensive midfielder either. One could easily argue, Barry or Carrick are better defensive midfielders. If had to choose between the three, I would pick Carrick.

The reason why Parker is rated, respected and admired so highly is because of his style of play. He is tireless, determined and visibly hungry to win, not only that he has got some good technical abilities.

I think Scott Parker is a top defensive midfielder, but he is by no means the best in the Premier League.

But that leads me to the question, who is the best defensive mid in the Premier League? For me, (and again like most things, it comes down to personal taste) I think Lucas Levia is the best defensive mid in the Premier League. As the stats show, he is the most well rounded and I feel his linking up play is fantastic too.

While for Scott Parker, he is proof that, you are never too old to fulfil your potential. I feel some of the hype towards Parker is over the top. I think he is a good footballer, but by no means the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League. The UK press and fans probably love him, as he typifies the idyllic English player. He is courageous, selfless and passionate. But the reality is, he just another good defensive midfielder in the Premier League.

England's new 4-3-3 system, the platform for English success? Part One - The positives

The last two games have seen England being far more dynamic and more exciting to watch. Perhaps this was something the team lacked in South Africa. But there are potential reasons for England fans to get excited. However, they must take everything with a pinch of salt. The new system is only two games old and there clearly isn’t the cohesion and understanding like the world champions Spain. The new system has given everyone some food for thought.

I am going to post a three part series which takes a little tour on the positives and the negatives of England’s new system. And I will show who I think England should field in their new 4-3-3 system.

Part One - The Positives

The high pressing system England used against Ghana and Wales was impressive. It made England dictate the tempo and become far more assertive on the game. In the Wales game Jack Wilshere and Frank Lampard, the two central midfielders, were far more progressive. This therefore resulted in England penning Wales back into their own half. As the two central midfielders were looking to find space to thread balls through and get into offensive positions.

The progressive nature of Wilshere and Lampard was partly due to the great holding midfield performance of Scott Parker. Parker used the ball well and won a number of crucial challenges to stop Wales’ attacks at the root. In the Ghana game it was the same with Gareth Barry. Barry, protected the defensive line effectively and played simple but important passes. Both players stretched the play as well. This enabled England to attack via the flanks. The two games showed how crucial the holding midfield role is for England. Arguably, in the World Cup when Gareth Barry was overrun by Germany’s Thomas Muller, it meant England could not be as offensive as a team. As Barry needed support to contain Muller and co. But that’s not to say the result was Gareth Barry’s fault. No way, it’s simply a resulting factor which occurs if the other team sets the tempo and imposes themselves on the game, which Germany did fantastically.

It was clear that Wales weren’t expecting England to play with a high pressing system. The Welsh played two holding midfielders, perhaps they did this to stop Lampard, Wilshere and Ronney from supporting Bent. But another reason to play two holding midfielders was that it would give Wales a better chance of keeping the ball and trying to control the tempo. However, the two holding Welsh players gave England more confidence in their pressing game. As Wales’s defensive midfield duo, Andrew Crofts and Joe Ledley were so deep in their own half. This meant Wilshere and Lampard could close the pair down in offensive positions. This resulted in Wales playing even more deeper and England being far more imposing the Welsh half.

The 4-3-3 system allows England to be far more dynamic. The team can mix their strategy styles effectively whilst using the formation. A criticism before and during the World Cup was that England were far too rigid. This meant there was little creativity and the team was too predictable. However, what surprised me in the last two England games was how quickly England could change from playing the ball through the middle and playing with width. The team showed they could easily variate between the two. Against Ghana, especially in the first half, England kept the ball nicely in the middle. But one quick pass out wide and then England were asking serious questions of Ghana. The dynamic strategy used by England shows for the first time in a long time, that England are trying to utilise their pace. For me, England aren’t the most technically gifted team in the world. They can’t pass the ball as fluently as some other international teams. But England have a variety of different players who are fast and can instantly put the opposition on the back foot because of their sheer pace.

This adds another weapon to England’s armour. If England want to predominantly through the middle which they did against Wales. It allows England to have the option to quickly pass the ball out wide to a galloping Glen Johnson or Ashley Cole. Or of course, the wingers. This instantly would give England another offensive strategy to stretch the play. And because of England’s fantastic pace on the wings it makes England far more threatening and dangerous, to cut open the defence.

In both the Ghana and Wales game it was clear England wanted the ball to go through the midfield. This was evident as both holding midfielders, Barry and Parker (in the two separate games) had a lot of the ball. Furthermore, Lampard and Wilshere against Wales were continoulsy on the ball, passing and probing. This meant that England were more progressive on the ball. As it lead to England being able to impose a highline and push Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole higher up the pitch. Furthermore, the fact England were in control of poession it resulted in England passing the ball around warreing Wales down.

However, England’s system used a mixture of passing. Against Wales, England played predominantly short passes, but the team were willing to go long if the option was open. When Wales pushed their defensive line higher and tried to venture in the England half, the likes of Rooney, Wilshere and Lampard attempted long balls to get Bent quickly behind the Welsh line. In fact, the second England goal was a result of a brilliant mixture of passing. Glen Johnson’s great ball over the top to Ashley Young, resulted in an simple tap in for Darren Bent.

In the Ghana game, England started Andy Carroll as the central striker. To England’s praise they didn’t continuously play the ball long to Carroll’s head. This was rather refereshing. As it made England more unpredictable. The team looked to play the ball through the midfield and have Carroll hold the ball up, while the team progresses forward. But when England did play it long, they did it at crucial times. They did it when England had men in and around Carroll thus meaning he could effectively flick the ball to his team mates.

The new system England have adopted has the potential to make England a nightmare to mark and track. The fact England could interchange the striker roles and the midfield roles meant that England have the element of surprise in their game. Upfront England could have every now and then swapped Rooney for Bent in the central striking role, with Bent coming out wide. Or even swapped Young for Rooney, resulting in the two players switching flanks. This has the impact to cause confusion amongst the opposition defence. It also has the consequence to make England more effective in cutting in from the wings as there potentially could be more space for exposure.

Part Two will be released on Wednesday 13th April.