On Saturday, Scott Parker became the first player to receive his first four full England caps whilst on each occasion representing a different club and under four different England managers. The West Ham skipper has turned out for his country at all levels from under-15s to the senior team, but has earned his full caps sporadically over the course of an otherwise outstanding and honour-shy career, and now looks set to cement his place in Fabio Capello’s squad for the remainder of the Euro 2012 Qualification campaign.
The nature of Parker’s international appearances mirror those of several before him, who consistently perform to a high standard in the League and are only accepted as senior England quality on occasion and as a result of circumstance and/or fashion. Although Emile Heskey featured in 62 internationals before his post-World Cup retirement, his consistent disappearance from and re-emergence to the England squad lacked any significant correlation to his performance for his clubs. Heskey has essentially been performing at the same level, providing the same service as a support striker and scoring barely a handful of goals each season for his entire career. His international recognition and subsequent abandonment never resulted from blistering or faltering League form but simply due to a combination of media support and being in the right place at the right time.
Unfortunately for Parker, his Premier League residency has collided with the development of several English midfielders. At no point could it have been argued that Parker’s abilities surpassed those of Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, but being overlooked for last summer’s finalised World Cup squad in favour of Gareth Barry, amongst others, is nothing short of scandalous. Parker revealed, after Saturday’s fixture against Wales: “I knew it was my one chance to get in the team and I took it. That’s the way it is for me – that’s the way it always seems to be.”
These sentiments typify Scott Parker the footballer, and perhaps explains his decision, after seven years with Charlton, to complete a protracted and hostile January Transfer Window move to Chelsea in 2004. Although Jose Mourinho failed to acknowledge his worth during Parker’s only full season with the Blues, when he started just 4 times in the League, the midfielder was soon heading north to Newcastle where he began to rebuild his career and reaffirm his reputation.
Parker has enjoyed and endured his most recent four seasons with West Ham, where he has fortified his status as an Upton Park legend during a period of relative disappointment for the Hammers. This term, he has almost single-handedly kept the Irons within reach of survival. The club may have been cut-loose completely from the rest of the League before Demba Ba’s arrival had it not been for the wholehearted efforts of their captain.
England fans have finally grown tired of accepting the repeated dross of the ‘Golden Generation’ and have been crying out for at least one individual to demonstrate a modicum of commitment for some time. Jack Wilshere appears to have provided a solution for the short, medium and long-term, but Parker’s prolonged absence from England duty is lamentable at best. Capello acknowledged that “Parker is a good player in the holding position, he won back a lot of balls and we need someone like him in that role,” and England fans will be hoping that the Italian refrains from any captaincy-style U-turns and maintains Parker’s services for at least the next twelve months.
