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Do Spurs Need This Englishman As Much As ‘Arry Thinks They Do?

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It seems one of those long running transfer saga’s may finally reach a conclusion in the next few days with West Ham and England midfielder Scott Parker finally making his way from East London onto new pastures.  One long term admirer of the player has been Harry Redknapp. He has made numerous attempts to sign the classy midfielder but at this point do they really need him?  I can’t help but feel the manager may want him far more than the club’s loyal supporters do.

Redknapp seems to have some sort of obsession with Parker and personally I am not entirely sure why that is.  It would obviously be short sighted to not acknowledge that Parker is a top quality player, but at 30 years of age is he really the sort of signing that Tottentham should be making?  If they had got this one through a few years ago it would probably have been a much more attractive proposition but at this stage is it a good move?

West Ham seem to be holding firm insisting that they will not let their captatin move for anything less than £7million. Whilst I am not sure Tottenham could find a better player for that value, I still wonder if that is enough justification.  There is also an issue relating to the number of bodies that they have in central midfield areas, it seems likely that Jermaine Jenas and Wilson Palacios will move on and the sale of those two would clearly cover the cost of Parker, in fact it would probably go a lot further than that.  Centrally that leaves Redknapp with Sandro, Huddlestone, Modric and arguably Van der Vaart playing behind a forward.

I suppose the uncertainty over the future of the Croatian could have a big effect on any potential move for Parker.  Clearly the player wants to leave and that is at odds with the desire of Daniel Levy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one go through at some point, I am sure the management team at White Hart Lane would prefer to cash in, as opposed to keep a player that is so unhappy they would continually mouth off to the press.

His exit would leave Tottenham short in central midfield and I suppose that would mean more game time for Scott Parker, but there is absolutely no way the English man is good enough, or even the right sort of player to replace the 25 year old playmaker.  The money that Spurs would recoup from the sale would allow them to finance a top quality replacement and that is something that they must do.

If we assume Redknapp will start the season using the system that he has implemented for the past 2 years, the signing of Parker would leave him with 3 players that could all fill 1 position in the team.  He normally seems to deploy Modric (or anyone signed to replace him) alongside one of Huddlestone or Sandro.  The Brazilian certainly is a better player and prospect than Parker, and whist Huddlestone may not be there yet, I feel that he isn’t that much worse, and shelling out money for a 30 year old that could potentially be third choice seems a little strange to me.

I have to reiterate my admiration for Parker as a player, he is of a high quality but I do not feel that he is good enough for a team chasing Champions League football.  The papers report that Aston Villa are also interested in his signature, and to be honest I see them as a much better fit for Parker at this stage of his career.

Harry Redknapp has to do some rebuilding of his squad this Summer, and I personally don’t see the former Chelsea man as a particularly exciting prospect for the White Hart Lane faithful.  He may be commited and hard working, but I just feel he is maybe 2 years too old for a move to a club as big as Spurs.

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I am a huge Manchester City fan, but also a fan of football as a game. I like to watch games at all levels, from Blue Square Premier, right up to the Premier League where I have a season ticket at City. I really enjoy writing for This Is Futbol because it allows me to give my thoughts on the very latest pieces of football news. I also run thoughtsfromtheinvisibleman.blogspot.com for all things Manchester City.

0 comments

  • Spurs_est1882 says:

    I have to agree. The only benefit I see with Parker is an experienced head in games that Spurs should comfortably win, but have been losing. A player that will drive with a bit of passion, but also some class. I still think he will be 3rd choice, but we also have cup games to think of, so perhaps he could also be a great leader if we play a youthful looking side in the cups. By choice I wouldnt go for Parker, but there are a lot of reasons why it could work.

  • Der Hammer says:

    Quote: He may be commited and hard working, but I just feel he is maybe 2 years too old for a move to a club as big as Spurs.

    Are you having a laugh? as big as Spurs?

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