Unselfish Scott gives us a no-frills masterclass
SIX days before revealing his England captain, Stuart Pearce recalled a trip to Afghanistan to give a motivational talk to the troops.
Pearce spent the flight thinking about what made a good leader and by the time he hopped off the plane he had settled on one word: unselfish.
Step forward Scott Parker, informed of his selection as captain yesterday morning, of his elevation to what the caretaker manager considers to be the greatest honour in the game.
Parker, as is his way, accepted the responsibility without feeling the need to decorate his game with anything unusual. He produced the sort of solid and mature performance managers and coaches adore.
Three minutes gone and he tracked Robin van Persie back toward his own goal, nibbling away until snapping into a clean tackle on the edge of the penalty area.
There was another important early challenge to deny Van Persie and then another block; this time he hurled his body in front of a drive by Wesley Sneijder. Parker winced in pain and caught his breath before climbing to his feet.
He carried a shoulder injury through last season, often playing in pain. He has become used to it. Unselfish, like Pearce said.
The midfielder could do nothing to stop Arjen Robben’s jet- heeled incision through the centre of the England team to open the scoring in the 57th minute. He chugged back in Robben’s wake. Losing a sprint to one of the world’s fastest footballers is nothing to be ashamed of, even if there was an element of Peter Reid’s treacle- footed pursuit of Diego Maradona in Mexico 86 about it.
There are limitations to Parker’s game, as anyone who saw him sent off late in the north London derby on Sunday can testify but that does not stop him hiding. Up he popped to assist in Ashley Young’s goal, which almost rescued a draw.
One of his strengths is that he recognises his limits and operates inside them. He works back and does the ugly stuff, never seeking to abandon his deep-lying midfield post and gallop forward in search of personal glory. His passing is tidy but he rarely opens up a defence and does not try. He knows others are in the team to do that. Yet he burrows into the action and competes for possession.
He accepts his role patching up holes, he supports his team-mates and happily goes about mending errors made by others without feeling the need to moan and point fingers of blame.
This attitude takes its own type of courage as Pearce knows. It is unselfish. Parker is a player to rely on and managers need a captain they can rely on. If the Fabio Capello years have taught us nothing else, surely they have taught us that.
There were a few shifty glances as the studs shuffled in the tunnel and Parker prepared to lead out the team. He stared down the camera lens. It may be nine years since his debut but, remember, this was only cap No 11.
He breezed through the ceremonial handshakes and the anthems without a hitch and then paused. For a couple of seconds, he closed his eyes and looked up to the sky.
It is almost a year since Parker’s father Mick died after a long illness. A few weeks earlier, the midfielder, then at West Ham, had scored a crucial goal against Liverpool and sought out his dad in the crowd, to give him a smile.
Afterwards, with back-pack on, he tried to squeeze out of Upton Park without comment but stopped and explained what it was all about and that he would prefer no fuss.
The day after Mick passed away, Parker played for the Hammers at Tottenham, again no fuss. Then he reported for England duty and performed brilliantly in Wales.
No fuss, no frills and no complications. Unlike some recent England captains, Parker is low maintenance.
He may not be the most gifted to inherit the armband but he is honest, dignified and, above all else, unselfish. If this was for one night only, it was richly deserved.
m.barlow@dailymail.co.uk