Lot of speculation today about Charlton's Scott Parker coming to the Bridge in exchange for Joe Cole (I work with 3 Charlton fans...). Does anyone know anything more about this and would this be A GOOD THING?
Yes, you want him. Less flash than Cole, more toughness & substance. Actually, he strikes me as exactly the player that Chelsea needs -- a fiery midfield general with pace & skill. Somebody who can not only be a playmaker but an emotional leader.
I think you're right John. We need more "bottle" for when the going gets tough and Parker seems to possess his fair share. Good player too. Poor Joe...
Straight up for Joe Cole? In a nanosecond. However, I don't think the management at Charlton is that dumb to be duped with this offer.
Just found this on: http://charltonathletic.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=905&p=2&stid=8335753 <quote>Manager Alan Curbishley will leave Scott Parker out of Charlton's clash with Everton at the weekend because he is not in the right frame of mind. Curbs revealed Scott wants to join Chelsea after they made an approach for him but the Addicks are not prepared to sell him at any price. With Charlton financially secure unlike a lot of clubs there is no reason to sell, add to that the fact Parker signed a new five year deal in the summer it seems Charlton hold all the cards at the moment. Talking about Parker Curbs said: “I told him not to come in because he’s not in the right frame of mind. “He’s been unsettled by the transfer talk. It’s not right for him or us while we’re preparing for a game, so he’s not with us at the moment. “I can’t stop clubs bidding for my players - it means we’re doing something right - but it doesn’t mean we have to accept it. “Chelsea have been told of our decision, and so has Scott. “I think he is disappointed by our decision. We know what other clubs can offer our players and that we can’t compete with that - but it doesn’t mean we’ve got to jump. “They’ve made a bid, but it was turned down completely. “We’re not naive. There are financial differences, but it doesn’t mean we’re got to do what Chelsea want to do. “At the moment it is not progressing anywhere. Perhaps it will get messy, I don’t know. “I understand everyone’s frustration in this, but how about the 24,000 Charlton season ticket holders and the manager who has been here 10 years? “Footballers only think about themselves. But I have to think about the fans and the board and that we’re fourth in the table.”</quote> hmmm...
I read on Soccernet that it was simply a cash offer, no player exchange. The official chelsea site even said Cole's going nowhere, we just wanted to buy Parker. That said, I'd love to have Parker, and again referring to the Soccernet article, he seems to want to come here.
You mean kind of like Lampard? Yeah. As I've said before - we don't need Parker. We have no place for him; he's a good but not great player. His game also isn't based on skill so much as energy. We've got enough of those types, imho.
Personally I like the move. Petit is always hurt. Veron isnt doing much better. Geremi is a makeshift DM. Some more depth in the middle would be nice, Claude and Frank can't play every single match. Parker can play either spot. Cole can give us some minutes in the middle but I dont know, he just doesnt seem to fit in all that well there to me.
Of course they can. Just like a team can have too many Zidanes. I love Lampard. And Parker is nothing more than Lampard Jr. At this point, Geremi has been vastly disappointing on the flanks; he's been solid in the middle. Petit when not injured would be preferred to Parker, and Makelele and Lampard are ver durable into the bargain. Veron is still around, and judging by our transfer targets, we'll likely bring in one great CM or RM this coming summer (along with a CB). So where does this leave minutes for Parker? I'm not arguing that he's a poor player, merely that it doesn't help to have 20 good players as opposed to 19. You don't get bonus points for it. Just dissent in the ranks if you're not winning. You think Nicky Butt would be this quiet if ManUtd were in midtable? Me neither. At this point, looking at our squad, we either buy greatness, or let the squad be.
It would seem that leaving the squad alone isn't going to happen though is it? Parker...good left footed middle of the park player. Will he ever rise to the heights of Makelele?Obviously that is what Ranieri has in mind i think...no, no, not that he'll get to that stage (although he may), just that Ranieri seems to think that he can raise his game to the level that is needed to play for Chelsea.Would be a great player to have for the away matches in the league, would have to take the time to learn the slower...er, sorry, technical....pace of the European game. I doubt highly that we would get the likes of a Ballack to come to us as there isn't going to be an automatic place for him in the team.Great players aren't going to be happy playing every other game or less.Lampard and Makelele are the cogs that drive the middle and thats not going to change anytime soon.So, what do we need...yes, its what do we need as opposed to what we want,like or what have you. IMHO we need a good young understudy to the main lads that has the potential to take over from the older of the two and perhaps have as much skill. I think Ranieri sees Parker as the model to sculpt for this role. So, yes i think it's obvious we need him.(or a player like him)
But Clan, isn't that THE perfect definition of Joe Cole? If we have Parker for that role, what do we do with Joe? They're both good players. But at this moment, neither is making onto the pitch, especially since Cole clearly can't figure out this whole "winger=hug sideline" deal. He pushes everything into the middle. And Parker is no winger. So unless you're planning on resting both Lampard and Makelele, and ignoring Geremi's best position, where is he going to play? (I'll just leave Petit out of this one ) As for what we NEED, I think a top midfielder who can play on the right would be our priority over the summer, unless we could actually get someone like Nedved. Perhaps Joaquin at Betis, or Van der Vaart (I believe he can operate on the right; someone correct me if I'm wrong). Gronks is a great player to stretch defenses at the end of the game when they're tired, but his crossing has ever been.......questionable, lets say. Duff, Lampard and a right winger would be nice to have, with Claude protecting them, no? But Parker? Sorry, I still don't see it. If, of course, he comes in and catapults us to the treble, I will be the one claiming it was my intention to buy him all along
as an evertonian, i'm delighted he won't be playing against us at the weekend... i think he's class. comparing him to cole is a little strange cos they're completely different players, occupying different roles. having said that if you're gonna ask me which one i'd rather have in my team, it'd be Scott Parker.
Lots of people seem to think that "Nancy" will come to Chelsea very soon.Wife supposed to be unhappy 'n all. What a coup that would be. I really can't see him leaving for some time though.
Exactly. Cole isn't going to be a replacement for Petit and Geremi just doesn't have the attitude of Parker.
Seems to me (an this is just my opinion) there are a few roles you need to play to have a good functioning 4-4-2 (or similar) formation working effectively (players can do multiple team roles). FORWARDS: Target man Off the target man Finisher Creator MIDFIELD: "In the hole/behind the front 2" player Midfield link-man Pest (runs around preventing opposition settling on ball) Anchor General Playmaker Dribbler Lampard does the "in the hole" job and is a good link-man. Duff is a good dribbler and can be an effective pest. Makelele is a great anchor player. Veron (when fit) was our playmaker and general. Ever noticed how we won most of our games with Veron?, im not saying hes a great player, im just saying, he completes the midfield puzzle and makes the team complete (even if he puts in sub-standard performances), therefore in my opinion we dont need Parker, what we need is a real world class playmaker (assuming Veron doesnt make the grade). Im a little worried that if we dont start buying truly classy creative players instead, 100million pounds down the track we will have a team no unlike liverpool (lots of solid premiership class players but no real creative class). Liverpool has spent 100million pounds over the last few seasons and the only good player they got out of it was Kewell (Owen and Gerard coming from the youth team).
God damn it. I REALLY hate the stpuid restriction on emoticons. I included three, and the stupid server wiped my whole post. So here's the shorter version. Grrrr. Again - if by Nancy you're referring to Beckham (real leap of logic for me there), I'm not so sure. He's a great player, but I was thinking someone more complementary to Duff - a mroe out and out winger. Joaquin or Rothen, Van der Vaart, Van der Meyde and so on. Beckham has shown he prefers the center, and at Real, the center of the pitch seems to like him as well. Maybe we could pry Quaresma away from Barca. At any rate, its certainly going to be an interesting summer. Especially if we wait to see what pieces we can pick up from the faltering teams in Europe: Parma, Dortmund, Roma, Lazio , and others are having financial problems. Who knows - maybe Dortmund will sell us Rosicky and Roma Chivu.
I don't know where to post this, so since this is a thread about Parker, I will post it here. I don't think I like the January transfer window. Teams like Fulham and Charlton have had good first halves of the season, and now Man United and Chelsea come in and swoop for their best performers. Coleman has been forced to let Saha leave, and Curbishely might be forced to do the same with Parker. Sorry, I guess as a fan I will need to get used to these new found riches. Still, it all seems a bit unfair to the Fulhams and Charltons of the world. You get a nice run of form, a player shows good qualities and he gets snapped up. Worse, he throws a wobbly and you practically have to give him away... I guess I just need to get used to that's the way we do it, now that we're one of the big boys...
News update from the BBC Charlton snub new Parker bid Charlton have rejected a new £7.5m bid from Chelsea for midfielder Scott Parker - and hope their Premiership rivals will now abandon their interest. Chelsea's second offer represents an increase of £500,000 plus additional sums based on appearances. "The board unanimously felt that both £7m and £7.5m were unacceptable for the best young midfield player in the country," said Charlton chief executive Peter Varney. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/charlton_athletic/3408875.stm
I am disowning this post, based on a thread at the Man United forum. This is the way the game is played and Chelsea must play the game to win. I don't know if Scott Parker is worth 8 million pounds, but tough luck to Charlton if he is unsettled by Chelsea's approaches. There's no one at Man U. apologizing to Fulham.
The Luther Blissets feel that this story is far from over. Parker wants to join Chelsea, in this window or at the end of the season is the real question here, but if the player wants to come to the club then that will be the deciding factor. The Luther Blissets will be in London for the Chelsea V Charlton and they will be at the game. We feel that Parker might just be a Chelsea man by then, and the currant bun seems to agree with us; Chelsea have increased their bid for Charlton midfielder Scot Parker to £9m and expect the deal to be completed on Saturday (The Sun). Is Parker worth the money? Is anybody? We have a nucleus of good young English players and we’re building on that. Joe Cole has only just turned 22 and he’ll settle into the team. Lampard took time to become truly great and so it will be with Joe. Parker to Chelsea, its gonna happen. Hard luck for the Fulhams and Charltons of this world. It really is tough for them, but at the end of the day the individual player has a right to shape his own destiny.