At one stage in his career, Scott Parker was one of the most exciting, English central midfielders in the country. At Charlton, Parker had made a name for himself as the creative linchpin of the London side, scoring goals and emerging as a leader on the field. His performances earn him the admiration of rivals Chelsea and on 30 January 2004, he signed for a fee of £10M. As so many have over the past decade, Parker became a victim of squad rotation and a lack of faith from the manager. He arrived at a time when the centre of Chelsea's midfield was one of the best in Europe. The club's all-time leading goal scorer Frank Lampard was in the prime of his career and Frenchman Claude Makalele was in the process of cementing his legacy as one the best defensive midfielder's to have graced the sport. After making less than ten appearances in the 2004-05 season, Parker was not given a winners medal and after one year at the club was sold for £6.5M to Newcastle United. His Chelsea career started in the shadows of brilliant footballers and as a result he would never escape that shadow. He would go on to have more success at West Ham in 2011 and Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, but ultimately, Parker never reached full potential and is now attempting promotion with recently relegated Fulham.
I’m a 23-year-old journalist having previously produced content for A Stamford Bridge Too Far, The Sun Newspaper and VincoSport. I currently write for Formula One Fancast and What Culture producing weekly blogs and features. I am a co-founder, writer and editor of Tibs News and am a big follower of football, Formula One and combat sports such as MMA, boxing and wrestling.
