Sunday October 30, 2011

 

THE market forces that dictate the cost of a footballer are pretty unfathomable at the best of times.

How can one player be worth wages of £250,000 a week, no matter how good they are?

 

And what makes a club offer to cough up £40 million to secure the services of a midfielder playing for one of their rivals?

 

These figures are made to look all the more fantastic when you consider the performance today of a player Spurs bought during the close season for £5.5m (and that is a figure depending on appearances), and who will be earning weekly wages in the mid range of Tottenham's pay structure (namely somewhere in the region of £35,000 a week).

 

The player in question is Scott Parker, and he absolutely bossed it today, and it is just astonishing we were the only club genuinely in for him after his performances last term in the relegated West Ham team, and pretty incredible he cost so little. He looked maginificent at Charlton, keeping them in the Premiership for a season longer than they really deserved, showed what he could do at Chelsea (yet was never really given the chance he deserved), had a great spell at Newcastle and then was player of the year in West Ham's doomed season.

 

He ripped poor Rangers to shreds. Whilst normally I don't like the fact there are just so many London derbies – it apparently makes it harder for a London team to win the Championship as there are so many grudge matches where form goes out the window – I really hoped QPR would get promoted last term, as have a deep sense of nostalgia when it comes to the games against them.

 

The 1982 cup final stands out as a key childhood memory, gathering round a small set in the basement of my parents' house with siblings and watching the build up on BBC1 for what seemed like hours. I remember my dad being pretty impressed with a banner unfurled in the Spurs end that read 'Hoddle's Got More Spice Than Curry' – referring to the Rangers winger, Tony Curry, who was seen as their dangerman. 

 

They were a fine team in the early 90s with Sir Les as their bucaneering front man, and with Adel Taarabt in their side, they are guaranteed to offer some fun and games now up with the big boys. And frankly, after the abuse you get and the hassle each term of heading to Upton Park, swapping that tie with an away trip to Loftus Road sounds infinitely more pleasurable.

 

My joy at having them visit us would have been complete if they'd been wearing red and black hoops like the old days instead of a disastrously designed tangerine outfit.

 

Their visit had extra spice as last term there was a grudge held against Park by Joey Barton, apparently through a series of critical tweets he posted on the social networking site, saying our man Scotty was one of nothing more than those water carriers Eric Cantona used be so condescending about. Today was the perfect opportunity for him to show Barton that as well as having an armoury of tackles, the enthusiasm of a ball chasing puppy, and the strength to go shoulder to shoulder with all and sundry, he could be a creator too.

 

It didn't take long for him to do just that. On 15, he gave a little wiggle of the hips to send two Rangers players this way and that, and then used his strength to set Van Der Vaart free. And while he sits deep, providing the base for Luka Modric, and meaning his touches are not in the danger area, you can't help but admire his technique. He moves it neatly, swiftly, precisely.

 

A good example came on 18. He controlled a 60 yard hoof from Rangers keeper Kenny that dropped from the darkening skies like a  missile with a deep and luxurious cushion provided by the side of his left peg, and then in the same athletic movement nipped the ball into space for Kyle Walker to canter on to. A minute later he was instrumental in setting up the opener, nailed home by Gareth Bale.

 

Then, on 25, his persistence nearly saw him break through alone: he was clearly fouled but such was his determination to keep going the referee incorrectly waved play on as his guts had given him an advantage. It prompted a sing song of his name from the terraces: the first such serenading he has enjoyed since the move.

 

It was just Parker all the way: another ball from him to Adebayor on 28 saw Spurs carve open their guests and Kyle Walker really should have scored from close range. Then he went left, showed some dash and skinned two Rangers men who were puffing out their cheeks as they tried to keep up with him.  Merely a water carrier? I don't think so.  

 

The second goal, from Van Der Vaart, came when Rangers failed to clear another quickly worked move, Ledley King found himself making inroads inside the Rangers half and let fly from distance. His shot lacked any power and Van Der Vaart took it on. His calm finish was his sixth in five games.

The second half again saw Parker show guile and anticipation whenever the ball came near him. His perfect tackle on Rangers sub Jamie Mackie after scurrying back 30 yards to catch him up was so clinical: he just said I'll have that and in a split second had won the ball, and sent his team mates heading goalwards.

 

But for all of Tottenham's first half dominance, Rangers were quicker out the blocks after the break. They pulled one back when Jay Boothroyd nodded home from a corner on 61 after Spurs had lapsed into complacency, then like a tiger with it's tailed tweaked immediately van der Vaart sent a free kick goalbound and it took an all mighty scramble to keep the scores as they were.

The Scotty Show came back again on 71. He carried the ball from his own half in to Rangers territory and then a pin-ball exchange of passes between Van Der Vaart, Lennon and Gareth Bale saw the Welsh winger scoop the ball home with a cultured curler.

 

We've searched for some time for this type of player: think Steffen Freund, Michael Brown, Dider Zokora, Wilson Palacios. No disrespect to them, all were feted as heroes as they could put the boot in and never stopped running – but Parker is a class apart. To think that Chelsea were prepared to offer £40 million for Luka, and we bought this bloke for £5.5m: that has to have been the best bit of business conducted by any team in the summer, and shows how extraordinarily weird the transfer market can be sometimes.

 

Our man Parker made Joey Barton look like Lady Penelope, and he thoroughly deserved his standing ovation when subbed with five minutes to go.