Hands up, I confess. I didn't think we needed him, especially as we already had Sandro. Also, The Spammers seemed to want an ourageous sum for a player of 31. However, I was wrong. He's probably been our player of the season, so far. And, he was England's MOM by some distance, last night. Well done Harry.
Well I was one of the fans who very much wanted us to get Parker, as I'm big on the idea that you need a very good squad to win a trophy as well as get top 4, which is what I (realistically) hope for. I never expected Parker to be as good as he has been, but to me it was obvious he could do a job for us. I was and still am content that Parker and Sandro can play together, so I never saw the idea that he would necessarily block Sandro's progress. Obviously if the manager didn't think they could play together then that block would happen, but until we have both of them fully fit and available at the same time, we won't know the answer to that one.
I think that one other positive from Parker's move is that Sandro and especially Livermore will get to learn from him. Watching Livermore and Carroll trying to emulate Parker and Modric has been one of the most pleasing parts of our Europa League campaign so far. I must admit that I'm relishing the idea of having Sandro and Huddlestone taking up those positions soon, though.
Over here we get a show called Premier League World. Anyway a few weeks ago they interviewed Livermore and he basically said that he was excited to be able to learn from Parker first and also Thudd & Sandro. He showed due respect, but also a maturity that he is finally able to realise his potential.
Yep, it's good for Carroll and Livermore to have players like Parker and Modric to learn from. Livermore has done really well this season, and I'd have no qualms about him playing for us in a Prem game this season, although I'd rather he doesn't as that would mean injuries, etc to others.
As long as he keeps getting the odd sub appearance in the PL and full games in EL I think we will start to see a real star of the future.
