World Cup qual. - Parker hails England heroes

Eurosport - Fri, 12 Sep 09:22:00 2008

Former international defender Paul Parker has hailed the contributions of both the obvious and the unsung heroes of England's 4-1 win in Zagreb.

FOOTBALL 2008 World Cup qual. England - 0

"Theo Walcott rightly grabbed the headlines for his superb performance against Croatia, and I thought it was a great all-round performance from England, but for me Emile Heskey put in a great shift and was the evening's unsung hero.

That's the thing about Heskey. He's not spectacular, but he can be so effective, especially in a system that plays to his strengths - just like Fabio Capello's preference for playing one up front.

In Zagreb, Heskey put in a typically honest and unselfish performance. He was full of running in the channels and he wasn't afraid to throw himself about a bit and do all the work others don't like doing.

Heskey is not a glory hunter - if he was, he might well have scored more goals during his career - but in this England side that works well. His goal record may not be the best ever, but he is a team player and England reaped the benefits of that on Wednesday.

Employing Heskey up front on his own also brought the best out of Wayne Rooney - the Manchester United striker always had someone who was willing to hold the ball up, leaving him to play a more creative role.

But of course it was out wide, with the added pace in the side, where the most visible damage was done. Joe Cole may have a tendency to drift in from the left, but with Walcott on the right hand side, England boasted real natural width.

The Arsenal youngster did more than enough to keep his place there, but as we all know, in football you're only as good as your last game.

As it is, his last game was very, very good - he scored three goals and his pace opened the game up, making it easy for England in the end by effectively taking two Croatia players out of the game.

So for me Walcott has to start the next game - he's full of confidence at the moment and England have to capitalise on that.

But it's up to the player himself where he goes from here. You can be sure that next time out he will be marked far closer and that he will have a much more difficult time of it. But if he doesn't play as well, he will have to learn from those experiences and come back a stronger player the next time he is given the nod.

That performance has marked him out, both as a player opposition will watch closely, but also as a player England fans may look to rely on. But we have to understand that he's still young.

I'd like to see him get a decent run in the side. It's unrealistic to expect him to put in another showing like that any time soon, but we have to be patient with him if England are to reap the benefits of his potential.

It wasn't just the result in Croatia that was so pleasing, it was the manner of victory. There are those who claim that getting all three points is of utmost importance, but the manner of victory is just as crucial.

Managers want good performances to see if what they are doing in training is coming together in match situations while players want to play well to build up their own confidence ahead of the next game.

But most importantly, the fans want to see their side play exciting, attractive football so they can believe their team are capable of winning the next game rather than merely hoping they can.

It was so good to see England scoring more than two goals, and not one of them coming from a dead ball situation.

But, you have to remain sceptical. As I've said already, you're only as good as your last game and we've seen it all before - under Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren - when England have put in a good performance only to let it all slip.

I want to jump up and down and celebrate the victory, but I'm too scared to do that. Things can change quickly so we'll just have to wait and see what happens next month at home to Kazakhstan and then away to Belarus. We haven't qualified for anything yet.

Nevertheless, it bodes well for the future. Certainly, it was good to see an England side take the lead and choose not to sit on it. Too many times under Sven and McClaren have they taken the lead and been only too happy to sit back and allow the opposition to come onto them, usually with the same end result - defeat.

Against Croatia, at one-nil up, England's full-backs were still pushing on tight and getting forward. That made a big difference to the eventual outcome of the game, not just the scoreline.

I think it helped England being the underdogs going into the game - there can't have been many who fancied their chances of beating Croatia in their own back yard, given their record there. Yet I saw more pluses in that game than in any under Sven or McClaren.

Let's just enjoy it while it lasts."

Eurosport

Comment 4 - 23 of 23

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  1. Much of what is said hia is typical English jive! A lot of criticism for its own sake with no substance to it. That is the way the Press is and that's the way the public have been programmed. We have the same problem in my country Nigeria, a former British colony. I do understand the feeling of people who have come to expect the worst from their National team, having had to endure so much let down in the past. However. that's all in the past now because the FA has hired a non-Englishman who knows its up to him to try and teach the English that few people can believe in u more than u. And the earlier that begins to happen the better for all of u. Fabio Capello comes from a country where they know HOW to win the big one! To be on top and stay there. Just follow the man and have self belief, at least for once. England has what it takes to win everything. But they lack the managers with truth cavalier courage and clear heads like Capello and Arsene Wenger. The Lancelots. Capello is CAESAR'S GIFT TO Britannia. Enjoy it and learn from the masters. Only then can u win and keep winning!
    SFORZA ANGLETERRE!

    From mike onyibe, on Fri 12 Sep 11:14PM

  2. some people are never satisfied. England were great on the night and all praise should be heaped on them. Being negative about a good performance will only bring them down again. What is wrong isthe fact that small private companies should be able to stop the majority of English people seeing the game, there should be a law that it must be shown a terrestial channel. After all if can't be seen the puplic will lose interest.
    eddie the old boy

    From edwardsargent@..., on Fri 12 Sep 10:22AM

  3. If i am not wrong, Parker was the one who said England going to lose against Croatia and that Fabio is making wrong decision to take Walcott and leave Bentley out.
    And now he is praising Hesky just because he can't walcott or fabio did a good job. No doubt Hesky played well matter of fact whole team played well, but whats wrong wid parker don't hes got any other job. Or may be he is jealous of Fabio.

    From LoonyBabeChick, on Fri 12 Sep 9:52AM

  4. I agree that Ericsson and McClaren should not be on the same pot. Ericsson is a great manager and with England he managed a decent record, although he did not win tournaments. In 2006, a quarter final is not a disaster, a defeat on penalties against Portugal is not a shame.
    The next match is at home against Kazachstan: this is not Croatia, so the key is to rest, not to pick cards nor injuries, not to push after scoring the first goal: others will come anyway. If I know Capello, the fox, it will be a rather boring, safe match, similar to Andorra. Belarus away is another story, it requires at least some effort.
    I have the impression overall the top teams have rather easy groups, did they increase the amount of spots for Europe?

    From Giovanni T, on Fri 12 Sep 9:04AM

  5. " one swallow if she can hum like Donna Summer" !!!!...is another game entirely.
    The game agaimst Croatia was good to watch, I hope the next game is just as entertaining..with the appropriate result ofc.

    From Andy, on Fri 12 Sep 8:35AM

  6. Kim, if you don't know who Paul Parker is, you are either a very young kid or you don't know anything about football!

    'Paul Andrew Parker (born West Ham, London, 4 April 1964) is a retired English footballer with QPR and Manchester United who was a crucial player at the 1990 World Cup with England'.

    He played for Man Utd for 5 years and was eventually replaced by Gary Neville.

    From Peter F, on Fri 12 Sep 8:05AM

  7. I don't think England can win in the next game.

    From dskmok, on Fri 12 Sep 5:38AM

  8. I'm really sick of Paul Parker (who the hell is this supposed "expert" anyway??) suggesting that Sven-Goran Eriksson was as bad a manager as Steve McClaren, and continually lumping the two names together in his criticism. (Three times in this article, and he's done it in previous articles as well.) Eriksson led England to three consecutive competitions, always at the top of their qualification group. McClaren managed to get England to third place in a fairly weak group. It's a shame that England played such boring football in Germany 2006 (although not necessarily terrible football), and he made some bad mistakes during that competition, but it shouldn't be forgotten that Eriksson was still a fairly good England manager. Whereas McClaren was statistically the worst ever...

    From petdoe, on Fri 12 Sep 3:22AM

  9. i dont really care if england qualified for the WC or not. the only thing that interests me is all Man Utd players got out of the WC qualifying games free of injury coz we have a big game coming up this saturday! lol!

    oh, and WAYNE ROONEY SCORED, TOO!! and so did Nani!!

    From dila, on Fri 12 Sep 3:14AM

  10. I like the comment "win a game and think ur gonna win the world cup". Who's said that? Most England fans are realistic and just enjoying a rare, decent performance. What's wrong with that? I loved the way England played, but am ready for future disappointment.

    From imperious, on Fri 12 Sep 1:33AM

  11. Phillip C: you are selecting facts that suite your statement, which shows a great deal of jealousy (no offence). England won a scrappy game and then won convincingly another game. This team has shown already that it knows how to play against an 11-goalkeepers team and an attacking team. Although we all seem to agree that nothing complete has been achieved yet there is plenty to allow serious optimism. The fact that Cappello is in charge has already shown its results: Players are picked for the games, tactics are in place for each game, homework is being done fully and properly… I for one will struggle to see how the Croatian team could beat England in Wembley this time around. Knowing that England has plenty to improve on and Croatia is supposed to be on full steam already, I see more worries for the Croatians than for the English. Cappello will not dwell on the win and he knows, as parker said; you are as good as your last game. The most important thing for him is to win, sometimes convincingly sometimes ugly –and this is the sign of strong teams. Cappello just knows how to make a formula that works with the ingredients he has and his CV speaks for itself. These are facts you should take in consideration.

    From Half A Brain, on Fri 12 Sep 12:13AM

  12. Hey mister Parker, Capello is not so bad anymore, hein? As for being scared of Kazakhstan, thats really funny!!! Good job England!!!

    From Patrick F, on Thu 11 Sep 11:13PM

  13. Paul parker is full of @#$%. i wish somone would shut him up.

    From JONHBOY, on Thu 11 Sep 10:26PM

  14. a win is a win is a win,engeland are long over-due a few good wins.you never,never get any team to play the perfect game,so if tour critisim is not constructive just forget it and support your national team irishman

    From denis, on Thu 11 Sep 10:10PM

  15. look at u english goons. win a game and think ur gonna win the world cup. u ain got a chance, but of useless boring jokes. u even got heskey upfront again, its absolutely crazy, hes uselss fat clumsy donkey. get rid.

    From Jon T, on Thu 11 Sep 10:01PM

  16. Great result for England, but hey lets not forget that our seasoned professionals were against 10 men for most of the second half - so if by chance that when we meet again at Wembley, and that we both need a win to qualify - I for one would not put money on England succeeding. Last night was not something to prove to the country, but saving face for the players and the new manager - so chaps remember the saying " one swallow does not make a summer" !!!!

    From Phillip C, on Thu 11 Sep 9:50PM

  17. Rexy, Bog off!! "Croatia is a decent team but they are not the kind of team that would win major tournaments." Yeah right, their only reckoned to be a lowly fifth best in the world, how hard is that for us when we are only one above Scotland If brains were dynamite you couldn't even blow your nose cowboy.

    From JOHN B, on Thu 11 Sep 8:47PM

  18. (4): Keep in mind that Croatia has beaten England on many occasions in the recent past, and also were unfortunate not to go further in Euro 2008. Bilic has put together a respectable squad and, while I agree England should set their sights much higher and not too proud about winning this match, Croatia is not an easy team to beat.

    On another note, is it just me or does Theo Walcott seem like he will forever have the "he's still young" card to excuse him from poor performances? Yes, he is still young, but he's by no means a rookie to world-class football. There are many other "young" players in the England squad (Downing & Agbonlahor in particular) who are chastised for poor performances and removed from the squad while Walcott is repeatedly given chances due to his "youth." It's great to see him have a great game, but you have to imagine other young players would also have breakout games if given the same number of opportunities.

    From Gavin, on Thu 11 Sep 8:41PM

  19. iv got setanta!!! ha ha.. get virgin media, much better then sky (i have both) and it gives setanta for free on much much cheaper packages then sky

    From fangz2001, on Thu 11 Sep 8:18PM

  20. typical bloody England,
    with backs up against the wall, they come out and finally show us what we've been waiting for.
    a decent performance in a very hard place to win.
    Heskey did brilliant,looked a great partnership with rooney.
    coincedence heskey partnered owen in are last great performance,1-5 in munich.
    I take it all back emile and maybe favio is onto something here.
    lets hope so....you lot at the F.A. can come out of hiding now.
    4now..........

    From Adam B, on Thu 11 Sep 7:54PM
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