West Ham United’s sporting director Mark Noble is an admirer of Scott Parker and, ahead of Burnley’s daunting trip to Premier League giants Manchester City, you can see why.
Hammers News were informed this week, via football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that Noble has been impressed by Scott Parker’s progress at Turf Moor.
The former West Ham United captain appears to be pushing for a young, flexible head coach. If that head coach in question has prior experience of life in claret and blue, then even better. Hence his admiration for Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick, while former Wolves coach Gary O’Neil has also been mentioned in the media.
Now, Parker might lack Nuno Espirito Santo’s top-level reputation – poor previous Premier League stints at Fulham and Bournemouth also remain sticks with which to beat him – but his newly-promoted Burnley go into this weekend ahead of West Ham in the table.
The Clarets would have two more points to their name, meanwhile, had they not conceded stoppage-time penalties against both Manchester United and Liverpool. Yet, while those battling displays would go un-rewarded, Parker’s Burnley have demonstrated the kind of discipline, togetherness and occasional fluidity Graham Potter’s Hammers seem incapable of emulating.
Burnley boss Scott Parker shows the tactical talents West Ham United need
Furthermore, while Burnley made both Liverpool and Man United work extremely hard for all three points, West Ham’s own performances against the division’s big boys could hardly have been more different.
They collapsed at home to Chelsea and Tottenham. Sunderland also cruised past the Hammers 3-0, one week before losing 2-0 at Turf Moor.
Any Man City supporters expecting a walkover on Saturday when Burnley come to town, meanwhile, may be disappointed.
“I think we are definitely better prepared. We have gone through some experiences, over the last four or five games, that we have been able to learn from,” Parker explains, Burnley also showcasing a bouncebackability missing from the beleaguered Hammers.
“The experiences will sometimes be negative ones and we’ve struggled at certain moments. We look back at the Spurs game [a 3-0 opening weekend defeat], there were elements to that where it looked very new for us and there were things we needed to improve on.
“I have seen a slow progression, so I have absolutely no doubt we are going to be in a better place. But we need to be right at it to get through those moments.”
Burnley suffered a shock EFL Cup exit at home to Cardiff City in midweek. That, though, that was very much an exception to the recent rule. Parker has forged an extremely well-drilled Clarets outfit while also using a similar three-at-the-back system with which Potter started the season at West Ham.
A formation Potter gave up on after conceding 11 goals in their first three matches.
Parker could be well suited to this West Ham squad
So while Nuno Espirito Santo’s wing-back system looks better suited on paper than Potter’s own version, the success of Parker at Burnley and particularly Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace proves that starting with three centre-backs can yield success if utilised correctly.
“It is probably one of the most fundamental things, the level of concentration needs to be optimum,” Parker adds, offering an insight into how Burnley picked up 100 points last season while maintaining a Championship record-breaking defensive record.
“When you are going up against this calibre of a team [like Liverpool and Man City], it needs to be fundamental. There were elements to Liverpool where we were very, very good. That side of the game, I thought we were incredible at.
“There are elements that we can see more improvement but you need to be highly-tuned, stick to the plan, and of course that plan can change depending on the dynamics of the game.
“[Wing-backs] is probably our main structure this year. [But we’ve been pretty flexible and we’ve gone about it with different personnel. Sometimes, it’s more defensive and then, at other times, it’s looser. We have done an extreme amount of work in different variations, [but] the main structure is that three.
“Formations change, they are becoming more fluid. The formations look very different depending on different circumstances, how the midfielders play, whatever it may be. There is a base structure you always go with, but you are always trying to create different shapes and positions to have an effect.”
Scott Parker talks a good game, and his Burnley team tend to play a good game too. Especially against the sort of opposition who frequently take West Ham to pieces.
No wonder Mark Noble likes him.
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