Why is Tottenham favourite Scott Parker the Journo's Darling?

I may be setting myself up here, but I really don't get how and why Parker has become the darling of the journalists. It's almost as if they are desperate to vindicate their selection of Scotty as Player of the Year last season, despite West Ham's relegation.

Yesterday is another typical example. Milner provided the cross that resulted in the goal, Lampard headed home the only goal and led from the front whilst on the pitch and Lescott and Jagielka were truly superb at the back, marking empty space until Spain sent on Torres, and picking out Spanish runners brilliantly.

But who was the hero on the night? Parker apparently. Does anybody have access to the player stats because I would love to see them. What was Parker's pass completion rate on the night? Poor I bet. How many tackles did he complete? Not as many as some imagine I'm sure. How many free kicks did he concede? One in a very dangerous area that could have led to a goal for sure. How many killer passes did he play? None. how many shots on goal did he have? None. How many times did he head clear in his own box. Not once.

What did he do? He harried. He put his foot in. He tracked runners well. He made one superb interception, although he deflected the ball across the face of his own goal when he did so. He took one in the face in typical Scotty fashion. And he ran himself into the ground and needed to be replaced for the closing minutes. And to be fair, Fabregas was then unmarked and missed Spain's best chance of the game. Perhaps Scotty would have tracked him. Perhaps.

Is that enough for the Man of the Match award? Weren't Spain's midfielders better? Didn't they dominate the game? How do you think Xavi's pass completion rate compares with Parker's? What about Lescott and Jagielka? They were fabulous!

But what I really don't get is why the glaring Parker error in the match is not mentioned in a single report I have read. Do you remember it? If you support West Ham you should because we saw the same error time and time again when he wore Claret and Blue! Parker tried to turn a circle just 30 yards from his own goal, lost the ball, and Spain were in on goal. Jagielka made a much more telling, though less dramatic, intervention than Parker's and saved the Tottenham Lion's skin. Tell me, had Spain scored then, would Parker have been Man of the Match? Of course not!

Parker remains the darling of the journos because he is a trier. But class? Do me a favour! If you want class, then look at the Spanish midfield! And let's not forget, as Hammers fans, that the man who scored the winner was an Academy product who played more games and scored more goals than Parker ever managed in Claret and Blue!