Scott Parker has emerged as a potential manager target for Tottenham Hotspur out of the blue.
Parker is admired by Tottenham and understandably so, due to his work in Spurs’ academy and the tremendous job he has done during his time at Burnley.
Even Jamie O’Hara would like Scott Parker managing Tottenham having played with him at Spurs.
But a true reflection of how exciting a manager Scott Parker is can only be revealed by those who have gone toe-to-toe with him — one of them being Pep Guardiola when the former Tottenham midfielder was coaching Fulham in March 2021.
Pep Guardiola explained why Tottenham manager target Scott Parker is ‘incredibly good’
Guardiola initially lauded Scott Parker due to the stellar job he felt the Englishman was doing during his time at Craven Cottage, as he said via Manchester City’s official website: “Since day one, they have Fulham have played incredibly well. They were relegated with Scott at the end of the season and after that, they were promoted. In English football, there are incredibly good managers such as Graham Potter at Brighton and Scott at Fulham.”
Pep Guardiola went on to explain that if he was a fan, he would love watching Scott Parker’s teams due to how he sticks to his principles and plays an entertaining brand of football: “It is what I admire the most. What I admire is that when it is not going well they continue to do it and at the end the results come.”
“They make the sport nice, when both teams want to attack and create, not just wait for one mistake.”
Guardiola continued to laud Scott Parker, saying four years ago: “I have the feeling that all the new generation of managers have this quality. Sometimes they cannot do it. You have the idea that you are going to lose a lot of games, but you are going to draw a few games and win the games you need to.”
“At the end, the spectators will enjoy it more, advertising will be higher, the TV ratings will be higher.”
Scott Parker head-to-head record vs Pep Guardiola
Scott Parker impressed Sir Alex Ferguson as well and seems to be held in high esteem amongst some of the greatest managers in the history of the game.
Even Gary Neville called Parker a “special” manager in the past.
While Tottenham will be encouraged by all the glowing endorsements made to highlight how brilliant Scott Parker is, they might not be too bothered by his head-to-head record against Pep Guardiola.
Outsmarting Guardiola is no mean feat and especially considering Parker was managing sides in the past who were not expected to topple his great Manchester City teams.
But if the 44-year-olds returns to Tottenham, he will be hoping to outthink elite tacticians like Pep Guardiola amongst many others in the Premier League.