I think either would improve the squad, but I'm leaning towards Parker for a couple of reasons...
Less likely to throw his toys out of his pram if not played/team not doing so well, more in the way of the fabled 'leadership qualities' and probably cheaper in both fee and wages, thus leaving more money available for another striker/centre back/whatever.
I'm sure the people who think this is a no-brainer just prefer Diarra because he's a) foreign and b) 'plays' for Madrid/doesn't play for West Ham.
I don't get the "Would Parker play for Madrid?" reasoning. Would Diarra have been as important to West Ham as Parker was? Would he have kept them up when they should have gone down.
Lots of players who wouldn't make the Madrid bench would improve us massively. Both Parker and Diarra are upgrades on Jenas and Huddlestone.
Diarra is good midfielder and still young enough to be here for a while (though history suggests he won't stay around for too long). He is tenacious enough but with Palacios and Sandro still on the books it's not that one quality we are lacking in.
I realise that he is also a good passing player, well rounded in general I guess, but it's his grit which is the stand out quality.
But Parker is a leader with awesome floppy hair. He makes passionate half time speeches and runs around a lot. Even if it's a risky signing, with his injuries and whatnot, I just have the feeling that Parker would be just the kind of person we need in our team.
I like Diarra but I will raise concerns I raised a couple of years ago (and ended up arguing with General Levy about! :lol that he is a wee bit short and a central midfield of him and Modric may be found wanting againt teams with bigger boys in that area.
Who knows though, maybe this short twosome would conquer all.
Once Sandro's back though, someone's gonna have to make way as he's the db's.
Needed more - Defensive Midfielder v Centre Midfielder = DM if Palacios is sold, CM if Jenas is loaned or sold. The more likely position required = DM = Diarra
Succeded at the top level - Parker = No, rare oppertunities. Diarra = High level of competition but featured often.
I think from those points Diarra is easily the better option and all the points add up to make Diarra more value for money even though Parker is the cheaper. The questionable thing about Diarra though is whether or not he can succeed in the EPL having not played very often for either Arsenal or Chelsea.
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