Scott Parker shows qualities that earned him England captain's armband against Holland It would be a harsh assessment but the Tottenham midfielder has suffered that before - although he is a far better footballer than he is given credit for - but there was no denying he has the quality that Stuart Pearce highlighted he wanted for the man who would wear the arm-band. Pearce had spoken about the key element of being "unselfish." That might have felt like a slap in the face for Gerrard and he will have been upset at being over-looked but, on reflection, Pearce had every right to select who he wanted. After all this might be his one and only chance to make an imprint as England manager. Even as a potential one-off, Parker was a sound choice, reflecting a change of dynamic especially with Gerrard hinting at retirement. And it meant much to him. The way in which Parker took a private moment, prior to kick-off, to look to the heavens and close his eyes betrayed his feelings and he will have reflected on how quickly he has gone from suffering relegation with West Ham last season to chasing the Champions League this campaign to leading his country. "It's what every boy dreams of and I was no different," he said afterwards. It was pretty emotional. It was an immensely proud moment for me and something I'll always cherish. I would love to keep the armband - I don't know if it was just this game or for the future but I'm proud and I'll do my best. Parker wouldn't have been the only one closing his eyes, though. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp will have winced through laced fingers as Nigel de Jong took Parker out - no other description will do - by the touchline and then Dirk Kuyt finished the job. Parker fell on a pitch-side microphone for good measure and was left flattened and in pain. As Parker eventually scraped himself off the turf, Pearce's words rang true. His captain, he had said, would be someone "whose team-mates know this fella is in it for their greater good." Parker is, also, the England fans player of the year, which is a remarkable comeback for someone who went four and a half years from winning his third cap, in October 2006, to gaining his fourth against Denmark last year. Last night, indeed, was only his seventh start, and his 11th cap for England at the age of 31, while he went to the pre-2010 World Cup training camp and left feeling he had been so overlooked by Fabio Capello that he was a "ghost." Capello eventually accepted his worth to such a degree that the Italian privately regretted not selecting Parker earlier and the player has adapted his game, becoming far more disciplined, and he is appearing increasingly comfortable at this level. Last night the statistics showed, for example, a 97 per cent pass completion rate for Parker in the first period - easily the most successful of the England players. Critics will say that most of those balls were unambitious, often entrenched in England's own half, taking and giving possession to defenders. But that misses the point. England are learning the value of keeping the ball and Parker embodies that although he, and his team, need to be more incisive, as the Dutch emphatically showed. It was another lesson, but there were signs of encouragement for England's young team and their selfless captain.