5 PFA Young Player of the Year winners who flopped

Scott Parker

Parker won the PFA Young Player of the Year award during his time with Charlton

Scott Parker was 23 years old when he secured the PFA gong. Playing for Charlton Athletic for the first half of the season, before transferring to Chelsea, the no-nonsense midfielder saw his rather traditional methods rewarded by his equals and although he also won the Football Writers’ award in 2011 when with West Ham United, his overall career has been one of disappointment for so many.

No one could say Parker didn’t give his all on the field of play. He made a career out of charging around the field with intensity, but many often derided his lack of technical ability and in truth that identity ended up following him around throughout his career – and he couldn’t outrun it.

His 18 appearances for the England national team really tells its own story about just how he paled in comparison to many of his more exciting and creative countrymen. Yes, he was dependable at what he did, but the fact he failed to scale the supernatural heights often expected by young starlets encapsulates so much about how he flopped.

Arguably his spell at Chelsea, the biggest club on his resume, was a major disappointment because he only won the Football League Cup there before getting shut out of the team by better players such as Arjen Robben.