With voting open for the Player of the Year award we recall Scott Parker's 2011 success

Scott Parker became a key member of the England team in 2011 and his influence in midfield earned the praise of the fans who voted him their Player of the Year.

A man of the match performance against Spain in the November emphasised his new role. A standing ovation from the Wembley crowd as he left the pitch after 85 minutes acted as an appreciation of his outstanding year.

Having transferred from West Ham to Tottenham earlier in the summer, the 31-year-old convinced then manager Fabio Capello that his ability to tackle, distribute and control the game made him a shoo-in for selection.

Capello described Parker as “simply incredible” following his display against the world champions.

Thirty-two players represented England in the nine games in 2011 and Parker played in seven of them.

His name was etched on the Vauxhall Player of the Year trophy alongside Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves and David Beckham.

“It’s a great honour,” said Parker when he was presented with the trophy at the Spurs training ground. “Just looking at the names that are on the trophy it’s quite an achievement. It’s a proud moment for me.

“When you feel the fans are appreciating what you’ve done, it’s extra special. It’s been a good year for me at international level so I’m delighted the fans have picked me.”

Parker won each of his first three caps playing for three different clubs - Charlton, Chelsea and Newcastle - and his fourth cap came against Denmark last year, when he was performing heroics in West Ham’s midfield.

Arguably, though, Parker’s best England performance of 2011 came against Spain at Wembley, a game which he cites as one of his own personal highlights.

“It was a great experience,” said Parker. “It was a very tough game which we all knew it would be.  They are a very, very good team who put us under a lot of pressure, but ultimately we got a goal and we got the win.

“It was very pleasing, and for me personally; I played quite well and it was quite humbling to leave Wembley to a standing ovation. That was a bit surreal.

“That was probably one of the stand out [games of 2011] and the Wales game [as well]. It was my first start in the qualifying campaign, it was a massive game for me personally and a big game as a team and we got a great result.”

Previous Winners

2003	David Beckham	Manchester United
2004	Frank Lampard	Chelsea
2005	Frank Lampard	Chelsea
2006	Owen Hargreaves	Bayern Munich
2007	Steven Gerrard	Liverpool
2008	Wayne Rooney	Manchester United
2009	Wayne Rooney	Manchester United
2010	Ashley Cole	Chelsea
2011	Scott Parker	Tottenham Hotspur

Cole, Gerrard, Hart, Johnson and Welbeck are all in the hunt this year andit's up toyouwhichstarwill claimthe2012 England Player of the Year award at the inaugural FA England Awards in association with Vauxhallat St. George's Park on Sunday 3 February 2013.

Place your vote in the poll below before the closing date of 13 January 2013. You can also vote for the England Men's Under-21sand Women's Senior Players of the Year, too.