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Horse Racing Talking Football With....Paul Parker: Manchester United are Better Off Finishing Eighth
After Manchester United lost in grueling fashion to Liverpool, we caught up with former Manchester United and England ace, Paul Parker. We discussed what went wrong, how to move forward and what he expects from the club in the next four games where the league positions will be decided.
Were there any positives for Man Utd in last night’s drubbing at Anfield?
“I would say when (Jadon) Sancho came on and also that the lad named Hannibal Mejbri. When he (Hannibal Mejbri) came on, he chased the ball around and got into a few fights, and he’s upset a few Liverpool players. It wasn’t so much about football as it was taking on a young lad to show appetite. Which is quite embarrassing really.”
“I think he somehow figured out how big the game was and he took it upon himself to work hard. It wasn’t the case of getting picked. He wanted to work hard and make a point. It’s just a shame really that he didn’t come out earlier, he never got an opportunity to do it in the game against Norwich and come on then. But, yeah, he was a massive positive.”
“It says a lot ‘cause I think he came in the last 10 to 15 minutes. So that tells you how well the lad has done.”
Sancho was a breath of fresh air. He really took on a few Liverpool players. They looked like a different side after he came on after the break.
“They needed to score a goal then and they didn’t when they got an opportunity.”
“It was just a lack of technique. Everything that you can think of, they just didn’t have it, to go and get that 2:1, because Liverpool got a little bit edgy and it never materialised.”
Anthony Devlin / Alamy Stock Photo
Ralf Rangnick remarked that Man Utd are ‘six years’ behind Liverpool at the moment. Do you agree with that statement?
“It’s a difficult one. Because I don’t know what difference six years make. I think we need to look and see how long it has taken (Jürgen) Klopp to get to where he is with Liverpool to justify how long it would take.”
“When you look at the finances that Manchester United have had, and you look at Liverpool, and you look how Liverpool has spent it, and then you look at the players that they bring in, and you see those players hit the ground running, none more so than (Luis) Díaz and (Diogo) Jota, and you look at (Ibrahima) Konaté. They played really well in the last few games, and he’s left out for this big game. It’s amazing how good their squad is and what they can bring on.”
“So I have to say, I think there’s a good chance that he’s (Ralf Rangnick) right. Because I think you can’t just go out and buy, go out and spend.”
“They couldn’t do it, to go out and buy what Liverpool have got, you couldn’t go and get anywhere near Liverpool, you gonna try and go for a shortcut. You’re gonna buy a bunch of players, and to convince all of them together that there are good players around them. Cause I mean, if you go out and buy one great player, he’s not gonna come to Manchester United because he knows it’s gonna be too much pressure put on him.”
“So, United is about to try to get quality players to come to them, cause they know if they go there, expectations are going to be too much, and as much as they wanna play for Manchester United, and put themselves in that position, there’s only so much you want to put on yourself. Cause you don’t really want the Harry Maguire treatment, do you?”
What do you think Eric Baily has to do to get a game at Manchester United?
“Well, the problem with Eric Baily is he’ll go out there and play like his life depends on it. He will put his body in the line. There is such a thing as a non-textbook defender and he’s that. Just the way he does it, his body and body position is unorthodox, everything about him is”
“But when he has one or two decent games, he would suddenly go down and get injured. So you can’t rely on him to play week-in and week-out, because every time he has done really well and the fans like what he does. He is a hundred percent natural defender because he senses danger when he sees it. But he’s liable to get sent off in the way he plays. Not very reactive, has no patience, looking always to clear his line, so he can kick anybody in the box and give away silly penalties or free kicks on the edge. There’s no composure with him. So he’s untrustworthy, in that sense, but he doesn’t play enough games.”
“He’s a person that would suddenly get injured. I mean he’s got a great career at United, he’s hardly played any football and he’s earned a lot of money. You just couldn’t put any faith in him. No faith at all.”
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We saw Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones last night. What did you make of their performance? Phil Jones obviously got taken off at halftime.
“I feel sorry for Phil Jones. He went nearly two years without playing a first-team game for Man United, and they brought him in for the game against Wolves where he’s mostly the best player for Manchester United, played incredibly. And then he doesn’t get a look in till yesterday in a game of that magnitude.”
“I think to myself, blimey, did Phil Jones really like to play in a game like that? If he’s honest, I think he would say ‘no’”.
“He’d want to start against Norwich and then go into that game feeling a little bit better about himself. So they put him under immense pressure and I don’t think it was good man-management to go and do that. To take him off at halftime suddenly makes him look like a scapegoat when he wasn’t.”
“For Lindelof, he’d done well, he did okay. Not exciting, but it doesn’t have to be exciting, but just to do a job. I can’t think of anything happening that I would turn around and go ‘bang’”. Phil Jones might look at the first goal. He couldn’t get anywhere near Diaz’s recovery. I mean, the biggest problem was Harry Maguire and how he showed up at the final goal. What he was thinking with a final pass to a lad who has only come on.?”
“So he saw himself in trouble, and so he thought – I’m gonna get out of trouble here and I don’t care where I do I’ll just give it to someone. It was terrible what he had done, it was so unnecessary. So, so unnecessary to do what he had done to concede that fourth goal.”
That has been a theme with him throughout the season, hasn’t it?
“It has, and if the new manager comes in, and he still carries on with him and he turns him around, it would be the greatest recovery ever in football or anything in life if he can recover from a poor season like this.”
“The whole thing could have been done better, in a sense that he could join Manchester United, but not made captain. You don’t bring somebody in like that and make him captain with no history at all.”
“But that’s what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went and done. He put him under too much pressure and he wasn’t ready to lead a Manchester United team. He’s never captained a team in that sense. So it doesn’t make any sense to what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had done, to be perfectly honest. It hasn’t helped his career at Manchester United.”
Ralf Rangnick remarked that Manchester United would probably need to bring in 10 players into the team after the defeat to Liverpool. Do you think the whole squad needs an overhaul?
“They do, but how are you going to get ten players, and what is he looking for? Is he looking just to be able to compete and get the right players in and work with them and to get the right culture there? But you’re not gonna go out and get 10 people brought in and then to try and to win a league.”
“You can’t, it’s not that easy to go and do it. It’s near on impossible to do that. But, I can see where he’s coming from and that’s a dig at all players to say they are not good enough. They might be good enough, but they haven’t got within themselves to play for United at such a difficult moment in time.”
“And that’s where you look for your big game players, against Liverpool. It’s a very good chance for these big game players and you sign them to play in these big games. Bruno Fernandes is not a big game player. He was found wanting in all big games and definitely last night as well.”
What areas do they need to prioritise? Because as you said you can’t bring in 10 players.
“I think you got to look at the midfield. Do you want to play with proper wide people or are you gonna go with people that keep cutting inside all the time? United they don’t go really on the outside, they don’t cross the ball. You need to send a forward with energy to go in behind, players who want to go and run behind.”
“Look at Liverpool, look at Diaz, Jota when he came on, you look at Mane, you look at Salah. I mean, you look at Fabinho. They got so many players that can run behind. They got Andy Robertson, a full-back that can run behind. They got players that are willing to give everything and nothing less, rather than the manager having to ask people to run. And it seems like Rangnick only had to ask the players to run cause they don’t get anybody running behind at this moment.”
“And when they do run in behind they end up with poor touches like Marcus Rashford’s opportunity in the first half. When he ran in behind and the first way he decided to take that ball down was off the top of his foot. You know, take it on your instep, go on a hundred per cent to make sure you get on to it. But he didn’t do that. There was another one in the second half when he again made a wrong choice. Wrong choice of where to take the ball down and to get a shot off.”
What do you make of the links to Christopher Nkunku at RB Leipzig? Nkunku has been a standout in the Bundesliga with 17 goals and 13 assists and reportedly will only cost £53-54 million
“The problem you got there, is that Manchester United went and got Sancho, who showed good form, and good stats while at Dortmund. You know, he’s moved into a little bit more of a high-pressure league. But there should be something there and it’s not materialising. “
“He chose to come to the right team at the wrong time.”
“Now I’m quite sure that if the player is gonna be persuaded, Rangnick will be the one to persuade him, he knows him. But is he gonna put himself under pressure to come and play for Manchester United at this given time? He’s mostly seen the creativity, so if he was to come, he can say, Yeah, I’m interested, but you’re gonna bring in at least two midfield players to play behind me because as much as I can really make my own I still need help. They all need help.”
“So, will it be the right choice for him to come in there and put everything that he’s earned in Germany to come and play in the Premier League for Manchester United?”
“Cause I’m not highly recommending it to go there at this moment in time cause it could cost you your career.”
Do you think Man Utd can get a result against an out-of-form Arsenal side at the Emirates?
“Well, it’s a kind of a game where Arsenal can suddenly go “bang” and everything works great for them. The young players come up all of a sudden, Arsenal is the best team, Arteta should be the manager of Barcelona, everything. That’s what the press is like at this moment of time.”
“They could flip, It’s just that kind of game where Arsenal could mostly think – Yeah, this is the one. But you don’t know, Manchester United, I think you know what you are going to get from them, they haven’t done anything the whole season. The only thing consistent about Manchester United this season they have been awful. When they have won games, they’ve been awful. They’ve been just getting over the line. Never been convincing in any of those games.”
“So, that’s virtually like a playoff game and virtually if Manchester United blows that one, they’re out. They are not gonna make Champions League, and to be honest, I think Manchester United are not going to make Champions League.”
“They’re better off finishing eight without having no European football, just concentrating on league form, just trying to get themselves right in the league. In that sense, I know you can’t pick and choose. There’s the Conference League, which is not really the greatest place to go, cause given everything they could be embarrassed in that.
“We saw Spurs getting embarrassed Under Nuno (Espirito Santo) in that tournament as well. So, these teams are going to raise themselves to play Manchester United. The competition would love Manchester United. So, United starting in the Europa League, they still would have to work hard to finish in the Europa League as well.”
“So, it is a difficult one, but they have to beat Arsenal and they have to beat Chelsea as well. And Chelsea know that to guarantee they need to beat Manchester United next Thursday.”
Manchester United are playing Arsenal, Chelsea, Brentford and Brighton in the next four games. How many points do you expect them to get in total across these fixtures?
“It wouldn’t surprise me if they just took six points. I expect them to beat Brighton, but Brentford at home, they are a far better side than Norwich. And then Arsenal away, and Chelsea at home, no guarantees. No guarantees at all for Manchester United.”
“Brentford have got energy, they run and they work hard and that’s a problem for Manchester United. Arsenal is such a big game. Emirates is gonna be sold out and I don’t think that they got a chance there. Chelsea wants to guarantee their third spot, just to make sure. I can’t see them getting anything from that game. Rangnick might decide he’s gonna change it up a bit and not play a few players and maybe go with a little bit of inexperience. I think that the fans would rather see that.”
“Now, fans have had enough of people now. It’s wrong, it’s a shame really with people willing to embarrass themselves like that on the football pitch. But, some of them have done it already and they don’t deserve to play anymore.”
