With the first round of Premier League fixtures and the return of the league starting this Friday, we caught up with former Manchester United defender Paul Parker who had a lot to say on Manchester United’s wide options. Parker didn’t hold back on the likes of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho but had some adoration for young attacker Amad Diallo.
In this article:
- Antony’s left foot is a log not a wand
- Antony like many only thinks about himself
- Diallo deserves a showing of faith from ten Hag
- Parker worries about media pressure if Sancho remains at United
- Ten Hag needs United management team to back him publicly
Antony’s left foot is a log not a wand
Manchester United currently find themselves in their rebuilding stage under the guidance of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new management team at Old Trafford. The rebuild will take time and this means players from the previous regime will still have an opportunity to make a name for themselves or potentially find themselves out of the door. One United player whose future seems uncertain is Brazilian winger Antony.
Antony has scored just five goals and claimed three assists in 54 Premier League appearances and was an unused substitute for both the FA Cup Final and the recent Community Shield match. Last season saw Antony utilised as a left back at times which he seemed to take issue with but there is talk amongst the United fan base that he could have a future in the position. Parker had hoped the Brazilian would have kicked on last season but found himself disappointed with both Antony’s performance and attitude.
“I really don’t know. Blimey. I was hoping last season after his first season, that he was going to show something. I was hoping that with a full pre-season his second season in Manchester would serve a purpose.
“It only served a purpose to let everyone know that it’s a fact and it’s written in stone that he’s not very good. He’s just not very good. I look at his left foot, and normally you say people have got a wand as a left foot, he’s got a log.”
Antony like many only thinks about himself
Following United’s dramatic FA Cup win last season against Liverpool, footage emerged of the Brazilan seemingly sulking after he was told to play as an emergency left-back.
The switch whilst unconventional seemed to have worked as United secured a dramatic 4-3 win over their bitter rivals to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup which they later went on to win in May this year. Parker says such behaviour would not have occurred during his playing career and believes players of today are too self indulgent.
“He came on against Liverpool, and he was meant to come in and go at left back and started sulking. Any manager of my time and I’d say around the 2000’s and 2010’s, especially a British manager, you would never have complained. You’d maybe pull a face internally within yourself, and then you might talk about it after. But the last thing you would go out there is to make a rumpus and affect your teammates, because his teammates would have been worrying what someone like him would do next if they’re unhappy. At the moment in time, the team is not the first mind on quite a few of these players. It’s more themselves.”
Diallo deserves a showing of faith from ten Hag
Amad Diallo is a name that’s been on the mind of United fans for quite some time. Especially after his loan spell at Sunderland during the 2022-2023 season. It was highly successful and played a crucial role in revitalising his career after a challenging period at Manchester United.
Diallo was a standout performer in the Championship, scoring 13 goals and providing 3 assists over the course of the season. His ability to operate as a winger or attacking midfielder gave Sunderland a creative spark, and his technical skills, particularly his dribbling and ball control, were often key in breaking down opposition defences.
Following a return to United and a setback with injuries, Diallo made a name for himself after scoring the winner in United’s 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter finals clash. Diallo now appears to be in favour and Parker is a huge fan of the Ivorian.
“Well, I like what I see from him. When you’re talking about a wide player at United. In the small run of games he had at the end of last season, he’s done more than what all the others have done.
“Very rarely gives the ball away. He’s positive with the ball. Makes the right decisions in terms of what he does with the ball. Out of all of them there I would put my faith in him as a wide player before the rest of them. That’s without a doubt.”
Parker worries “United’s PR boy” Rashford may block Diallo
Despite Amad’s ability, Parker seems to be wary of politics playing a key role in potentially blocking Diallo’s path.
“But the manager’s got that problem. He’s got a player who’s born in Manchester and he’s meant to be like Manchester United’s PR boy?
“So the manager might feel obliged to keep trying to flog that one and hope that somewhere along the line it’s going to happen. Because we know that if he has two good games and scores two goals straight away, the whole thing’s going to change. And so in today’s world now, everything else gets forgotten.”
Garnacho’s Ronaldo impression fails to impress Parker
Alongside Rashford, United also have Garnacho and Sancho as options out wide. One of which is also seen as an academy prospect alongside Rashford and Sancho who cost the club £73m almost three years ago.
“Then you’ve got Garnacho who’s come through the ranks. He wants to be and is trying to be someone else and doesn’t really deliver. I think Amad is a better player with the ball. He’s a better decision maker. He can beat people easily without any kind of pace. Can Amad play in front of him? Then you bring back Sancho? The media are still trying to sell him to somebody? Trying hard? It’s amazing. They say everything between him and Ten Hag’s all right.
“The way the lad went about it all and what he was saying and the way he talked about the club and the manager. I don’t think it’s all right. With the fans he’s got a lot of work to do. He went to Dortmund and I think he did okay. It wasn’t great. He was in the Champions League final but that doesn’t mean anything for me. Because you played in the final it doesn’t suddenly make you great.”
Parker worries about media pressure if Sancho remains at United
Tensions between Sancho and Ten Hag surfaced in September 2023 after Sancho was excluded from the squad for a match against Arsenal. Ten Hag attributed the decision to Sancho’s subpar training performances, but Sancho openly challenged this explanation, resulting in a major rift. Consequently, Sancho was sidelined and later loaned to Borussia Dortmund in January 2024, where he played a modest role in their Champions League campaign.
Sancho returned to Manchester United and engaged in productive discussions with Ten Hag, leading to his reintegration into the first-team squad. He took part in pre-season training, and Ten Hag has considered deploying him in a new role as a false nine, especially in light of injuries to other key strikers. However, Parker is worried about the media scrutiny around the winger if he were to remain at the club beyond the transfer window.
“Is he going to start regularly as the manager may now feel he’s got to play him because he knows the moment he leaves him out, the media will start getting to Sancho and then pushing him to ask him why he isn’t playing. If you were somewhere else, you’d be playing regularly or if you were at Dortmund you’d be playing. So the manager’s got maybe three players who the press are going to be biting at to get reactions from. Ten Hag has got a young boy in Amad, another one who United paid for when he was a young lad who has shown enough to a lot of the fans to deserve a little bit of a run.”
Ten Hag needs United management team to back him publicly
As we all know, politics plays a part in football and Parker is concerned that media scrutiny around some of United’s players could have an impact on which players are selected to start for United this season.
“So I don’t know how the manager is going to deal with this one but he needs the backing of that group to turn around and say he’s the boss. That’s the right decision. We’re with him. He needs backing from the likes of Omar Berrada, Ashworth and Jason Wilcox so all the media can see it and then that will calm them down a bit. The wide areas have been a big, big issue for United. It’s been really poor. There’s a little bit of light with Amad in what he does. But at the moment for me he’s battling all the forces who don’t want him playing. They want the others to play.”
