Paul Parker is not a big fan of Manchester United defender Eric Bailly
Former Manchester United right-back Paul Parker spoke about the club’s form with Betting Expert after their 4-0 loss against Liverpool on Wednesday.
The Red Devils featured a three-man defense in the Premier League game with Phil Jones alongside Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. Meanwhile, Eric Bailly remained on the bench yet again. He has made just seven appearances in all competitions this season for United.
Parker spoke about why Bailly is down in the pecking order, highlighting his style of defending. He said:
“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”
The 58-year-old has referred to the Ivorian’s injury record in the past, which makes him unreliable. Parker said:
“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.”
Parker believes that the centre-back has not got the patience and composure that is required of the modern defenders to play out from the back.
He added:
“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.”
The former Manchester United player wrapped up his thoughts about the defender by taking a cheeky dig at him. He pointed out how he’s making a fortune without stepping on the pitch. Parker said:
“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.”
Since signing for Manchester United in 2016 from Villarreal, Bailly has only managed 113 appearances due to lengthy spells spent on the treatment table.
Manchester United boss Rangnick calls for massive rebuild to restore club’s reputation
Manchester United will go a fifth consecutive season trophyless. They are also far from the standards on the pitch they set under Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick failed to revitalize the team after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking in November. They are struggling to finish in the top-four.
Their awful performance against Liverpool at Anfield was an eye-opener to how far behind the club has fallen.
After the game, Rangnick addressed the media. He conceded that in terms of quality, Jurgen Klopp’s side are as much as six years ahead of Manchester United, saying:
“We have to accept Liverpool are six years ahead of us now. There will be a rebuild for sure but that does not help us when we still have five games to play. For me, it is clear there will be six, seven, eight, maybe ten new players. Before you sign those players you need to be aware how you want to play.”
Manchester United have chosen Ajax manager Erik ten Hag as their next boss to turn the fortunes of the club.
