Premier League - Parker not convinced by United

Eurosport - Wed, 01 Oct 23:50:00 2008

Despite a 3-0 win over Aalborg, former England defender Paul Parker is yet to be convinced by Manchester United's early season form.

2008-2009 Manchester United Dimitar Berbatov - 0

"Three wins out of three, Wayne Rooney is back on goalscoring form and Dimitar Berbatov has opened his goal account - after a shaky start to the season, things are starting to look up for United.

Or are they?

I'm still not entirely convinced the champions have hit their stride yet. Just over two weeks ago I said there was still more to come from them and, despite the recent upturn in fortunes, that view has not changed.

United's win over AaB Aalborg in the Champions League capped off a run of three wins and two draws - including one away at Chelsea - in all competitions, but for me performances are just as important as results.

Forget about the three points, there's nothing better than a good performance to give players the confidence they need to go and win the next match.

And on the pitch over the past few weeks United have failed to demonstrate that they are the finished article quite yet.

Take the game in Denmark. United gave the ball away cheaply and did not convince against one of the poorest sides in the competition. That the Danish side have Marek Saganowski - a player who could not even make the grade in the Championship - leading their line speaks volumes.

If it had been Arsenal playing at the Energi Nord Arena, the Danish champions would have ended up on the receiving end of a mauling - but United never threatened to do that.

They gave the ball away far too cheaply when they should have been dominating possession and giving Aalborg the run-around.

We've seen it before and United's away form in the competition still worries me. And with trips to Celtic Park and Villarreal still to come, it's not going to get any easier for them. Ferguson can definitely expect more of a battle in Scotland and Spain than the one his side got in Denmark.

But it was good to see Berbatov get on the scoresheet, although his muted celebrations after having found the back of the net were a little odd. His reaction to the first in particular was akin to that of a player who has just netted the sixth goal in an FA Cup drubbing of a lower league minnow, not his first in a United shirt in a Champions League game.

He still seems to be trying to understand what it means to score for a club like United. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to scoring in a 'bigger' Premier League game.

One other pleasing aspect of the game was the introduction of Rafael Da Silva in my old position at right-back. The young Brazilian did well enough and, although on occasion he is too keen to go to ground, he seems to pose a real threat coming forward.

That is something that Wes Brown doesn't really give United, although I don't agree that the England man has been overtaken in the pecking order by Rafael. I know the boss had said he would not experiment with his side in such an important game, but the Brazilian got the nod ahead of Wes purely because it was as good a time as any to give him a run out. I'm sure Wes will be back in the starting line-up for the next game.

Rafael was not born to defend - he was born to run at defences with the ball at his feet - but with coaching, the defensive side of his game can only improve. And at United, the boy is in the best possible place to make that happen."

Paul Parker was speaking to Mike Hytner / Eurosport

Comment 31 - 50 of 70

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  1. Does it really matter what Parker says? I suppose I am rising to the bait by even reading his column as most of what he says is written by a guy with the biggest chip on his shoulder, ever.
    He was a guy who just about proved his worth with QPR but was found badly wanting when he went to ManU. He soon petered out there as he was way out of their class.How he managed to be picked by England I shall never know.
    It's a good job Fergie and Benitez do not read his rubbish, mind you it would give them something to laugh about.

    From Ray S, on Wed 1 Oct 4:41PM

  2. Swang9uk

    I rather think Zuba makes a good point. More importantly he has hit upon the only thing worth taking from this meaningless article - at this stage of the season it is irrelevant what anyone other than highly respected and blooded managers think.

    From Dominic, on Wed 1 Oct 4:41PM

  3. Parker makes a fair point. United haven't been convincing lately but they are not playing badly either. The performance at Chelski was quite reasonable I would say and at 1-0 probably could and should have won. United seem to be at their best when Scholes and Carrick are playing regularly and when Ronaldo and Rooney are at their peak. Berbatov obviously needs time to be the 'extra dimension' that SAF is seeking while I would say Tevez, Nani and Anderson are United's supersubs who can turn the tide of even the biggest games.

    It is certainly good that SAF has been able to introduce new young defenders without it being damaging results-wise but I think long-term it doesn't make sense to continue opting for the aging and frankly slowing Neville over the defensive rock that has been Brown over the last season.

    From Anon, on Wed 1 Oct 4:08PM

  4. Parker has little useful to say but he knows an article like this will wind some up so that's why he does it. Rather pathetic really.

    From timdjohnson9, on Wed 1 Oct 4:06PM

  5. Zuba
    Clear up your mind and make a logical and coherent conclusion before commenting on Paul's article

    From swang9uk, on Wed 1 Oct 4:01PM

  6. Is Parker "EVER" happy???

    From miniroll32, on Wed 1 Oct 4:01PM

  7. Tell them Parker!

    I dont understand people getting upset by an article. The mans job is to write articles and hell write it whether you like it or not. Dont like it? DONT READ IT!

    Simple as that...

    And yes, mutd plays very badly, and last year they played better as the season was going. But they didnt have any injuries, few minor ones. Lets see if they play good with 5-6 keyplayers injured...

    From NothingMan, on Wed 1 Oct 3:28PM

  8. paul parker is an ignorant journalist or what ever he is. needs to just shut up altogether. on that note who cares abt Man-ure i am a GUNNER

    From dercute, on Wed 1 Oct 3:18PM

  9. Paul, what are taking to keep coming out with this drivell ? last week Liverpool this week United, i would of thought a 3-0 win away from home is a good result by anyones standards especially in the Champions League.

    Get real Paul no team go's out there these days and keeps battering everyone 5 and 6 nil, i've been following the game for 40 years and last nights result was what i would call a good professional job.

    Berbatov got of the mark scoring 2 and Rooney who's on a bit of a roll got the other so what more do you possibly want ? you should know better as a former pro that players cannot not perform to their maximum levels week in week out especially with the number of games these days, even Ronaldo has the odd bad game.

    Stop slagging every little mistake players and teams are bound to make and give credit where credit is due.

    From JOHN, on Wed 1 Oct 2:51PM

  10. Give Berbs/Rooney/Tevz/Ronaldo time to gel and you will see the best footballing side in the world. We already have the best defenders in Rio, Vidic, Evra, and Rafael. Oh, and also one of the best midfields in the world too!

    From JOHN, on Wed 1 Oct 2:46PM

  11. I,m a united fan and proud of Parker who is not afraid to speak his mind..

    From spikeymonty, on Wed 1 Oct 2:39PM

  12. saganowski is not @#$%...what is on with him

    From ryanho0001, on Wed 1 Oct 2:35PM

  13. To all fellow man u fans.
    Cya in roma ;)

    From d, on Wed 1 Oct 2:31PM

  14. Well, I support United and I have for 15 years but Parker is absolutely correct. It was a good result but not the a great performance. Even great teams need to really assess themselves to make progress.. Nani was atrocious, Berba didn't impress me one bit despite scoring twice. Rafael showed potential but I certainly hope that he has not overtaken Wes brown because he definitively has a lot to learn.
    It was good to see Ronaldo try, he was desperate to score but only 2 players were above average Evra and Giggs.
    I think the formation is dodgy, we are also rotating too many people that we can't get anyone set of players together for any length of time. Infact, only 4 players are sure to start if fit VDS, Rio, Vidic & Evra and we need to get our acts together really.

    From akintayo a, on Wed 1 Oct 2:28PM

  15. I met Paul Parker twice, and on both occasions was a complete @#$%. This just confirms it.

    From Michael, on Wed 1 Oct 2:03PM

  16. Here we go again........parker you r a nutjob

    From Harry, on Wed 1 Oct 1:57PM

  17. Paul Parker is right in some respects. Man Utd are not firing on all cylinders yet and last nights display demonstrated this. Poor passing, and some terrible misses. However on the plus side three very well taken goals especially Berbatovs second. There is a lot more to come and when they do get it right heaven help the team on the receiving end

    From Rev. Graham J.Smith, on Wed 1 Oct 1:52PM

  18. Shut it Parker!

    From slivatree, on Wed 1 Oct 1:32PM

  19. I'm sorry ... chappy2211 also remembers that Paul Parker turned his back on the ball which effectively ended England's chances of a 2nd world cup ...

    My son is 10 years old and has NEVER turned his back on a ball ... it's something that defenders are meant to know!!!

    BOTTLER!

    From Paul G, on Wed 1 Oct 1:25PM

  20. how on earth does this bloke get paid for stating the obvious?

    i'm sure he'll be there at the end of the season telling us how he knew all along that Utd would win the title etc ...

    every time he's on here he's trying to say something controversial ... like I said last week ... he's a 24carat @#$%!

    (am I the only person who still remembers his own goal when he turned his back on the ball?)

    From Paul G, on Wed 1 Oct 1:20PM
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