Manchester United legend Paul Parker says Jose Mourinho is causing issues at Tottenham much earlier than he anticipated and it could help Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s chances of getting a positive result next weekend.
Spurs have not enjoyed the best of times with the controversial new laws and VAR and Jose Mourinho made a spectacle yesterday by protesting Newcastle’s important penalty. Parker – speaking exclusively on this week’s Talking Devils podcast – says it could be an indication that the issues at the London club are already quite serious.
“I couldn’t believe what I saw with Jose when he went up the tunnel after the decision… if I was a player I would have loved that. That would make me feel good and really believe in him next time he says we’re all in it together!” Parker said, sarcastically. “Then one of his henchmen goes out and gets a red card. You look at it and think the negative atmosphere is transmitting into something serious quicker than it did at Manchester United. There’s no way in a million years the boss would have done that. Brian Kidd wouldn’t have berated the referee.
“It was like deja vu, just happening more quickly than it did at United. So it could be a good time for United to play them because it’s obviously playing on his mind, he’s already upset Tottenham fans by what he’s said. He’s playing United, he’ll be desperate to come to Old Trafford and get something, but he’s also got a game against Chelsea he won’t want to lose. He still thinks he’s owed something from Manchester United and I don’t know where he got that idea from because they don’t owe him anything.”
United boss Solskjaer has his own problems to sort out of course. They were not much improved defensively from the game against Crystal Palace despite winning at Brighton, but although the boss came in for criticism for selecting Victor Lindelof, Parker has some sympathy for the position he is in.
“It’s only Ole who can make the decision,” he says. “He had to consider the Lindelof one. Everyone will have seen how much stick Lindelof has been getting, if you’re not seeing it you’ll be told about it. If Ole left him out and brought Bailly in, and let’s say Bailly gets injured in two or three games, he would have to go back to Victor and ask him to play again. You have to understand why he’s not playing Bailly and that’s possibly the long game. He might need one of them again and there are ways to do it. I am not sure of the right way but it’s fair to ask if he can trust Bailly to not do something silly or erratic, that he won’t jump at someone or go down holding his head.”
Talking Devils is brought to you in association with Classic Football Shirts. Listen to the show to get an exclusive discount code of 10%. Review the podcast and post that review to @TalkOfTheDevils on Twitter for a chance to win prizes.
