Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker has hit out at Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for playing two holding midfielders in his team.
It’s been a disappointing start to the season for Man Utd, and Solskjaer will be under huge pressure now after the club’s surprise early elimination from the Champions League with a 3-2 defeat away to RB Leipzig this week.
MORE: Ex-Manchester United ace names overlooked Red Devils star who hasn’t played enough
The Norwegian tactician looked a risky appointment when he was first brought in, due to his lack of experience at the highest level of management, though his fine start as interim boss landed him the job full time.
His tactics will be under the microscope now, however, and Parker has been left unimpressed by his use of two holding midfielders in this line up for most games.
Writing in his column for Eurosport, Parker slammed Solskjaer’s tactics for giving a boost to Leipzig on Tuesday night, suggesting his opposite number, Julian Nagelsmann, couldn’t believe his luck.
“Solskjaer is too reliant on having two holding midfielders all the time. It doesn’t make sense,” Parker said.
“He’s going into a game where you can’t go looking for a draw, but when you’re putting out two holding players, their coach [Julian Nagelsmann] couldn’t believe what they were doing.
“That first half tells you why Manchester United got their team selection so wrong and you can’t just keep coming out against quality sides and changing your system for every game.
“When I played for United we were 4-4-2 and then when Eric Cantona came along it was 4-4-1-1. It was very flexible. Everyone would do every other person’s job. They’re not flexible in what they’re doing.”