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Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker has criticized interim manager Ralf Ragnick for selecting Phil Jones in the starting XI against Liverpool.
The 30-year-old centre-back started his second game of the season against the high-flying Reds. His only other league appearance came in a 1-0 defeat to Wolves in January.
Ragnick's decision to start Jones as part of a back five against their great rivals was a huge surprise to Manchester United fans, which didn't pay off. Liverpool won the historic clash 4-0. They completely dominated the visitors from start to finish at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp's side made it 11 wins in 12 Premier League games.
Jones, who has been at Old Trafford since 2012, was brought off at half-time as it became clear he could not handle Liverpool's blistering attack. Parker believes it was unfair on Jones to be thrown in at the deep end and told BettingExpert.com:
“I feel sorry for Phil Jones. He went nearly two years without playing a first-team game for Man United, and they brought him in for the game against Wolves where he’s mostly the best player for Manchester United, played incredibly. And then he doesn’t get a look in till yesterday in a game of that magnitude.”
“I think to myself, blimey, did Phil Jones really like to play in a game like that? If he’s honest, I think he would say, ‘No.' He’d want to start against Norwich and then go into that game feeling a little bit better about himself. So they put him under immense pressure and I don’t think it was good man-management to go and do that. To take him off at half-time suddenly makes him look like a scapegoat when he wasn’t.”
Former Manchester United defender comments on Ragnick's claims of needing 'ten players'
Following the heavy defeat at Anfield, a furious Ragnick told Sky Sports that the Red Devils need up to ten new players this summer. The club have been poor for much of the season and are likely to miss out on Champions League qualification this season.
Parker agreed with this assessment but questioned how realistic that prospect was. The former England defender said:
“They do, but how are you going to get ten players, and what is he looking for? Is he looking just to be able to compete and get the right players in and work with them and to get the right culture there? You’re not gonna go out and get 10 people brought in and then to try and to win a league. You can’t, it’s not that easy to go and do it."
