Paul Parker has called on Michael Carrick to be bold and drop captain Bruno Fernandes for Manchester United’s trip to Leeds United on Sunday.
United face a tricky visit to Elland Road this weekend, with the Red Devils looking to end their five-match winless run in all competitions.
Carrick’s side have won just one Premier League match all season – a 5-2 victory over Ipswich Town in August – and most recently were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Tottenham at Old Trafford
Fernandes scored a hat-trick and provided an assist in the win over Ipswich, but has failed to register a goal contribution in United’s other five league matches.
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And former Red Devils defender Parker urged Carrick to give serious thought to benching the Portuguese international to provide his side with more energy in midfield.
‘They haven’t got someone who’s leading, Fernandes just doesn’t do enough and he’s had a poor season,’ Parker told Metro.
‘He just hasn’t been there when it’s needed, and it’s costing United now, and I think a strong manager, a manager who wants to make a mark and is willing to be brave, is going to make that decision.
‘He [Fernandes] gets frustrated too easily, and he takes it out on his teammates, and at the moment, you need everything together. So, I would leave out Fernandes and try to get as many legs on that pitch as possible.’
Parker continued: ‘A lot of people come up with the usual new slang words: His numbers are good. I’m not into all that rubbish.
‘I’m on about 90 minutes of grafts, and when he comes off, they know you’ve given everything, rather than waiting and looking at the stats after the game to say how well you played.
‘I’m a realist, an old boy, I should say, really, and he doesn’t do enough. If you’re watching the game of football and put all that other rubbish away, then he just hasn’t done enough.’
Owen: 'Carrick needs to address midfield balance'
Elsewhere, former Red Devils striker Michael Owen wants Carrick to take a look at the midfield two behind Fernandes, and insists the team will need more athleticism to compete with Sunday’s opponents.
‘I think that in midfield, there are some very good individuals, but I think they’re still searching for the right balance,’ he told Metro. ‘Last weekend was quite alarming, with the ease that Spurs broke through that midfield.
‘Athleticism, I’ve said it for a long time, has become one of the most important things in football nowadays. It used to be about how good your touch is, your vision, your passing ability and all the technical aspects; now, it’s very much a physical game.
‘You need to do the hard yards; you need to match teams physically with your physical output, and when you look at the numbers, they do struggle physically. I think it’s something that Michael Carrick might have to just have a look at and maybe change the balance there.’
Owen was speaking to Metro via online casino.
Another poor result on Sunday could pile more pressure on Carrick, especially given their tricky run of fixtures in the weeks ahead.
But Parker is adamant that removing Carrick from his post would fail to address the underlying issues that remain at the club.
‘I don’t think they can afford to sack Michael Carrick,’ Parker, speaking via FreeBets, added.
‘I think you’ve just got to look at everything and you’ve got to look at what’s happened over the years, and it’s déjà vu again. Sometimes you have to look in the mirror at yourselves and what you’ve been doing.
So, it’s not Michael Carrick who has a problem really, it’s Manchester United who have got a problem. You can’t keep blaming a manager.
‘And that’s not me just backing an ex-Manchester United player; it’s me saying that I would back anybody who managed Manchester United because I know in this current climate, they haven’t got a chance in hell.
‘There’s no ambition from above to try and win a league title and how can that be for Manchester United?’
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