Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker is baffled by the criticism that has come Christian Eriksen’s way with the Dane offering ‘a thousand times more’ than Marcus Rashford at the Premier League giants.
As far as Parker is concerned, the reaction to Christian Eriksen’s 37-minute performance during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham was a prime example of the Red Devils fanbase aiming their frustration in the wrong direction.
Yes, the former Ajax, Tottenham and Inter Milan playmaker was hardly impactful off the bench.
But the two-time Premier League winner remains convinced that Eriksen is still capable of bringing more to the table than a few of his younger and less seldom-seen team-mates.
Christian Eriksen facing Manchester United exit
“I think Eriksen is being treated unfairly by the fans. He has been made the club’s scapegoat, even though there are so many other inept players in that club,” Parker, who won two top-flight titles under Sir Alex Ferguson in the early 1990s, tells Tipsbladet.
“He was unlucky when he was injured against Reading (in the FA Cup in January 2023). And so he may have had a little difficulty in finding his previous level. But that does not justify the criticism that has been levelled at him. Especially after the defeat to Fulham, where he did not even start
“Eriksen gives a thousand times more than Rashford. A thousand times more.”
The veteran string-puller has over 12 months left on his contract but is expected to leave in the off-season, alongside fellow 30-somethings Casemiro and Raphael Varane.
Like Casemiro, Eriksen’s performances have dipped substantially after a bright start to life at Old Trafford, the engines of two rusting Rolls Royce’s spluttering with so many miles on the clock.
Big changes ahead under Ineos
Parker, however, feels that those writing Eriksen off should be careful what they wish for, even if a modern, forward-thinking approach introduced by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos should be trusted to get the succession plan right following a series of best-in-class behind-the-scenes appointments.
“Eriksen will probably leave the club in the summer,” Parker adds. “And then they will probably realise how fatal a mistake they made in not supporting him when they are then forced to look at players week after week who are only at Manchester United to earn money.
“Here we have a player who gives everything for the badge, the fans and the city. But they treat him as if he is worth nothing. It almost sounds like the majority of the club’s fans are ready to book him a one-way plane ticket and and drive him away in a wheelchair.”
Eriksen could make a rare start against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Wednesday.
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