Paul Parker is recounting one of Jim Smith’s legendary half-time eruptions at QPR when the old-fashioned notion of respect for the boss prompts him to address the predicament at Manchester United.
‘Today, it’s different,’ says Parker. ‘If players decide they don’t like the manager, they don’t play. They tell their agents and the agents run to the owners. And we’ve got owners listening to people who’ve seen something on social media.
‘And players sitting there, looking at the manager going, “I know you’re not here for long because upstairs they don’t like you” so when Man United have an interim management consultant in charge, what chance have you got?