Paul Parker claims that Gareth Southgate has acted disrespectfully by selecting Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson to the England squad.
England are playing against Ukraine and Scotland in the UEFA EURO Qualifiers and manager Gareth Southgate has made some controversial picks to his squad, as both Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson were picked for the games.
We discussed the England selection with Paul Parker, who represented England and Manchester United in the 90´s and he is not happy with the newest squad selection.
Southgate is disrespecting players and managers with squad selection
Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips struggled with getting game time last season, and their appearance in the England squad was discussed multiple times by both fans and pundits.
Their club situation hasn’t changed this season, which is why Parker now claims that the national coach is acting disrespectfully by keeping picking the players.
“I think it’s disrespectful to Erik ten Hag to pick Harry Maguire for the England squad. I think Gareth Southgate has been very disrespectful here. But it’s also disrespectful to the other players like Lewis Dunk and Marc Guehi who have done very well on club level. They should be the starting players ahead of Harry Maguire.”
“It’s the same thing with Kalvin Phillips. Kalvin Phillips knows that he doesn’t deserve to be in the England squad. Would it even be possible for Southgate to play with Kalvin Phillips? Of course not. He can’t play for England when he hasn’t played for Man City.”
“It really baffles me that you have made a statement and told people that you would pick who has been performing best for their club but then pick players like Maguire and Kalvin Phillips.”
Henderson went for the money and shouldn´t be representing England
Jordan Henderson has been a loyal figure for many years at both Liverpool and for his country but this summer the Englishman decided to follow a lot of the big stars and move to Saudi Arabia.
Parker accuses Henderson of not telling the truth behind why he went to Saudi Arabia and he makes it clear that the former Liverpool captain shouldn’t be in the England squad.
“We can also talk about another player that shouldn’t be on the national team, Jordan Henderson. He was not a regular player for Liverpool and now he is in Saudi Arabia. Of course, he shouldn’t be playing for England. That’s the football aspect of it.”
“There is also another side of it when speaking of Henderson. He has been a hypocrite. He decided to be very clever and do what almost every other player in the world did at that given time. He chose the money and went to Saudi Arabia.”
“He tried to be friends with everybody but when it comes down to everything he did it for the money even though he said it was for development. He has to be honest.”
