Football news - Paul Parker on Leicester's top four hopes, United troubles and egotistical referees
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Updated 03/09/2019 at 19:49 GMT
Paul Parker believes Leicester City are capable of challenging for a Champions League place this season, while the former Manchester United defender also identifies the issues at his old club after their stuttering start in the Premier League.
Jamie Vardy esulta per la doppietta al Bournemouth
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Leicester City are winning games and they've improved as a team. Every manager they had previous to Brendan Rodgers tried to play in the same style that won them the Premier League.
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Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring Leicester's first goal during the Premier League match against Bournemouth
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But Brendan has tweaked the system, and he's added more to Jamie Vardy's game. Before he was used as just a runner. Under Claude Puel, it was all about getting the ball and putting it in behind for Jamie to chase, but Rodgers has added more to his game, and he's made Leicester a more rounded team.
Even though Vardy remains a focal point in the way he stretches teams, they've got other players now that can get involved.
Even at the back end of last season, you could see Rodgers made a difference and this season, Leicester can push for the top four.
They were always going to knock on the door of the top six this season, and what we've seen so far is a few of the other teams digress at the moment. They're not hitting any notes, but Leicester have moved on another level.
If [Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea] don't get their form right sooner or later, they're going to struggle to reach Leicester's level.
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Harvey Barnes celebrates scoring against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane
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They've not missed Harry Maguire and the way they allowed the talks to go on, I believe now that they wanted the money. They wanted a return on investment, and they got what they wanted.
They knew they had a ready-made replacement already there (Caglar Soyuncu), a very good centre-half who gives them better balance because he's got a left foot.
Maguire was the left-sided defender who carried the ball forward because he didn't really want to pass with his left foot.
'United have problems in all the key areas'
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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer
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United's start has been poor. There's no way around it. Five points from four games and only Daniel James has come out of it well. You can see there's something about him, even though he has to look at how to react to being tackled and targeted. That can be sorted out, but the rest of it has been quite poor.
They've got problems in all three key areas; if they had a creative midfielder, we'd be talking about an attack that isn't clinical enough, but the front players aren't being given the opportunities.
A lot of them are trying to be magicians, making things out of nothing for themselves but it's been very difficult.
'Egos getting in the way of right decisions'
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Referee Kevin Friend controversially ruled out an Aston Villa equaliser at Crystal Palace
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On Kevin Friend denying Aston Villa an equaliser in the final seconds against Crystal Palace having booked Jack Grealish for diving...
I think the biggest crime at the moment is that referees need to start going to look at the TV set on the side of the pitch. They need to be allowed to make their own mind up about a decision.
Kevin Friend booked Grealish to cover himself. He should never have blown his whistle, and the problem is that none of the VAR officials have the strength of character to tell the on-field referees that they've made a mistake.
Doctors won't go against doctors, and the only way people are going to improve is if they are told they've done something wrong.
If you can't take criticism, then you're never going to learn. They need to know somewhere along the line. I don't even think the Palace players heard the whistle.
It's a bit of a pain waiting around to find out, but the referee should have a mic linked up to the PA system to let people know what he's going across to look at.
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Mike Dean is a referee who enjoys the spotlight
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The fans are left scratching their heads, and they should know the reason why decisions have been made.
There's a lot of egos among our referees - Mike Dean comes to mind. They want to still be in charge, and don't want to be told by someone else. They want attention and they have become referees because they had the last say.
Now VAR has come along, and has the potential to take that away from them.
The game used to be about players, but now it's about referees. Even the VAR official gets their names read out in the press box. It's gone crazy.
Parker's England hopes
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James Maddison has caught the eye in the opening weeks of the season
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Ahead of England's Euro 2020 qualifiers double-header against Bulgaria and Kosovo...
England need to pick the best team and they shouldn't just give out caps. Southgate has to select his best XI, and for me Maddison has to start given the midfield options.
I'm looking at the options that can give us creativity, and he's been doing it consistently since he came up from the Championship.
I'd like to see Harry Winks on the pitch. He's tidy, rarely gets caught in possession and is good in tight areas. He's perfect for that role and we need someone like Declan Rice to replace Jordan Henderson (out with an ankle injury) who can sit in front of the defence.
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