Gary Neville gives passionate must-watch analysis of Man United's problems | MNF

Inigo Montoya

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Wrong. There is no point buying players who bleed red and then jamming them into whatever the footballing philosophy happens to be. That's idiotic. You build a way of playing which will naturally attract players to that style. Then you do the homework to select the ones with the right attitude. If you're shopping for players that want to be at Manchester United, you'll be in the bargain bin most of the time.
You need to get rid of people first! You don't start a new culture by keeping those around who are destroying it.

Let's agree to disagree on this point, as we both want the best for the club.
 

Decomposing In Paris

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Breaks your heart listening to him doesn't it... If the rumours are true that we extended Herrera's contract by post last year, then I imagine we don't actually inspire much loyalty in our players and coaches. Ajax apparently showed their young team a simple video declaring the club's belief in them, and all but one stayed for another year at least... and look where they are.

7 years... Neville's right, he's had his chance.
 

IrishMcD

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ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON GAZ, everything he says is spot on, club is riddled with clowns that need shipping out. Just look at the last few hours:

Sky: City close to Rodri/Felix/Bruno Fernandes - All in talks, all done under the carpet, could be 3 massive signings and the season not even finished.

United - Linked with a Norwich defender, Swansea RW, 2 Turkish lads from some random club, Bale & Kroos and 90m Maguire - Absolutely clueless no process no plan.

Seriously worrying times we could fall an absolute mile behind, 7 years Woodward has been doing this, how are there no protests against him on a weekly basis, club is an absolute state.
Normally i would be one of those people to say, " Relax, don't believe everything you read in the media" but unfortunately the way the club has been run the last few years that scenario is much more likely to happen than not to happen. Club are an absolute shambles, I teach 12yos who can tell me the same thing we all say on here about whats wrong with the club, yet our board cant seem to get it.
 

ForestRGoinUp

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You need to get rid of people first! You don't start a new culture by keeping those around who are destroying it.

Let's agree to disagree on this point, as we both want the best for the club.
100% agreement there.

I was referring to the plan going forward, and United needs to establish a footballing identity almost immediately. Players cannot be recruited on attitude alone anymore. They need to be recruited based on our style of play, and that cannot be something along the lines of 'Fergie Time' or fighting to the last whistle or dying for the shirt as Neville claims. Top teams with vastly different playing styles all fight to the last whistle. That's natural when professional competitors have major trophies within reach.
 

Inigo Montoya

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100% agreement there.

I was referring to the plan going forward, and United needs to establish a footballing identity almost immediately. Players cannot be recruited on attitude alone anymore. They need to be recruited based on our style of play, and that cannot be something along the lines of 'Fergie Time' or fighting to the last whistle or dying for the shirt as Neville claims. Top teams with vastly different playing styles all fight to the last whistle. That's natural when professional competitors have major trophies within reach.
I totally concur!
 

Jim Beam

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He's talking absolute bollocks about the manager having absolute backing in the transfer market.
He actually doesn't say it has to be absolute backing and full power. He first questioned who is that man considering our structure to say to Jose Mourinho you're not getting your players.

He is right about once you go against your manager it is usually end of the road. Backing your manager is not just about getting him the signing he wants, you can get him alternative ones, younger ones. And we not only failed to do that, but went around his back briefing the press. To this day, I can't believe we did that and still kept him. As he said, club should have sacked him there and then considering what happened that summer. It was and still is shambles all together.

Jose didn't do a good job here, but overall problem is obviously much bigger and I love that he started to put so much pressure on Woodward.
 

Sweet Square

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Nah just another rant that comes down to Mourinho excuses
:lol:

Pretty much.

This United squad that Nevile hates so much is one Mourinho constructed. I liked Mourinho time here but its clear he alienated his own player and then threw a hissy fit when he get a ton of money. In the end the issue with Mourinho was he never wanted to be Manchester United manager instead he wanted to be the guy who took over from Alex Ferguson. Also as Carragher pointed out had United had what Nevile wants now, it would have pissed off both Van Gaal and Mourinho. Gary is right that United have flip flop over all the place in terms of looking for a long terms vision for the club. But he's analysis boils down to get the best people for the job, which is just meaningless.


Still its always nice to have someone care.
 

Nikelesh Reddy

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And he is right.
Yeah,but he was drooling all over Solksjaer after Solskjær got a few wins under his belt.He certainly didn’t seem very logical,analytical or practical to me when he was literally lobbying on behalf of Solksjaer....The sensible thing would have been to wait until the end of the season before taking a call....
 

Denis79

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The man cares about the club, no denying that and he's spot on.
 

fezzerUTD

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He's spot on about the structural changes at the club. Absolutely spot on and the bizarre thing is, everyone bar our suits would agree.

He's talking absolute bollocks about the manager having absolute backing in the transfer market.

He's absolutely spot on about the likes of fletch and Rio being offered the top jobs. It's a joke.
Please explain.
 

StrettyEnder07

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Normally i would be one of those people to say, " Relax, don't believe everything you read in the media" but unfortunately the way the club has been run the last few years that scenario is much more likely to happen than not to happen. Club are an absolute shambles, I teach 12yos who can tell me the same thing we all say on here about whats wrong with the club, yet our board cant seem to get it.
Honestly mate it feels like its not real in a way, you speak to 95% of fans and it is not even a hard issue to solve, it is just so blatantly obvious. The scary thing is, is that its obvious the Glazers and even Woodward for that matter don't overly care about what happens on the pitch as long as it makes money off it. Which is fine, you don't want to be involved or care, crack on and look after the commercial side of it, get people in who can sort it out and do a proper job, would end up saving them millions in the process.

It's got the stage where the only people I am bothered about staying at the club are:

De Dea, Lindelof, McTominay, Dalot, Herrera (if not to late), Rashford.

That is it, I have zero care about any of the others, you want to go and play somewhere else, do one then, bring a few of the kids in, want to see people care about the club and play for the shirt, fed up of mercenaries just taking us for a ride.
 

charlenefan

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:lol:

Pretty much.

This United squad that Nevile hates so much is one Mourinho constructed. I liked Mourinho time here but its clear he alienated his own player and then threw a hissy fit when he get a ton of money. In the end the issue with Mourinho was he never wanted to be Manchester United manager instead he wanted to be the guy who took over from Alex Ferguson. Also as Carragher pointed out had United had what Nevile wants now, it would have pissed off both Van Gaal and Mourinho. Gary is right that United have flip flop over all the place in terms of looking for a long terms vision for the club. But he's analysis boils down to get the best people for the job, which is just meaningless.


Still its always nice to have someone care.
It's really not

De Gea, Romero, Valencia, Young, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Darmian, Rojo, Herrera, Mata, Martial, Rashford, Lingard - none of these were Mourinho signings

Grant, Dalot, Bailly, Lindelof, Matic, Pogba, Fred, Lukaku, Sanchez - these are Mourinho's

Neville's comment about not liking the United team was a comment made after the Huddersfield game, the lineup in that game only included 4 Jose Mourinho signings
 

Varun

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Please explain.
He actually doesn't say it has to be absolute backing and full power. He first questioned who is that man considering our structure to say to Jose Mourinho you're not getting your players.

He is right about once you go against your manager it is usually end of the road. Backing your manager is not just about getting him the signing he wants, you can get him alternative ones, younger ones. And we not only failed to do that, but went around his back briefing the press. To this day, I can't believe we did that and still kept him. As he said, club should have sacked him there and then considering what happened that summer. It was and still is shambles all together.

Jose didn't do a good job here, but overall problem is obviously much bigger and I love that he started to put so much pressure on Woodward.
It has to be the top guys of our scouting team and Woody himself, isn't it? I agree that the media briefing was pathetic but the only point I disagree with Gary is when he says Mourinho has won so much etc etc, who is there telling him he can't sign player X. You can't build a half house and if you don't trust your manager, it should be the end of the road. It just doesn't work like that. Every manager would at some point not been able to land the player he wants. Be it due to the financial aspect of it or otherwise. It doesn't mean the club don't believe in him and should sack him. You're right in saying we should have had alternatives but that'd be a sign of a well run club and well...
 

ForestRGoinUp

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Honestly mate it feels like its not real in a way, you speak to 95% of fans and it is not even a hard issue to solve, it is just so blatantly obvious. The scary thing is, is that its obvious the Glazers and even Woodward for that matter don't overly care about what happens on the pitch as long as it makes money off it. Which is fine, you don't want to be involved or care, crack on and look after the commercial side of it, get people in who can sort it out and do a proper job, would end up saving them millions in the process.

It's got the stage where the only people I am bothered about staying at the club are:

De Dea, Lindelof, McTominay, Dalot, Herrera (if not to late), Rashford.

That is it, I have zero care about any of the others, you want to go and play somewhere else, do one then, bring a few of the kids in, want to see people care about the club and play for the shirt, fed up of mercenaries just taking us for a ride.
We'll get relegated if that's our recruitment strategy.
 

Nikelesh Reddy

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The man cares about the club, no denying that and he's spot on.
True.But he shouldn’t have been jumping around saying stupid things like there will be a “mutiny” if Solksjaer doesn’t get the job.He should have been more analytical,mature and thoughtful and said that the club should take a final call at the end of the season,after assessing Solksjaers performance comprehensively...,
 

LazyRed-Ninja

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Emotionalism is what stops this club of moving forward. The days of being an unstoppable force are over. There is no more Sir Alex and a team full of world beaters to save the day. United (just like any other top club with high standard and ambitions) has to be run as a modern club with the right people in their right departments as Neville has rightfully emphasised. As long as this emotionalism keeps continuing which exsists of thinking that the problem will solve itself, because it United, the gap to Liverpool, City will only increase. Its not only a matter of installing the right people in the right positions, its having to sprint even harder after realizing you missed the starting shot and everybody else already left their mark. The only ‘saving grace’ one can argue for is the history and brand (commercial side) of United, which has its benefits in terms of financial strengths but that will only get you so far if the results are structutally below standard. It’s clear that the club needs a well needed reset.
 

IrishMcD

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Honestly mate it feels like its not real in a way, you speak to 95% of fans and it is not even a hard issue to solve, it is just so blatantly obvious. The scary thing is, is that its obvious the Glazers and even Woodward for that matter don't overly care about what happens on the pitch as long as it makes money off it. Which is fine, you don't want to be involved or care, crack on and look after the commercial side of it, get people in who can sort it out and do a proper job, would end up saving them millions in the process.

It's got the stage where the only people I am bothered about staying at the club are:

De Dea, Lindelof, McTominay, Dalot, Herrera (if not to late), Rashford.

That is it, I have zero care about any of the others, you want to go and play somewhere else, do one then, bring a few of the kids in, want to see people care about the club and play for the shirt, fed up of mercenaries just taking us for a ride.
Preaching to the choir mate, 110% agree with everything you said (bar i cant stand Rashford right now either), why the money men feel the need to not put systems in place with recruitment that could save them money and make them competitive on the field, and as a result become an even more appealing commercial giant is beyond me.
It is so hard to try to even comprehend the absolute ineptitude going on at the club at the minute.
 

fezzerUTD

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It has to be the top guys of our scouting team and Woody himself, isn't it? I agree that the media briefing was pathetic but the only point I disagree with Gary is when he says Mourinho has won so much etc etc, who is there telling him he can't sign player X. You can't build a half house and if you don't trust your manager, it should be the end of the road. It just doesn't work like that. Every manager would at some point not been able to land the player he wants. Be it due to the financial aspect of it or otherwise. It doesn't mean the club don't believe in him and should sack him. You're right in saying we should have had alternatives but that'd be a sign of a well run club and well...
Tbh i think some like Fred and Lukaku are alternatives. I don't have definite proof or anything but I am sure Lukaku wasn't first choice (I don't know who was).
I think a lot of first choices and unattainable due to money etc but why are we not unearthing the next gem instead of buying expensive already established players, that leads me thinking the scouts are not up to much.

But yeah I agree with that it should be a joint decision, but I don't think Gary was talking utter nonsense, he just probably doesn't have enough time on air to explain in more detail and has just got as many points in as he can.
 

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It's really not

De Gea, Romero, Valencia, Young, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Darmian, Rojo, Herrera, Mata, Martial, Rashford, Lingard - none of these were Mourinho signings

Grant, Dalot, Bailly, Lindelof, Matic, Pogba, Fred, Lukaku, Sanchez - these are Mourinho's

Neville's comment about not liking the United team was a comment made after the Huddersfield game, the lineup in that game only included 4 Jose Mourinho signings
Mourinho barely ever named that many of his signings
 

Sweet Square

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It's really not

De Gea, Romero, Valencia, Young, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Darmian, Rojo, Herrera, Mata, Martial, Rashford, Lingard - none of these were Mourinho signings

Grant, Dalot, Bailly, Lindelof, Matic, Pogba, Fred, Lukaku, Sanchez - these are Mourinho's
Bar Martial, Rashford,De Gea, Herrea and possibly Shaw the other non Mourinho signings are just rubbish, we could make the argument they downed tools but its just as easy to say they tried but were and are shite. Mourinho still kept them around.
 

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That's not what he's saying at all. He's questioning the structure of the club and (as there are no football people responsible for building the playing squad) who is qualified to question or veto signings the manager wants.

It's an extremely valid question. When you have a transfer strategy that seems no more than getting a list of players from the manager just before every transfer window then you need to back the manager's judgement or get a new manager who you will back.

If you decide that isn't the optimum structure (which it clearly isn't based on the shambolic playing squad) and you want to change that recruitment strategy then doing nothing about it for 12 months may not be the best plan.
No, it all ends going down the route of Mourinho being the best manager with Guardiola and he should have left when "he wasnt backed" and "who is telling mourinho he cant have his signings?"
 

Ekeke

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But he has been consistent on this, he hasn't suddenly changed his mind.

He stated last year that by employing someone like him, you need to back him and follow his ideas. That's what you sign up for. On one hand he brought his own downfall by his behaviour and Neville addresses this but on the other, the club didn't follow this 100%. I can see this. He never absolves Jose for his failings but levels criticism at Utd for the way they have carried on, their structure etc.

It's what many posters have stated on here, I don't see how it's anything to criticise him for
Yes he's consistently had an agenda since that point and failed to give the players or Ole any credit
 

Keefy18

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The lads an absolutely moron!

Throws in a tonne of managerial speak like "best of class" over an over to try make himself sound intelligent, mocks the notion of ex players being interviewed for managerial roles...but ignores that the entire coaching staff is ex players pretty much, where its apparently the best option and they will bleed for the club.
 

VeevaVee

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Yeah,but he was drooling all over Solksjaer after Solskjær got a few wins under his belt.He certainly didn’t seem very logical,analytical or practical to me when he was literally lobbying on behalf of Solksjaer....The sensible thing would have been to wait until the end of the season before taking a call....
It's not his fault they didn't wait. He's just a fan. The sooner people realise it the better. If the board pandered to Neville bigging him up because he's finally enjoying some of our football then it's no wonder we're in such a state.

The lads an absolutely moron!

Throws in a tonne of managerial speak like "best of class" over an over to try make himself sound intelligent, mocks the notion of ex players being interviewed for managerial roles...but ignores that the entire coaching staff is ex players pretty much, where its apparently the best option and they will bleed for the club.
You could make that point without irrationally hating him.
 

Tiber

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12ish months ago I had absolutely no problem with Woodward stopping Jose from buying yet more 30 year olds, even if we needed a CB. I had absolutely no faith in Jose when it came to the transfer market

But I also recall thinking that he should have been fired on the same day the club realised they didn't trust him. Dragging it out until Christmas just allowed wounds to fester even further
 

Jinn

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If I was Ed (assuming Ed is self aware), I would hire Gary Neville.
 

Keefy18

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You could make that point without irrationally hating him.
I don't hate him, just bugs me that folks hang onto his every word like he's the lord reborn! As if he's gods gift to the beautiful game.

But when you actually listen and analyze what he is saying here its full of cliched, managerial nonsense with little substance and he's contradicting himself.
 

Skills

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It's not his fault they didn't wait. He's just a fan. The sooner people realise it the better. If the board pandered to Neville bigging him up because he's finally enjoying some of our football then it's no wonder we're in such a state.



You could make that point without irrationally hating him.
The fanbase can't just keep absolving itself of any blame. The boards at all clubs are heavily influenced by popular fan opinion.

Half the fanbase blames the board for being too business like, and then the other half is complaining about them being swayed by the fans.
 

Eleven-Eighteen

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That if a manager goes, all the staff he brought with him go as well. Not I don't want you, but he's alright.
Ah. Have to disagree with you there.

For example IMO Moyes's biggest mistake was letting Phelan and Muelensteen go.

For me the bigger problem is the fact that we have apparently (according to Neville, at least) added on footballing operators and recruiters instead of replacing one with another.

Think what would happen if Phelan, Phil Neville and Rui Faria were all part of Solskjaer's coaching squad.
 

Inigo Montoya

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Yes he's consistently had an agenda since that point and failed to give the players or Ole any credit
Not true.

25th Feb: he praised his influence in the team
10th April praised his knowledge etc

And there’s more. I know the point you’re trying to make but the agenda lies with you IMO