I’m not criticising him, merely pointing out that he’s probably not the most qualified to talk about a winning mentality and focusing on football first and foremost.
End of the day, he was credited as being a senior player with influence and sway amongst the squad, so perhaps he could have done a bit more about trying to shift the culture.
Truth be told, he was a symbol of everything that has been wrong with United – talks a good game, overrated, failed to deliver consistently.
He can talk all he wants about PSG being a more professional outfit but it amounts to bugger all – they’ve achieved nothing since being financially doped. Winning a few French domestic pots doesn’t push the dial for me.
Herrera is a nothing footnote in the club’s history whose reputation is vastly overstated.
Bold is way out of line and factually wrong as well. He is in fact a symbol of what's wrong with United, but that's a reflection not on him but those running the club. His transfer to United was protracted with stories of imposters and middlemen, giving us some of the first signs that our transfer dealings were inefficient and misdirected for a club our size. His contract negotiations at the end as well exemplifying the same.
His professionalism is on par with the squad members Sir Alex could always rely on. Despite being benched frequently by Mourinho for instance, Ander would not only keep from complaining, he would come on and showcase grit and captaincy whenever given the chance. Much like Ji Sung being a specialist man marker in some games, playing well but then benched. If anything the spirit lifting winning run we went on as soon as Ole came, in which Ander was a mainstay, highlights the Clubs poor decision to not hire a manager that better fit our ethos when signing Jose. Ander was better suited to a United team than a Jose team and yet he was a squad player in the latter because of the senior hiring decisions with no vision.
As a United fan, it's also hard to understand where the negative memories of Ander come from. I think about his assist to Martial in injury time in the FA Cup semi, then the way he forced Mhikitaryan back into the box to score in the Europa Final and of course, for the shackles be so often put on Hazard. Heck that wonderful debut double for Rashford against Arsenal is a memory I'll also always remember along with our third goal of the day, scored by Herrera.
The one that talks a big game but fails to deliver is named Ed Woodward.
This backlash against Ander is really petty in my opinion. If you're critical of him then you damn well better be talking about Patrice Evra who just recently compared to training at United like a holiday compared to the work put in at Juventus.