The aftermath of Manchester United’s hard-fought 1-1 draw with Brentford is still unfolding.
Gary Neville, a legend who played 400 games for the Red Devils, had some harsh words for the team on the Gary Neville Podcast on Monday, calling them “the worst team in the world at not having possession.”
“I watched Manchester United against Brentford and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, like everybody else,” Neville said.
“I expected them to put pressure on Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa (in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification),” he said, “and it’s really hard not to. No matter what team you play, even against the top teams, you can have five to 10 minutes of possession. But I don’t remember Manchester United doing anything well. It was a terrible performance,” he pointed out.
“Aston Villa and Tottenham will drop points. But when you look at the level of Manchester United, they’re not going to finish fifth or fourth, and they don’t deserve it.”
Manchester United drew 1-1 away to Brentford the day before. Mason Mound opened the scoring in second-half stoppage time, only to see Christophe Aarde equalize three minutes later, missing out on all three points.
The problem was performance. According to soccer stats firm Footmob, United attempted 11 shots on goal, compared to a whopping 31 for Brentford. United’s expected goal differential is just 0.59, while Brent’s is 3.29. It was a disappointing game that Brentford, the underdogs, didn’t win.
Neville said: “I can’t explain the performance. It’s very worrying that we’ve fallen this low. In football, you can play badly and miss players. You can miss chances. But we try to play as hard as we can,” he said. “But when we give the ball away, Manchester United have no reaction to the ball. They are one of the worst teams in terms of making it difficult for teams that don’t have possession.”
“We saw in those games the level of defense, the compactness, the diligence with which every player defended as a cohesive unit, right down to the front line,” he said, referring to the matches against Manchester City and Arsenal earlier in the day, “and Manchester United had none of that. “Think back to before the A-match break, when they had no idea how to defend and how to play when they didn’t have the ball,” he said. They created one of the most amazing moments against Liverpool. They should have done that against Brentford, but we saw what we saw.”
Footballers who watched the Manchester United vs. Brentford match were uniformly shocked by United’s performance. “Brentford looked like Real Madrid,” said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Radnab, “I’ve seen Manchester United under Mourinho and I don’t know what their style of play is, I don’t know why they play from behind. They pass the ball to the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper sends the ball up the pitch. I don’t know if they’re trying to be effective, and I know they don’t have all the back four they want. But if they had Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, it would help in the buildup. But I don’t know what Manchester United’s style of play is. Brentford had a lot of chances today. They were better than Manchester United in all aspects,” he claimed.
“There’s a lot of talk about the coach. Will he still be here next year?” and then added, “In my opinion, the way the players are playing and the way they are performing, the coach deserves to be fired.” “There is a lack of effort from the players. If the players really like the coach and want to play for him, they will,” he said, adding, “I saw several players walking around. They’re playing for the biggest club in the world and they don’t care,” he said, putting the blame on Tenakh.
Jamie Carragher, who was also present, added: “You should see Son against Manchester City. It’s very difficult to play away from home against Manchester City. But Son played non-stop. The great strikers in the Premier League don’t rest. That’s what you want from a leader,” criticizing Marcus Rashford and other Manchester United strikers.
British media outlets are reporting that Tenakh’s job is on the line. The Mirror recently reported, “The red flag has been raised after the loss to Manchester City. The sacking is getting closer. New owner Ratcliffe will not be happy with the current results,” and “Tenakh signed a three-year contract with Manchester United until 2022. There are currently no discussions about an extension. Ratcliffe is watching Tenakh’s performances. He has big ambitions and wants to take Manchester United back to being a title contender,” the report said.
Another British outlet, Team Talk, said: “Van Gaal’s departure is getting closer and closer. According to Dutch media, Van Gaal will not be in charge of Manchester United in the 2024-24 season. From what we understand, Van Gaal is effectively a walking ‘dead man walking’ at Old Trafford,” said Radnap.
As Radknapp speculated, there are also reports that the reaction within the squad is not favorable, with many unhappy with van Gaal’s training methods. According to the Daily Mail, “United stars have questioned Van Gaal’s training methods. Some believe it is leading to injuries,” the Daily Mail reported.