With Manchester United struggling in the early stages of the season, a club legend has expressed his disappointment with the signings made this summer.
“Gary Neville broke down in tears over United’s signings,” the Daily Mail reported on Aug. 18.
After qualifying for the UEFA Champions League and winning the Carabao Cup last season, the Red Devils had high expectations heading into the season. The summer transfer window brought in the likes of Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojbjerg, and Sofiane Amrabat, and the team was seen as having the strength to challenge for the title this season.
However, the excitement around United began to fade at the end of the transfer window. The problem was not in the transfer market, but within the squad. First, there were form issues and injuries to key players. Despite winning their opening game against Wolverhampton, they were heavily outplayed by the Wolves, and in the second leg against Tottenham, they were outplayed for most of the game, except for a brief spell of dominance early in the first half, and lost 0-2.
They followed that up with a 3-2 win at Nottingham, but conceding the first two goals of the game exposed their shaky form, and a 1-3 loss at Arsenal in the fourth round of the league followed, and a home defeat to Brighton has been their worst start to the season.
The loss to Brighton, which ended an unbeaten run at home, was met with strong criticism from British media and United fans alike. Criticism was directed at underperforming players such as defenders Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof, goalkeeper Andre Onana, and midfielder Casemiro, as well as doubts about Mourinho’s tactics.
In the midst of all of this, United legend Neville has made comments that suggest he already saw this coming, given the quality of the players United have brought in this season.카지노
“Neville has criticized United’s summer signings, saying he “never for a moment” thought the newcomers were good enough to challenge Man City and Arsenal,” according to the Daily Mail.
According to the report, Neville said of this summer’s signings, “There was a concern that the players they brought in would not improve on last season. I never thought the players they brought in were going to challenge Man City and Arsenal,” Neville criticized.
“They would have needed Harry Kane and Declan Rice. But they don’t have the money to buy those players. As a fan, when I watched the Brighton game, I thought, ‘Shouldn’t they have been surprised’,” he said, adding that they should have brought in more quality players.
Neville is quick to point out that the situation isn’t all down to van Gaal. “What the fans really want is a change of ownership. I don’t think the players are not committed. I think there needs to be a sporting project behind it that allows United to bring in a group of players,” he said, explaining that the club’s recent controversial acquisition was due to a lack of investment.
However, despite Neville’s point, the Red Devils have invested heavily this season, bringing in a number of players. The club has reportedly spent a total of £200 million to bring in the likes of Hooper, Mount, Onana, and Amrabat. That’s a lot of money, even in the Premier League, so it’s hard for fans to argue with Neville’s point that the club hasn’t invested enough.
Meanwhile, criticism of the club continues to grow, and unless Mourinho can find a solution and turn things around, the pressure on the new signings will only increase.
Mark Goldbridge, host of a popular British soccer program, likes Onana for replacing David De Gea, but it’s a mistake. “Too many people wrote off De Gea last season as a problem for the team. He was not a problem for the team,” he pointed out.
“This season, United have conceded 10 goals in five games. That’s an average of two goals conceded. In contrast, De Gea kept 17 clean sheets last season and conceded just nine at home. However, United have already conceded five goals at home this season,” he said, questioning Onana’s ability to keep the ball out of the net.
“Casemiro looked like he was 45 years old,” said former Premier League striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, adding that “Lissandro and Lindelof had similar energy levels. Lisandro tried to block Gross’s shot and was fooled by him, which led to the goal. If Maguire had done that, there would have been an endless stream of ‘he’s awful, please take him off’,” he said, criticizing the poor performances of the defense and midfield.
With even the legend having given up hope on United, it will be interesting to see if the Red Devils can rebound quickly enough to overturn Neville’s opinion.