Search icon

Football

30th Sep 2018

Gary Neville identifies the exact moment when Man United “mess” started

The Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit believes the club's current problems stem back to the decision to sack David Moyes in 2014

Reuben Pinder

“They are bouncing all over the place with no plan!”

Manchester United’s defeat to West Ham on Saturday, in which United failed to test the London side who were dominant throughout, has confirmed the club’s state of crisis.

There have been signs for a while now, but Jose Mourinho has been afforded enough time and money to refresh the squad over the course of two and a quarter seasons (five transfer windows), and the manager has failed to deliver what was asked of him.

The football is bland, predictable, and lacking in cutting edge. The atmosphere both home and away has grown more toxic, and the manager is at war with the team’s star player. There appears to be no point of return, as pressure on the coach grows exponentially, with Zinedine Zidane waiting in the wings.

But not everyone agrees on where United’s current problems stemmed from. Some will solely point the finger at Mourinho, while others believe the entire club has lost its way from the top down.

United legend Gary Neville believes the problems began when the club sacked David Moyes – who succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson – after just eight months.

Neville believes that decision in April 2014 betrayed the club’s traditions, and sent the club into a reactive mode.

https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1046298837952933888

When a fan raised the point that Moyes maybe shouldn’t have been hired in the first place, Neville did not disagree.

But he insisted that the current mess is a symptom of making the snap decision to sack a coach before he had completed a full season.

https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1046301545292288000

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10