Manchester United legend and football pundit Gary Neville has slammed the club’s upper management in the wake of yet another chastening defeat on the weekend, with manager Jose Mourinho reportedly on the verge of getting the sack.
United, who in midweek got knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Derby County, slumped to a 1-3 defeat at West Ham United and now find themselves 10th in the Premier League table.
Fans have been calling for Mourinho’s head for a while now, but it appears Neville is not in favour of mid-season sackings:
This mess started when United sacked David Moyes after 8 months and we lost all sense of the values that the club had been built on for 100 years . It’s not the manager it’s the lack of football leadership above him. They are bouncing all over the place with no plan!
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) September 30, 2018
David Moyes took over the reigns from the legendary Alex Ferguson in 2013, but the Scot could never quite match up to his compatriot and got the sack towards the end of his first season.
That came despite having signed a six-year deal with the Red Devils and his replacement, Louis van Gaal, didn’t last long either.
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The prickly Dutchman was far more successful that the man he replaced, securing a top-four finish in his first season and while he won the FA Cup in his second, he was promptly given the pink slip so that the club could get Mourinho in.
The past two seasons have seen United stabilise to a certain extent, as they finished 6th and second respectively under the Portuguese tactician, while securing the Carabao Cup and the UEFA Europa League as well.
However, a lack of identity and a rather unadventurous style have left many a fan disgruntled even as arch-rivals Manchester City and Liverpool have shown it’s possible to playing a thrilling brand of football and still remain effective.
Many pundits believe Moyes wasn’t the right man for the job and was in over his head, but Neville stressed that the club set a dangerous precedent when they terminated his contract four years ago:
That’s another question but when they sacked him after 8 months it went into pinball , reactive mode and chasing it! No plan… https://t.co/8qWtKIaLTD
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) September 30, 2018
The warning signs were there in the summer when Mourinho called out the club CEO Ed Woodward for failing to back him in the transfer market.
Diogo Dalot, Fred and Lee Grant were the only signings in an underwhelming window for the Manchester giants.
Dalot is only 19 and while the early signs are promising, the versatile fullback is not yet a confirmed starter.
Grant has been signed as back-up for David de Gea and Sergio Romero, which means he’s effectively there to fill the numbers.
Fred looks like a tidy player as well, but it’s too early to say whether he’ll be a hit and the fact he’s not consistently started under Mourinho suggests that the Brazilian’s not quite up adjusted to life in the Premier League.
In stark contrast, the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and even Arsenal had very solid windows and are all five points or more ahead of United with seven games played.
United host Valencia in a UEFA Champions League clash in midweek before welcoming Newcastle United for a Premier League clash on Saturday.
Should Mourinho lose both games, his position may yet get untenable and if reports are to be believed, Zinedine Zidane is being seriously considered as his replacement.