Gary Neville has been following Manchester United games “for 42 years” – but the club legend has never seen the English record champions so bad. The gossip at Brentford FC is symptomatic of the chaos at United, it seems.
It is actually said that a picture says more than a thousand words. At Manchester United, however, it is much more the numbers that make it clear how disastrous the English record champions are after the second day of the Premier League. Zero points, 1:6 goals, last place in the table. At Brentford FC the score was 4-0 at half-time from United’s point of view, only twice had the Red Devils been so far behind at half-time after 45 minutes. The smack at the supposed outsider was the fourth defeat in a row across the season, negative record. For the first time in 30 years, the club is bottom of the table – which worries a club legend.
“I’ve been watching United for 42 years,” said Gary Neville before adding that he “can’t remember a moment I’ve ever felt as bad as the first half”. The former defender, who spent his entire professional career at United and won eight English championships, three FA Cup wins and two Champions League titles under iconic coach Sir Alex Ferguson, has long been critical of the development of his heart club. When the score was 0: 4 at the change of sides in Brentford, he stated: That was “the destruction of Manchester United”.
Neville has earned a reputation as a tough but fair critic – and is increasingly stunned by recent events. When it came to transfer policy, all he could think of was a bitter laugh when it was publicly discussed whether, after various failed commitments, someone like Marko Arnautovic could be an option to help United out of the crisis. “We’ve all seen these desperate transfers in the last eight to ten years, it’s a pattern. I don’t get angry anymore, I just don’t want to comment on it anymore,” said Neville.
Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, who shaped the most successful period in the club’s history between 1986 and 2013, Manchester United have been looking in vain for consistency. Erik ten Hag, signed from Ajax Amsterdam with big ambitions at the time, appears to have been ailing early in the season. “I could have replaced them all,” said the Dutchman after the final whistle, clearly showing how dissatisfied he was with the performance of his team. Cristiano Ronaldo’s demands for a change overlay many things, but experts are increasingly analyzing that the problems are of a structural nature. The fans’ displeasure with the club owners Joel and Avram Glazer is growing and growing, there seems to be little reason for hope given the disastrous start to the season.
At least a look at the numbers could give you some courage. The last time United were at the bottom of the table, at the start of the first Premier League season in 1992/93, they ended up winning the league. The first major appearance of Man United’s legendary ‘Class of 92’, which included Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. However, the opponent on the third matchday in 2022 is Liverpool FC – and is one of the clubs that have not only overtaken the Red Devils in recent years, but have left them behind.
