Neville slams Man Utd players over professionalism
Gary Neville has accused Manchester United's players of downing tools and questioned their professionalism after the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford. The result extended United's winless run to eight games in all competitions and left Michael Carrick's future as head coach in serious doubt. United were booed off at the end of the match.
Speaking on his podcast, the Sky Sports pundit described the performance in blunt terms. "It was a shocker today, a nothing of a performance," he said. He then ran through recent opponents — Tottenham, Como, Atletico Madrid, Leeds and Fulham — and characterised them as a "pattern of nothings, of players switching off and downing tools".
Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez left out
Bruno Fernandes was an unused substitute against Bournemouth, having publicly criticised Carrick's tactics after the Como match. Lisandro Martinez, who spoke out against the club's hierarchy following the Atletico Madrid game, featured only as a second-half substitute. Neville argued that public comments from senior players reveal how the squad behaves privately.
"I know that because if Bruno has turned on him publicly, with that little statement, so imagine what they're like behind the scenes," he said. "If that's your captain saying that, imagine what they're saying in the dressing room behind closed doors when no one's listening. That's horrific."
Michael Carrick's position under scrutiny
Neville defended Carrick personally while accepting the head coach has been unable to turn results around. "Michael Carrick is a brilliant man," he said, citing integrity, credibility, decency, professionalism and reliability — qualities he said are "everything the group of players in that dressing room aren't".
"He's going to suffer for it because he's not been able to deliver. It's been too much for him in these last few months," Neville added. "He's not been able to get a tune out of him and they've turned on him." Neville said he fears Carrick is facing the sack.
Warnings over another decade without a title
Neville also questioned the decisions made above the manager, arguing that the head coach cannot absorb all of the blame. "It's 14 years now without a Premier League title," he said. "That will be another five or 10 before you know it because there are other clubs set up for success and Manchester United aren't."
He described the club's position from a business perspective as "really damaging" and called for accountability among those who appoint managers. "It can't just be the manager again. There has got to be consequences above that. You can't keep letting the people pick the manager who keep getting it wrong."
On the squad itself, Neville said a section of the group does not live like elite professionals. "There's a few of them that don't go to bed at the right time, don't eat the right things, don't think about Manchester United every single minute of every day," he said. "Why? Because it's gone to their heads. They are nothing, some of those players."
This report draws on Sky Sports' coverage of Gary Neville's comments, available at skysports.com.
