A selection of Manchester United players failed to even acknowledge the travelling supporters after their utterly dismal showing at St. James’ Park.
Thankfully, assistant coach Steve McClaren waited inside the tunnel to send them back on their way to the away end, as revealed by ESPN’s Rob Dawson on X.
Worst bit about tonight was that Steve McClaren had to wait at the top of the tunnel to tell some United players to turn around and applaud the fans. They've travelled hundreds of miles on a freezing day to watch that dross and they can't even get a clap. Joke.
— Rob Dawson (@RobDawsonESPN) December 2, 2023
You’d think the players perhaps wanted to hide their faces after such a woeful performance, but blanking the fans that made the nearly three-hour trip to Tyneside in these baltic conditions is simply inexcusable.
It was Anthony Gordon who netted the first and only goal of the game and while it was a narrow 1-0 win for the Magpies, be assured that they dominated the game from the first blow of the whistle.
United duo praised for commendable shifts
Two Reds on the night did enough to receive plaudits from viewers and the MUTV pundits though; Harry Maguire put in yet another stellar shift as he continues his resurgence after cementing his spot in the starting 11.
Similarly, Luke Shaw was deployed alongside his fellow Englishman at centre-back in just his third match back from injury and showed glimpses of his best at times.
Harry Maguire (6) and Luke Shaw (4) made a combined 10 clearances vs. Newcastle tonight.
Kept Newcastle at bay as best as they could. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/PVALIDX2mH
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) December 2, 2023
MUTV’s Paul Woolston cherry-picked the pair for praise, saying: “Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, they can walk off the pitch with their heads held high they are the only two really. There was only a glimpse of excellence from the attacking players we had.”
