Gary Neville has slammed Manchester United after their ‘dismal’ display against Brentford.
There was a good feeling about United before Saturday night’s game. It looked like we were ready to put pressure on the teams pushing for a Champions League spot, especially after morale was boosted before the international break with a 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup.
Highlights have been rare in Ten Hag’s second season as manager, but knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup will certainly go down as one.
However, it was a completely different story at the Gtech Community Stadium. Thomas Frank’s side registered over 30 shots, while United only managed 11 efforts. We saw Mason Mount score his first goal for the club in the 96th minute – to make it 1-0 – but the Reds were unable to hold on. Brentford salvaged a point in the 99th minute as defender Kristoffer Ajer struck to earn the relegation candidates a valuable draw.
The 1-1 draw is a blow to United’s top-four hopes, with Aston Villa and Tottenham both picking up three points over the weekend. That means Ten Hag’s side are 11 points adrift of Villa and eight behind Tottenham.
Former United captain Gary Neville was far from impressed with United’s performance against Brentford.
“I watched them last night and couldn’t believe really what I was watching. I thought they would put a bit of pressure on Tottenham and Villa in the run-in. It’s actually really difficult to play that badly,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
“Really, it is you know. I can’t think of any point in that game, maybe the first few minutes, where they did anything well at all. It was a horrible performance to the point where when Mason Mount scored, I think we may have had to start a petition to give Brentford two points back.
“It was absolute robbery. But then Brentford score. I can’t explain that performance, I’ve no idea where it comes from. Very worrying that you can go to that level of low. You know you can play badly in football, you know you sometimes don’t feel quite right.
“But that was a dismal, dismal effort in an attempt to play football, in an attempt to work as hard as you possibly can. When you give the ball away, their reaction is non-existent. They really are one of the worst teams out of possession.”
Neville also warned United’s players that a such a performance will have Liverpool licking their lips ahead of their trip to Old Trafford on Sunday.
Neville added: “What we’ve seen from Arsenal today, the levels of defending compactness, the work ethic of all the front players to be a cohesive unit and defend together, there’s none of that.
“I’m not saying the defenders or midfield players are blameless because they could do a lot better themselves. But there’s just not a unity at all. There’s no idea of how to defend or how to play without the ball.
“Just worrying signs really that you can get to that level of low in a performance. You think back to before the international break and where Manchester United were at. They had one of the most incredible moments and should be absolutely bouncing into Brentford.
“But then we saw what we saw. They won’t be that bad next week, they can’t be that bad. But if Liverpool do their jobs next week then Manchester United are going to be in a lot of trouble. There will be something different, it can’t get any worse.”
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Afraid this is happening far too often under ETH; seems he can’t build 11 players into a cohesive unit. Injuries are clearing up so his favourite excuse won’t serve him much longer.
And his lack of concern about the ridiculous number of chances conceded is deeply worrying.
I think our chances of winning the F.A. Cup are slim: most likely lose to Manchester Artificials in the final again.
And even if we did win it, can hardly say we’ve had a successful season when there’s still no sign of a decent, consistent team.
Time for a change, sadly
Im afraid to say utd will not win the f a cup, will not qualify for the chamions league and will be very lucky to get into europe. Sack ETH now and put him out of his misery. He is out of his league in the english football premiership. By sacking him now will give them more time to sort out a decent replacement.