Controversy: Gathers every word of Neville’s angry reaction to Carragher during the Man United vs Man City Match
Former Manchester United boss Gary Neville and Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher raced on Sky Sports after the Reds beat Manchester City at Old Trafford.
The two experts were in the studio at full time after watching Erik ten Hag’s side do well against Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday. Erling Haaland gave the hosts a slight advantage at the break when he converted from the spot in the 26th minute.
After the break, City stepped up and added a second thanks to Haaland’s header at the far post. Phil Foden ended the game ten minutes later when he turned in the Norwegian’s cross to seal the bragging rights.
After the game, Neville and Carragher engaged in a heated debate about how United have found themselves in a position where they are behind the rest of the Premier League. Covering the powers, players and manager, MEN Sport has put together a full breakdown of the changes below.
JC: None of us here can explain what Manchester United are trying to do in terms of the way they play. He [Ten Hag] has been here for almost 18 months, we have seen Unai Emery come to Aston Villa, we have seen Ange Postecoglou come to Tottenham and in a short time [change things]. It doesn’t mean you win every week, but when you go to a game you know what you’re going to see.
We still don’t know what to expect from Manchester United. Can you tell me how they play football? GN: Look Carra, I can’t forgive you. The managers you are talking about operate in a stable environment. They [United] have a head coach now who will take 25 percent, which is the main…
JC: Oh Gary! No no no no no.
GN: Why don’t you listen? Why should I listen to you if you don’t listen to me?
JC: Going. GN: Basically, you think you’re in a company, you’re in a football club and the news is that there’s a guy who’s going to come in and wipe out the whole football department. Have you ever wondered what’s going on in this whole football field right now? In and around Erik ten Hag. It is toxic, built in negativity. They all think they will lose their jobs. I know you might say, “Keep going, they’re professionals,” but you can guess what’s going on. Jim Ratcliffe will come in with Dave Brailsford and they will clean up the football department, they will all be motivated.
They all think they are going to lose their jobs. I know you can say: ‘Carry on with it, they are professionals,’ but you imagine what is happening. Jim Ratcliffe’s going to come in with Dave Brailsford and they are going to sweep out the football department, they are all going to get moved away.
That is what is happening and I honestly believe this toxicity that exists at this football club, and has done for years, by the way, eats alive every manager that comes and every player that comes. Harry Maguire was going to go to Manchester City, Mason Mount was going to go to Liverpool, they come here and it is a graveyard for them. Are we going to keep blaming the kids in the class or are we going to blame the headteacher?
JC: Okay, so we can’t analyse anything to do with Erik ten Hag?
GN: Of course you can!
JC: Or any performance from Manchester United.
GN: I have just said the substitutions were poor today.
JC: Okay, but what I am saying is that everything goes back to the ownership. Of course it is not right and the supporters are not happy but what you are talking about is a style of football. What he is doing on the training pitch Monday to Friday has got nothing to do with Jim Ratcliffe coming in. What does he want those players…
GN: Carra, Carra, Carra.
JC: When they are building up from the back, we have seen every top team in the league do it…
GN: Carra.
JC: What are Manchester United trying to do with the ball? They are playing underdog football and they have done since they come in…
GN: Carra.
JC: Gary, let me finish! You just spoke before. They play counter-attack and they play a lot of long balls. No other top team plays like that and it has got nothing to do with what is going on above them. What is he doing on the training pitch with the players he brings in and what is he asking the team to do? You can’t see it.
GN: Carra, I completely agree with you. They have allowed another manager to dictate policy and they have tail wagged the dog on recruitment. They have brought eight players in basically from a league that Erik ten Hag thinks he can trust but it was the same with Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer], same with Jose [Mourinho] and it was the same with Louis van Gaal but the problems are above them.
I am not saying that he is not culpable for the mistakes that he is making. He has got injuries to [Lisandro] Martinez who helps him play out, he has got injuries to [Raphael] Varane who is only just coming back so there are issues why he can’t play out from the back. He has not got Casemiro in midfield so he has not got three players who fundamentally are his connection from defence…
JC: Casemiro is one of the worst decisions they made.
GN: What I am saying to you is those players help you play from the back. I don’t like the football at all. I have no idea what the repeating patterns are, what they are trying to put in place. But the bigger picture at Manchester United is that we have seen great managers, with great reputations and great players with great reputations come here and just die in front of our eyes. Why is that? How do we answer that question?
Also read
Video Highlights of Arsenal 5-0 Sheffield United: Nketiah scores hat-trick
Scroll down for video highlights
Eddie Nketiah returned to the Arsenal starting line-up in style as the England striker scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 5-0 win over the team bottom of the table Sheffield United.
Mikel Arteta made five changes for the Blades’ away trip and it was Nketiah – replacing the injured Gabriel Jesus – who proved the difference and ended a memorable afternoon with the captain’s armband. Substitutes Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu completed the late points with a penalty and a close-range goal respectively on an afternoon that saw Arsenal’s fringe players take center stage. Martin Odegaard drops to the bench in Arteta’s most notable change, which also sees Emile Smith Rowe make his first league start since May 2022.
Victory lifts Arsenal to second place, 2 points away from the top team and north.
London rival Tottenham, Arteta’s army remains unbeaten after 10 matches in the national championship.
For the Blades, it was a crazy afternoon when – when their resolute defense was breached for the opening goal just before the half-hour mark – the writing was on the wall.
Traveling fans chanted the name of under-pressure manager Paul Heckingbottom, but they are yet to see their team win on their return to the top flight, with just a point on the clock. With Jesus ruled out for several weeks due to a hamstring injury, Nketiah was once again tasked with fulfilling his duties as Arsenal’s striker.
His touch and finish for the opener proved he was up to the task as the England international put the Gunners on the path to a comfortable win over the bottom-placed Blades.
Wes Foderingham might have been busier in the first half, but he was on hand to keep Gabriel Martinelli’s fierce shot off the post five minutes before the break.
The second goal came five minutes after the break, this time Foderingham took a corner kick from Bukayo Saka, the ball fell to Nketiah who fired a shot into the top corner.
VAR’s check of the United goalkeeper’s foul possibility could not save the away team. Nketiah, who made his England debut coming off the bench in the 1-0 friendly win over Australia earlier this month, tried his best for the final game.
Receiving a pass from Smith Rowe, the 24-year-old shot from 20 meters to complete his hat-trick.
Saka, captain in the absence of Odegaard and Jesus, was replaced shortly afterwards and – to the cheers of the home fans – handed the captaincy to Nketiah.
Nketiah collected the ball for the first time to take the late penalty awarded after a lengthy VAR check by referee Tim Robinson after Vieira was caught by Oliver Norwood.
But instead, Vieira made the mistake of sending Foderingham in the wrong direction and extended the gap.
Tomiyasu completed the scoring in stoppage time after Mohamed Elneny’s shot from close range deflected off the Japanese defender.
Also read
For possibly the first time since August, Manchester United’s back-four should pick itself when Manchester City visit Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds’ defensive department has been hampered by injury and illness-related issues since the opening month of the season, meaning it has been impossible for manager Erik ten Hag to find a settled and consistent rearguard. Three of the four members that started the opening two games of the season are expected to miss Sunday’s derby, highlighting the sheer size of the problem.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw joined Raphael Varane in forming the back-four for United’s opening two Premier League outings this season, starting the win over Wolves and defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, but only the latter is currently fit. Shaw was the first casualty of that quartet, suffering a muscle injury in the build-up to the win over Nottingham Forest.
He’s the player they’ve missed the most for a collection of different reasons, though two have been more noticeable than others. The England defender was virtually an ever-present figure for Ten Hag last term, either at left-back or as a makeshift centre-back.
His United career, like those of several others, was resurrected last season, benefitting from Ten Hag’s elite-level coaching credentials. He made 47 appearances in total, scoring one goal and chipping in with six assists. He also made a significant contribution to the 28 clean sheets that were recorded in all competitions.
After initially losing his place to Tyrell Malacia after a shaky start to the Ten Hag era, Shaw wrestled his spot back after the former was given a schooling by Phil Foden in the 6-3 defeat to City last October. The former Southampton man has topped the pecking order at left-back ever since.
Though his statistics last season, both offensively and defensively, made good reading, Shaw’s game was about much more than just his work in both boxes. He was a key contributor to United’s style of play between both boxes.
Ten Hag, from the outset of his tenure, made it clear that he wanted to transform United into a possession-based team. The signings of Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Martinez immediately highlighted in the summer of 2022, with the trio renowned for their ball-playing expertise.
Working in tandem, Martinez and Shaw almost immediately transformed the left side of United’s defence, with the duo’s ball-playing credentials shining through. Both are excellent at progressing the ball out from the back, and Shaw’s ability to do that in the left full-back position has been sorely missed in recent weeks.
Shaw, who turned 28 in July, was essential to United’s build-up play last season, progressing the ball forward and contributing to the transition. He also assisted with ball retention in midfield, sometimes tucking into the centre of the pitch, a trait which United have attempted to persist with this season.
Furthermore, Shaw is a first-class professional, who is never afraid to speak the truth. He fronted up after United’s dismal 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in April, setting the record straight by telling several home truths. United need leaders of his ilk.
As well as that, perhaps even more crucially, his absence at left-back has been felt by Marcus Rashford. The United academy graduate, who scored the winner in last season’s all-Manchester affair at Old Trafford, has scored just one goal so far this season and has looked a shadow of the player he was last term.
Though he deserved tremendous levels of credit for what he achieved last season, becoming the first United player to score 30 goals in a season since Robin van Persie a decade earlier, a lot of his success was built on the fact he had sound knowledge he’d built a solid and fruitful partnership with Shaw. The England colleagues would often link up down the left-flank, displaying a firm understanding of each other’s personal game.
It was a reliable partnership, one which United frequently prospered from. Rashford has had anything but a settled partner on the left so far this term, with the left-back spot, in Shaw’s absence, having been shared between Sergio Reguilon, Victor Lindelof and Sofyan Amrabat because of further injury troubles.
The sooner Shaw overcomes his muscle problem and returns to full fitness, the better, both for United as a collective and Rashford personally. He is a vitally important cog in the way Ten Hag wants his team to play, and his presence has been sorely missed.
