‘The manager is the last thing’ – Former Manchester United coach explains some harsh truths about problems at club
Former Manchester United player Phil Neville sung from the same branch as his brother, Gary, on American TV over the weekend.
Phil Neville, now a respected coach in the MLS, was offering his insight on Manchester United after our embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
Rather than blame the manager, like some pundits have done, Phil Neville lays the blame at United’s owners for the way they’ve let down previous managers.
Neville was appearing on NBC Sports Soccer when he said: “The first thing they cannot do is sack the manager. They’ve done that and I was part of David Moyes’ staff.
“Moyes came in, five year contract and 10-months later [he was] sacked. I witnessed first-hand there – as a player, had some great times there with a great manager – and then David Moyes came in and went in with him, I was absolutely amazed with what I saw.
Got to agree with @Fizzer181 here that the club needs sorting from the top downwards … how we let Sir Alex leave the job without a stable functioning structure in place is baffling
pic.twitter.com/svFJacgXgv
— Jimmy McBride (@jimmymcbride1) December 11, 2023
“The recruitment process, the fact that they’re more interested in the commercial side and making money rather than what happens on the pitch.
“Then Mourinho, then Van Gaal, then Rangnick, then Solskjaer… I remember when Rangnick left, I think they got beat one game and he left something on the club in terms of this club is not going to be successful unless it sorts itself out. And I think Man United need to sort itself out.
“It’s not just the manager. The manager is the last thing they need to sort out. They need to sort out from top to bottom. The training ground is old, the stadium is falling to bits, the ownership don’t know what they’re doing. The ownership want to sell but they only want to sell a little bit. Who’s the charge? Who runs recruitment?
“Every other club I see at the top half of the league their club is being run better than Manchester United. Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world. To play for Manchester United is one of the most difficult things in the world. Pressure, expectation, the history of the club, it’s so difficult. I that in this moment in time that if you just keep changing the manager, getting rid of players… they need to sort out what’s going on at the top and filter it down and it will all look after itself.”
And Phil would know since he’s worked as a coach under the Glazer ownership. He would have known what demands David Moyes had during his time at Old Trafford.
That said, Neville doesn’t seem keen for Moyes – or himself – to take any fault in some of the terrible coaching which a lot of players have been happy to speak off the record about.
On another note, we all saw that Erik ten Hag is a fantastic manager last season. That hasn’t changed over the course of the summer and there are bigger factors at play that cannot go ignored.
Get the latest Manchester United news, opinion, interviews and exclusive features with the Stretty Newsletter – Ad Free! Kick off your afternoon with the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.
The post ‘The manager is the last thing’ – Former Manchester United coach explains some harsh truths about problems at club appeared first on Stretty News.