“I’m not quite sure what this team is anymore” | Gary Neville on Manchester United!

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Gary Neville reacts to Nottingham Forest’s 2-1 win against Manchester United.

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Well welcome along to the final Gary Neville podcast of 2023 which is tonight coming to you from the city ground where we’ve just witnessed Nottingham Forest beating Manchester United by two goals to one we will get into Manchester United shortly Gary because there is plenty to discuss but first of all I

Think we should pay credit shouldn’t we to naum Forest absolutely uh just said at the end of the game there I mean I really love this ground you know reminds me of goodison par the old white heart Lane the sort of grounds where I first sort of came to watch United but then

Also played here as well and uh it’s great to see him back in back in the Premier League obviously it’s the second season which has been challenging but they’re not going to go down if they carry on playing like they have in the last four days the two victories against

Newcastle and Manchester United should really set them on the way because they’ll give them big confidence um they’re playing well and they deserved it today I have to say I think that you know Nuno won’t say anything different in his uh postmatch conference he won’t say we were fortunate there’ll be no

Sort of plates from Manchester United I suspect either they played really well they L like they wanted it more they were more competitive they had I think better players in Creative areas of the pitch alanga was a threat Gibbs white was a threat wood didn’t really get

Going today but he was a better point of if you like reference than maybe rashford at the other end so no from from Nottingham Forest they’ve got something to work on and I was here I think it was Steve Cooper’s last game was it against Spurs a couple of weeks

Ago at the Friday Night Football not sure but it was one of his last games if it wasn’t his last I think it was his last and uh it was a bit dark because he he real fans favorite who the rumor was that he’d been kept in a job by the fans

Last season uh if we believe everything that we read and uh you can see why he done a Monumental job here and you mentioned it numerous times during this game that he brought real stability in a club that’s had quite a lot of change of managers so I think that we should still

Sort of respect the work that Steve Cooper’s done but sometimes as a manager you’ve just taken it so far and remember sort of in the last interview that we did with him and he had this collection of players that he didn’t quite know what to do with they’re almost thrust

Upon him at times weren’t they from a recruitment perspective but I just think it really suits Nuno and what Nuno is um he looks like he’s got an initial bond with the players in the early days obviously Victor’s helped that as well uh and he can set them up in such a way

That he suits way in which Nuno plays he’s very good he’s a methodical coach he’s got good experience now you know been at Valencia he’s been at wolves obviously had a short period at Spurs so he knows what to do Nuno and I think that it’s a really probably smart move

By the club and probably right for sometimes it’s right for Steve Cooper or right for the manager and sometimes it’s right for the club as well it feels like one of those moments actually Nuno himself said that he’s not used to dealing with such a bloated Squad so

Perhaps he too will look to trim a bit of the fat maybe in January if he can get players out maybe I mean I think at the moment he’s still obviously working things out he made six changes from his first game to his second then made a couple today and then made numerous

Substitutions changed the system at the end so the there’s a lot of exploration for him in terms of finding out about the players the systems what suits uh obviously each of the players but I think he’ll be working out pretty much straight away that he’s got some Talent

He’s got something to work with and that’s what every manager wants and I think that that’s what he would be really happy I think he’ be delighted to be back in the Premier League and have this opportunity to sort of push up the league with Nottingham Forest which is a

Great football club like I say I really like coming here one of the talents he has got to work with and you raised this subject during the commentary today is Anthony alanga is the cause for Manchester United to regret having let him go I I think we’re the way

Manchester United are and with the problems they have with their Wingers it makes you think like that but maybe Anthony elanga in a normal sort of period might not be a Manchester United number one two three four Winger you know you like to have two on each side

But what it does make you think is when you see him like that today where he’s a real threat and he’s got pace and he’s got appetite and then you see some of the performances of Manchester United wide players over the last sort of 6 to

12 months it makes you think like well you’ve been better off sticking with your own and keeping the ones you had you know sometimes in football rather than sort of if you like you know get rid of players that may sort of evolve into something you better off going with

Them and giving them an opportunity but football’s very immediate and Manchester United have wanted immediate success and the managers that come in want immediate success so you know they have given young players a chance you know gacho and others have have been given an opportunity so Lang I can’t sit here and

Say oh man united should have kept Al langu is better than all the ones they’ve got but it does make you think that on days like today when you the performance levels of United’s wide players gacho aside I think gacho’s got something and he’s got appetite as well

When he and real courage to play I have to say the rest of them to be fair I mean yeah we’ve said enough haven’t we I mean it’s everything the body language the the running back their ability to combine with each other the skill it’s not if he actually I wouldn’t worry me

Too much if like say that the work ethic wasn’t there and and they weren’t running back you know I played with players that didn’t run back sometimes I tell you what they didn’t have deliver in the final third to not deliver in the final third and they not run back is

Just insult it’s insulting to the teammates insulting to the families it’s insulting to the fans who’ve traveled behind that goal um but they do it week in week out and we know what this group of players are I can’t get excited after a game I was excited on on boxing there

A little bit by the not by by the Aston Villa second half because it surprised me but I can’t get excited beyond that and think well I’m going to watch some brilliant football now for the rest of the season because these play these players have told us what they are um

And it’s going to be a long old slug the rest of this season it’s going to be difficult because the speculation is going to continue to mount and mount particularly with obviously the new ownership and do you come into games like this with the mindset of having

Seen the victory over Aston Villa that it’s not going to carry on that way because they are so inconsistent yeah no absolutely you you know what you’re going to get you’re going to be inconsistent consist and the thing is a big team can get beat by a lower team in

This league one of the bottom six that happens regular happened in my time but when Manchester United are supposedly one of the top teams in the country top you know Champions League you know place last season win the carabal cup when you get beat by a smaller team

What ordinarily happens is you have the majority of possession by a long way I think United has 55% today and Forest 45 last time I checked five minutes to go you’d have like a mountain of shots on the opposition goal the opposition goalkeeper would be amazing it would be

The fact that then they’ve G and broke away and scored or they’ve got a set piece that you would win the game by Manchester United don’t get beat like that by the teams that are lower than them in the league they get beat well beaten you know like the the really the

Worst team on the pitch so it’s how they get beat you know you can get beat by a team that’s you know that’s lower down than you in the league but it’s how they get beat regularly they regularly get out play played out four out run now

There were times when we lost the lower teams going back in the day we might have had 70% possession or 65% possession 25 shots on goal not taking our chances and they go you like I say you can seeed one at the other end and that can happen that’s not how this

Manchester United Team Lose You Don’t See Manchester City lose a game where they’ve not had a load of shots or a load of possession you don’t see I know Arsenal against West Ham the other night West Ham did really well Arsenal had a lot of shots they had a lot of play they

Had a lot of combinations and it was disappointment for Arsenal but you still knew that arsenal were probably better players in a better team but West Ham had done really well on the night and done well and deserved to win well done but it wasn’t the fact that you know the

West Ham outplayed Arsenal Nottingham Forest have outplayed Manchester United they’ve been better and that’s a real problem and this happens regularly and I’m not quite sure what this team is anymore when I watch them to be honest with they don’t play out from the back very well they don’t Counterattack very

Well they don’t play direct and forward very well I don’t pressing team they’re not a team that basically plays deep and does does it that way I I have no idea what they are they don’t score very well either do they I mean they scored fewer problem they scored

Fewer than Nottingham Forest um and have we seen an issue today with a lack of balance in the squad because you talked about the fact they’re overstocked almost with wide players but they lose Rasmus hland today and it’s almost like they haven’t got anybody who can then

Slot in but in the summer they needed Harry Kane and Rasmus hland they needed Highland with an experienced strike I’m name harri kanane there cuz he was available in the market may not have been available for United I don’t know but they needed a top Striker and then a young

Striker martial no rashford’s not sent it Forward anymore he’s not so they needed two they needed two and they only got one they bought Anthony last year and casemiro for 170 million they chased Sancho the year before that and you know they have needed wide players don’t get

Me wrong but you need a center forward um and Hyland’s young he’s got really good potential he’s got some phys physical attributes I’d like to think that you know in a really settled environment you I think if he came into the club in a really settled environment

In a in a good team with a a settled situation I think he could be a real big Talent Rasmus irland because he’s got lots to work with but you wonder what this club in its current format will do to him what this current team will do to

Him because we’ve seen the impact of you know what’s happened in the last few years on many other players I’ve said before this has been a graveyard for many many a player and it’s got to stop being that it’s got to be a a place where players can flourish and grow and

Get better but it’s not that place anymore and that’s what hopefully the introduction of new ownership and a change of mindset will you know will instigate in the next 6 months 12 months 18 months whatever it how long it takes really well that was going to be my next

Question to you actually because with inos and Jim Radcliffe after the U moving in Saga had dragged on for a while that is now confirmed subject to ratification how long is it going to take for the them to to get the squad sorted let alone the infrastructure that

You want to see improved yeah I I I I honestly think that there are a lot of things that they look at before the squad I mean look they have to try and correct the playing side of things as quickly as possible but there are some gaping holes in the club number one

There isn’t a CEO number two there isn’t a sporting director number three there isn’t a capable head of recruitment so they’re the top three jobs in a football club outside of the manager they’re the most important three jobs in a football club and then you’ve got the manager

Making the fourth meaning that quarter is very very strong and tight if that quarter are very successful then the team on the pitch will likely be successful in terms of sort if they’re good so the first thing that will be sorted will be people because there is a

Lack of those major roles in this in Manchester United actually in existence at this moment in time once you put those sort of things in place you’ve then got an opportunity to fix the things that are happening below it if the people are right up here and then it

Comes into the playing side and the coach and the other sides of things and then the academy and the women’s Team all the other things that flows from there but to start with people is absolutely critical and Manchester United I mean if you’re new owners and you’re putting in billions of pounds

Which is what s Jim rackler is doing he’s going to want look at the people who are his biggest exposure and the biggest exposure in a football club is recruitment of players and the other one is that you want to drive revenu so your CEO’s critical and your sporting

Directors critical to cost and revenue and they need to be sorted immediately if those two things fix Manchester United’s revenues are pretty good but they want to obviously maintain them they don’t want them to drop they want to try and explore new avenues of of Revenue as well but then you’ve got to

Get onto the sporting side where you think about head of Recruitment and manager and sporting director and that CEO making it up from a financial perspective so to me it’s really important that you know ultimately that bit is really important to get that right and then you can start to think

About place you can start to think about Stadium you start think about training facilities all the other things actually think once you’ve got that people and place you know management and and and and and the sort of plan around the stadium sort I do think the football

Side starts to take take care of itself because the foundations are good and the principles are good if you’ve got an amazing Old Trafford with fantastic people at the top of the club creating a great culture you’ve got a good chance of success coming down the line and

Manchester United fans are very patient I grew up in the sort of late 7s and early 80s and well right the way through the 80s not seeing Manchester United win a premier league title and it didn’t I say didn’t impact my child it wasn’t exactly fantastic watching Liverpool win

It nearly every other year but we got through it and the cycle changes it turns what you see is that something’s happening something’s right and it’s really important that Old Trafford part really important that you have pride in where you play and that it’s a great stadium and it’s important obviously

That the people at the top are the right people Manchester United had the wrong people for many many years and they haven’t even had a sporting director so yeah that that there’s some simple things to look at before you even get to the playing side you you know starting

With Manchester United right back or right winger or left Winger yeah if there’s some easy wins maybe you can look at that but I think to start with you know that first six months I think it’s people and place and that’s management and it’s Old Trafford and

I’ve heard there’s only a couple of hundred million pounds or so to spend on Old Trafford that’s nowhere near enough but maybe what Liverpool have done is the right way forward if that’s if there is shortage of funds where you get maybe one or two stands look absolutely world

Class and then the other two follow it sort of about different periods in the next 5 10 years that would be a plan you know because I’d rather have 200 million spent on the old stadium it looking still not up I’d rather have two stands or two parts of Old Trafford that look

Absolutely amazing so he’ll be interesting to see what the plans are for the stadium but you know s Jim Rackley has been a very successful businessman he’s not going to come in he’s not going to watch that today and sort of look at it and think there’s not

A lot to do he’s going to look at that think I can’t wait to get my hands on it and you know Dave brailsford’s in the stand there you know obviously from a different background but he’s been in football now in the last year or two um

How do you think that will work because obviously he’s been very successful in his own sphere but being successful in one sporting sphere does that necessarily transfer to another no but the you I always say this you can’t kid a football fan so forget Dave braford who understands poor body language poor

Culture poor recruitment a bad performance you know there were how many people in this Stadium 30 odd thousand people who to be fair recognize they that Manchester United stunk this place out so don’t you know from Dave brailsford’s point of view his job will

Be to I suspect it will be to go and identify the best-in-class SE sporting director head of recruitment that’s it you know and then everything else should flow down from there you know he’s not going to basically picking the team Dave rails but he’s not going to be the

Person who’s going to sort of go and look at the players that are playing in different parts of the world he’s not even going to be the CEO but I suspect he’s going to be overseeing what would be best-in-class appointments and recruitment of the top Management in the

Club and that’s really really important every other top club around the world that they’re really sharp in these in in these spaces so that’s what he will do and he’ll look at this today that is a result of what’s happened off the pitch what you see on the pitch is what to see

Happens off the pitch and that’s any football club but Manchester United have now lost as many League games already this season as they lost in the hole of last and that inevitably brings its own focus on the manager how do you feel Eric tenh hard’s position stands now I I

Think Eric tenh will be under pressure there’s no doubt about that and it will be they’ve obviously going to appoint those three roles I said CEO sporting director head of recruitment there a fact they’ll all come in and the rest of them L go that are currently in those

Sort of half rolls that they’re in now the coach is will be the one that will be their biggest deliberation it always is in a football club because you don’t sack a coach easily and what will happen is I suspect is that they’ll look at

What happens in the next six months so I think for Eric tag what you know I’m sure he’s thinking this get your players fit because he’s got three center backs missing he’s got a center forward missing today he’s got other players that are missing in the squad that you

Know casemiro needs to come back so if you can get Maguire uh Martinez casemiro hland have I missed anybody else no the those four back mainly Lindelof as well obviously but you you get those four back um Luke Shaw I think’s important you can get those

Four or five players back and then he thinks well okay well give give me at least the last three months of the season with my full Squad and I can see a performance level and I can see us get closer to that Champions League place they might then just think well okay you

Know that’s that’s something that we can potentially work with but I think he’s going to need to get those players back to give him a chance because I think they’re going to be looking at it at the moment and I’m not sure they’re going to

Take a risk of leaving Eric tenh har in if it’s as inconsistent as it is today but he does have injuries and I think we’ve just got to wait and see because he had a good season last year I don’t think Manchester United is the easiest Club to operate in in the current

Environment or any environment in the last 10 years and I think that they get those players back judge Eric tenh hard from February till May almost like as an audition I supect for them to look at him when they’ve got the full team back the full Squad back just finally then on

The overall Christmas program uh things haven’t worked out too badly have they for Liverpool or or for Manchester City actually coming back from the club World Cup yeah I think that Manchester City will be very happy with their own win obviously it good uson part was a

Difficult game for them but also some of the results around meaning that the teams haven’t pulled away from them I don’t think it would have meant that Manchester City were out of the title race by any stretch of the imagination but it means it’s more difficult I think

The others will be thinking yeah we’ve made it a lot more difficult for ourselves not giving us that five six seven point cushion that they could have had going into sort of if you like the new year with City being away and not playing so yeah I think that’s a I think

It’s been a good Christmas for Manchester City winning the World Club Championship oh yeah World Club cup and also the rest of them not being you know having two or three teams five six seven points in front of them would have put them under a bit of pressure I think

They’ll feel be feeling pretty good about themselves well have a happy New Year Gary it starts at anfield isn’t it and a Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for joining us on the Gary Neville podcast thanks Rob