Gary Neville has slammed Manchester United‘s abject display against Tottenham, labelling their performance as “absolutely disgusting” and one of the worst witnessed so far under Erik ten Hag’s management.
The Red Devils were woeful in the first half of a one-sided Premier League contest at a subdued Old Trafford on Sunday, falling behind inside just three minutes thanks to Brennan Johnson’s fourth goal in as many games that came after a sublime run and assist from Micky van de Ven.
They had the woodwork, some profligate finishing and a few solid saves from goalkeeper Andre Onana to thank for Spurs not being out of sight before a bad afternoon quickly got even worse with a double blow just before half-time as captain Bruno Fernandes was controversially sent off for a challenge on James Maddison and Kobbie Mainoo also went off injured.
Dejan Kulusevski deservedly doubled Tottenham’s advantage shortly after the interval, with United’s 10 men rallying briefly before a close-range finish from Dominic Solanke set the seal on a landmark victory for Spurs and an abysmal United defeat that once again significantly ramps up the pressure on perennially under-fire manager Ten Hag.
United legends and pundits alike eviscerated a dreadful display and result from United, with Neville leading the way on Sky Sports.
“It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half in effort, quality, everything you would want in a football team,” he said.
"There will be a lot of questions to answer for that group (of players) and the manager in the next week.
"I've been here at Man United enough over the past 10 to 12 years to know that a game and a result like this needs reversing rather quickly.
"The snowball starts to roll down that hill and it gathers apace. Erik ten Hag has got to stop it at source right now because this is a shocking day, a sobering day.
"I said just before the game that there can be no excuses. A mountain of cash has been spent and invested. The first half was absolutely woeful, as bad as it gets."
Neville added: "The pressure is going to get ramped up this week - it is going to be brutal. It has been a bad day for Ten Hag, really bad.
"It's one of the worst performances I have seen under Ten Hag - and that is saying something. It is really bad.
"I'd be suggesting the players probably go and have a meeting themselves tomorrow morning without the manager," Neville said.
"They've got to decide first what they want to do and Erik ten Hag has got a lot of friends in that dressing room that have worked with him previously at other clubs.
"They need to get a grip of that dressing room very quickly because it didn't look that great out there in that first half today."
Neville’s fellow Sky Sports pundits echoed his criticisms, with former United team-mate Ashley Young saying: “There was no effort, no work-rate. No one was running. There were no leaders out there.
"Everything seemed disjointed. It seemed like there were individuals all over the pitch. No one wanted to take the ball or to create anything.
"It was bad from start to finish for Man United. Tottenham were so comfortable. Man United did nothing."
Jamie Redknapp labelled United’s display against Tottenham as the sort that “gets managers the sack”, describing it as “embarrassing” and calling United a “graveyard for great players” as he claimed they had now hit “rock bottom”.
Manchester United Rant 🤯
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) September 29, 2024
- Terrible
- Same Mistakes
- Never A Red Card#RioReacts pic.twitter.com/7LXi6K2DCr
Neville’s fellow United legend Rio Ferdinand was similarly scathing on social media, saying in a video posted to X: “Where’s the pride? That fight doesn’t seem like it’s where it should be.
“Do not led the red card distract from the fact that we were terrible. We were an embarrassment today.
“The red card shouldn’t be an excuse for anybody at Man United now. It shouldn’t be an excuse for anyone at the football club.
“We were terrible. We were terrible to watch. It was a terrible representation of who we are and what we are right now. What the hell are we?”
