Manchester United players and owners were in the crossfire of club great Gary Neville following the Red Devils’ potentially costly 1-0 Premier League defeat to West Ham on Monday (AEST).
Under first-year manager Erik Ten Hag, United has been in a strong position throughout the season to finish in the top four and return to the lucrative UEFA Champions League next year.
Yet a second-straight defeat, following a 1-0 stumble against Brighton last Friday (AEST), has left the club’s top-four hopes in jeopardy.
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Liverpool has caught fire in recent weeks, reeling off six straight wins and unbeaten in eight overall to move within one point of fourth-placed United, having played one game more.
The Manchester club has four matches remaining, starting with Wolves this weekend, and the performance against the Hammers drew a fierce response from former United defender and prominent media figure Gary Neville.
“United so poor in this game,” Neville wrote on Twitter to his 5.5 million followers, before turning his attention squarely to the owners of the club.
The US-based Glazer family announced in April this year they were looking for buyers, with very little news coming out of the club since.
“The real disgrace are the Glazers,” Neville continued. “Are they waiting for the last game at OT (Old Trafford) to pass??? It would be typical of them.
“Weak and shirking accountability and responsibility to the end!“
The tweet has drawn more than 4,600 responses from Manchester United fans, most preferring to aim their vitriol at the players on the pitch rather than the ownership group.
On the pitch, West Ham scored the only goal of the game following a howler from Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea.
Just a few days ago United were heavy favourites to finish in the Premier League’s top four, but they are now wobbling badly, while the Hammers are looking safe from relegation after securing the valuable three points this morning.
The result hinged on a catastrophic first-half error by De Gea, who let a tame shot from Said Benrahma squirm past him in the 27th minute after his team had largely dominated the opening period.
De Gea’s blunder came on the day on which he became the most-capped goalkeeper in Manchester United’s history, appearing for the 540th time to move ahead of Alex Stepney.
United, who suffered the pain of conceding a last-gasp penalty in their midweek defeat at Brighton, had been boosted by Arsenal’s 2-0 win at third-placed Newcastle earlier in the day.
But although they are still in fourth place, they are now just one point ahead of red-hot Liverpool, although still with a game in hand.
West Ham, who play in the Europa Conference League semi-finals this week, are seven points clear of the drop zone.
– With AFP
