Second game, second defeat, zero points, 20th place in the table! The English record champions Manchester United have reached their preliminary low point after beating Brentford FC 4-0 on the second day of the Premier League. After the final whistle, there was scorn, ridicule and criticism from all sides for the Red Devils.
Even the Brentford opponents couldn’t resist a small jab at the struggling Manchester giants.
After their team’s 4-0 win, last year’s promoted team’s Twitter team asked: “Has anyone seen how Gary and Roy are doing?”
Of course, Gary and Roy meant Gary Neville and Roy Keane, who once became legends in the ManUnited jersey and now regularly appear as TV experts – and who are just as regularly upset about the performance of their successors in the record champions’ jersey.
Neville didn’t hold back with his opinion this time either and came to a devastating conclusion after the game.
Already at half-time – United were already 4-0 down – he said it felt like grown men playing against a children’s team. He then said: “As Manchester United you thought it couldn’t get any worse – but it is.”
Who would disagree with Rangnick now?
Neville described Saturday’s bankruptcy as a “new low” and the status quo as “very, very bad”. The team of new coach Erik ten Hag was “mauled, bullied” and used as a “ball” by FC Brentford in the first half, he judged.
Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton gave a very similar assessment of what was happening on the pitch. His analysis on “BBC Radio” was correspondingly devastating.
“When Ralf Rangnick was in charge he said the team needed ten new players. Are there any United fans out there who don’t agree with him?” Sutton asked.
The ex-professional could not answer whether that was the low point. For this he stated: “It’s very difficult to know what happens next with Manchester.”
Coach Erik ten Hag also put his finger on the wound after the final whistle and said: “It’s my responsibility to find an explanation. It’s clear that our performance was very bad. If you make mistakes like that, you can’t play a game win. You can’t make mistakes like that at this level.”
That the Dutchman was quite angry with his professionals, he let it be known without any ifs or buts. The former Ajax coach publicly reiterated his desire for more newcomers: “It’s clear that we need players, but I don’t want to think about that. The good players we have should have done better.”
After that memorable evening in Brentford, it wasn’t just the coach who saw it that way.