Gary Neville delivered his harsh assessment of Manchester United after the disappointing loss to Everton at Old Trafford on Monday night, but he didn’t pack any punches.
Gary Neville lashed out at Luke Shaw, calling him a “waste of time” after Manchester United’s disastrous 1-0 defeat at Everton. Manager Keenan Dewsbury-Hall sacked 10 Toffees on Monday night against Old Trafford to seal a surprise victory and end the Reds’ unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Despite holding a numerical advantage for nearly 80 minutes after Idrissa Gueye received a red card for slapping a team-mate, United were unable to break through Everton’s resolute final line.
Shortly before the start time, coach Ruben Amorim made a few changes to change the course of the game, bringing on Patrick Dorg for Diogo Dalot and Koby Mainu for Casemiro. However, the United manager insisted on a five-man back system, and Neville was furious at the decision, with Sky Sports commentators describing it as “embarrassing”.
He also took aim at Shaw as a “wobbler” as United looked to equalize. Appearing on Sky Sports from the gantry, the Reds legend fumed: “We have to have a sense of urgency, make the pitch as big as possible and put as many players in the forward areas as possible.”
read more: Liverpool are ‘already working on’ £65m move for Antoine Semenho ahead of January deadlineread more: Jack Grealish’s full-time action against Man United after Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane’s altercation
“Behind the ball you have Shaw, (Lenny) Yolo and (Matthejs) de Ligt. Shaw is more forward, but he is wandering forward, let me be clear. He has been bothering me for the last 20 minutes. He is wandering, he can’t do that.”
“He should run forward every time. I don’t care. Yoro, I have a little more sympathy for the show, but? It’s a waste of time. I don’t care. It’s a waste of time. I’m not fooling anyone. I don’t enjoy it.”
United dominated for much of the game, but lacked energy in the final third. Neville became increasingly frustrated as the second half progressed as the Reds struggled to break down David Moyes’ side.
The United legend claimed that Shaw should not have been placed centrally and that Amorim should have brought in attacking reinforcements. Neville continued: “Reuben Amorim has questions to answer.
“Bringing Dalot in before the show? I don’t get it. There are five guys behind me. Why? They haven’t gotten the first ball or the second ball yet. It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s supposed to be like the Alamo, really quick, high-tempo, passing from side to side, getting into wide areas, putting in crosses, getting bodies into the attack, sustaining the attack. United’s is very slow. They don’t have any presence in the box.”
After the match, Neville reflected on his criticism of United. The Reds legend claimed on his podcast that his former team were “complacent” and that the result would “undermine trust” in the dressing room.
“It smelled like complacency,” Neville said. “They weren’t good from the start, which is bad for United. I think they’ve improved a lot in the last few weeks. Maybe that’ll get us back away to Brentford.”
“You can’t just take the fight they showed in a particular game. It just erodes confidence, it erodes trust. We’re trying to build trust in the coach and we’re trying to build trust in the team.
“At the end, the fans booed all at once. It was loud, and rightly so. It was a really poor performance. It was like we took a couple steps forward, we all felt a little bit better, and then we were back at square one.”
“You can lose a football game, but you can’t afford to lose like that. It’s not good enough and it’s not acceptable.”
Meanwhile, Everton star Guy has broken his silence about his red card and apologized to his team-mates following the ugly incident with Michael Keane.
“First of all, I would like to apologize to my team-mate Michael Keane. I take full responsibility for my reaction. I also apologize to my team-mates, staff, fans and club,” the player said on his Instagram Story.
“What happened is not a reflection of me or the values I stand for. Emotions are high, but nothing justifies such actions. I will ensure that something like this never happens again.”
Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily Manchester United content from Mirror Football. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£43
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
