Lisandro Martinez was furious after being told about Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt’s comments ahead of the Manchester derby, while Roy Keane has also been criticized for some of his comments
Paul Scholes is one of the former United pundits who has come under fire for his criticism of the current team (Image: Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Whether supporters of other clubs like it or not, Manchester United is one of the most famous organizations in football. This is one of the few clubs that can be classified as a global phenomenon.
There is a lot of interest in United’s fate, whether positive or negative. They are the dominant narrative in football news.
Considering the achievements of many big clubs, United’s results over the past decade or so have not been great, but they have not been disastrous. Their average Premier League finishing position since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure has been between fifth and sixth, and they have won the FA Cup twice, the EFL Cup twice and the Europa League once.
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Decent…for a normal club. But it’s United so there are special demands and therefore the weight of critical comments.
And much of that critical commentary comes from former United players, who play an important role as media pundits. There’s a simple reason for that.
They are former United players. They played in famous clubs. they know what it’s like. That’s why their opinions are being sought.
Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney. Their opinions are sought after by the media because they have played an important role in the club’s history. It’s really that simple.
Roy Keane criticizes Manchester United coaching staff changes (Image: )
In the case of Scholes and Nicky Butt, we can add that they are also fans of the club. However, many opinions – certainly on social media – now appear to be against the former Old Trafford favorites, who have not been very complimentary of United.
If it was a change in attitude, it was probably facilitated by Keane’s comments about Michael Carrick’s appointment and the defender’s harsh criticism of Lisandro Martinez after his excellent contribution to United’s derby win, as well as criticism of Scholes and Butt. While Scholes and Butt’s comments were a bit immature and later proved to be inconsiderate, they were not malicious.
Martinez had every right to respond, and he did so with admirable sharpness. It was a good knockabout thing.
But the serious element in Martinez’s comments is that he said he doesn’t care one way or the other when it comes to negative comments from former players. That’s exactly how it should be. Criticism neither motivates nor demoralizes him.
Lisandro Martinez furious over negative comments from Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt (Image: )
Former players should be allowed to say exactly what they want. This is not North Korea. What do you want players like Keane, Scholes and Butt to do? Cheerleader?
Gary Neville is responsible for some of that, and a lot of the important stuff. That’s fine. If they’re happy when United win and annoyed when United lose, that’s fine.
They are former players and have strong ties to the club. Most of them are fans. That can certainly be frustrating for many people who aren’t United fans.
But it shouldn’t have a negative impact on the team. Because, in all seriousness, if you damage the game by a few pundits’ paid jibes – which Martinez clearly did not, by the way – you don’t belong at Manchester United.
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