“100%” – Gary Neville identifies main culprit in ‘horrific’ Man Utd demise | OneFootball

Manchester United icon Gary Neville points the finger at the Glazer family for his beloved club’s ongoing free fall.

The soon-to-be 50-year-old was one of the cornerstones of Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad for almost two decades. During his glorious time at Carrington, he lifted almost every major honour, including eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two Champions League trophies.

Sadly for the Reds, they have been forced to bear witness to an astonishing demise that has been ongoing since Ferguson vacated his post in 2013. United have yet to lift the Premier League trophy ever since, or even launch a genuine title bid. In fact, the club currently sits in a jaw-dropping 13th place in the standings, as the mid-season appointment of Ruben Amorim has yet to pay dividends.

But while many players, directors and managers have come and gone in recent years, Neville has no doubt when it comes to identifying the true culprit in this inglorious mess. The Sky Sports pundit blames the Glazers first and foremost for the club’s sorry state.

“Watching it [Man United matches] at the moment is hard work. I prefer not to be given United games. That’s a really bad conclusion for me to be at. As a United fan I’m thinking, ‘f*** it, I’ve got to go and do United again'” said the club legend in his interview with the Daily Mail.

“The succession planning. When I think about it from a business perspective, what happened post Sir Alex and (former chief executive) David Gill was horrific. One hundred per cent falls upon the owners in the Glazer family.

“The last 10 years – to run a football club without a football department is just absolutely bizarre. How that could not be seen either by the Glazer family or by the executive that was in place is madness. When I left 500-600 people were working at United. That went to 1,200. How has that happened?’

Gary Neville blames Glazers for tremendous Man Utd mess, defends INEOS

(Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

On the other hand, Neville believes INEOS require more time in charge as they have to clean the mess created by the Glazers. In fact, he was hoping that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his company would acquire more than a minority stake.

“When they came in, my preference would have been for a complete takeover and for the Glazer family to leave, and it still would be because ultimately they’ve run their course,’ he says. ‘But at least there’s been disruption.

“You’ve got to give Ineos three or four years to try and work out what the hell’s going on. Six months in, they’ve found it bloody hard. It’s an oil tanker.

“Until you’re in there, you can’t understand the scale of United and the enormity of everything. From keeping Erik ten Hag to the decision to bring in (sporting director) Dan Ashworth and then for him to leave, they’re obviously finding it bloody tough.

“There’s no doubt that there’s been turbulence and wrong decisions made. The club needs a shake. There’s a lot of things that need changing. To be fair there’s a new CEO, new sporting director, new technical director, new CFO. You’ve got complete and utter transformation in six months.”