Manchester United look jaded, desolate, and sunk after week from hell
With the way things were teetering towards a full-scale internal mutiny at Manchester United in the past few weeks, all it needed to blow this out in spectacular fashion was one tipping point. And right on cue, that was provided in explosive fashion by defender Lisandro Martinez in the aftermath of another feeble Manchester United defeat, this time at Europe against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Martinez let rip in astounding fashion, specifically name-dropping Jason Wilcox as he spoke about more investment needed in the squad. “A reflection of the mirror of how our club is at the moment.”
While his gung-ho, no-holds-barred defiance in public may have won him a lot of adulation and brownie points because of how he put the club’s glaring issues out for all to see in the open, this will only go on to intensify the already gargantuan level of pressure that the club is under following their worst start to a football season since the noughties.
Martinez’s outburst has brought forward a myriad of reactions from a lot of people involved at the club. While there has been no comment by Jason Wilcox, a few of them have made some sort of responses available to the media. Youri Tielemans refused to offer an answer, simply shrugging off by saying “no comment”. Head coach Michael Carrick says that the outburst was “emotionally charged”. And if reports are to be believed, while most players inside the dressing room agree to the statement, at least one player has challenged the Argentine on his comments.
But all this still does not mask the fact that United have been hurtling towards one bumbling mess after another. From their sub-par summer, to the poor performances on the pitch, the JJ Gabriel fiasco, and now this. It has been one unilateral circus that does not show any signs of abating soon. The defense looks beatable, the midfield lacks athleticism and is porous, while the attack looks blunt and toothless.
Bruno Fernandes looks like a man clearly in discomfort even for a player of his superhuman durability. Martinez has had 2 high-profile errors that led to goals in consecutive league games against Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. The failure to land a left-back has left the club with a once-again hobbled Luke Shaw, who seemingly does not have an international tournament coming as an incentive to stay fit. Joshua Zirkzee still somehow is at the club, and Marcus Rashford is once again all running with no output.
And there is Michael Carrick. The head coach began the season with optimism and the promise of delivering something special to the club this season. Fast forward 9 games into the season, he is out of reckoning from one competition, and has only 2 wins to show for. There seems to be an idea, but it is only an idea as of now, with him unable to execute it. While you can say that there is a case to be made with the poor summer, the notion of squad depth is a myth and eventually the manager/coach must work with the players that he has at his disposal. And he has not been able to deliver the results required (tough luck and poor refereeing decisions being cast aside).
This dirty laundry being aired out in public has just exacerbated the whole negative atmosphere to an entirely higher level. Only good results and some champagne football is the only way that can save this sinking ship.
Manchester United look jaded, desolate, and sunk. This week from hell could get even worse. And it seems like there is no end in sight. But at least the Amazon documentary will be smashing hit innit?
