MY ACCOUNT
Manchester United supporters will not forget the damaging impact some Red Devils players have had this campaign, while Jesse Lingard did not have a “god-given right” to an Old Trafford send-off.
That is according to United great Gary Neville, who referenced legendary captains of the club, Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson, not being given special treatment in their final games for the club.
Lingard was not in the squad for the final home game of the season against Brentford last Monday, his last chance to feature at Old Trafford with his contract set to expire at the end of the campaign.
Louie Scott, Lingard’s brother, subsequently took to Instagram to take aim at United, venting his anger how the England international could spend 20 years at the club without being offered a farewell.
Neville – speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast – labelled the situation as “nonsense” as he suggested Lingard did not merit a send-off.
“There was a lot of nonsense spoken about Lingard. He’s been at the club a long time and done a good job,” he said.
“But I’ve seen Bryan Robson and Steve Bruce not play in their last games for the club and not get a send-off in cup finals.
“They were both great captains and one of them probably is the greatest captain Manchester United have ever had. They didn’t get the send-off they wanted so I’m not sure why Lingard deserved it.
“I was thrown away in West Brom in a toilet – sometimes it just doesn’t work out, Jesse!
“To feel like you’ve a god-given right to get some minutes on the pitch based on how they played. Not one of them, other than David de Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo, can complain about what will happen to them this summer.”
Lingard was again not present as Brighton and Hove Albion thumped United 4-0 on Saturday, the Red Devils have now conceded more goals (56) than in any previous Premier League campaign.
The result represented a new low in a dire season for United, who will also set their lowest-ever Premier League points tally, sitting on 58 – six fewer than their 2013-14 mark with only one game to play.
Bruno Fernandes accepted the assessment from United supporters that the players “were not fit to wear the shirt”, while interim manager Ralf Rangnick apologised for the humiliation at the Amex Stadium.
Neville believes he has never seen the United fans turn on their own players as they did on the south coast, which he suggests shows how bad the performance was.
“It’s been a shocking few months. I can’t wait for the season to end and to stop talking about them,” he added.
“I was delighted not to be on the Brighton game before it, during it and after it. I can’t watch them because it doesn’t represent anything that a football club should be, let alone Manchester United.
“The players are only damaging themselves to a point where the fans won’t forget. They were singing ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt” – I have never, ever, heard United fans resort to that chant. That’s a chant you would hear at QPR a few years ago or Sunderland when the fans were walking out.
“I have never known a United fanbase turn on a team like this one. It’s now really clear the players have thrown the towel in. They really have. It’s been a disgrace for a couple of months. It’s embarrassing.
“[Incoming manager Erik] ten Hag has got a massive job to do.”
