Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand did not hide their frustrations as they slammed Erik ten Hag’s side’s performance in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Brennan Johnson’s goal inside three minutes set the tone for a bitterly disappointing game from a United perspective, with Bruno Fernandes’ red card before the half-time break ending any slim hopes of a comeback as Spurs ran riot after the interval.
“The first half was as bad as it gets,” Neville told Sky Sports‘ coverage of the game. “This is a shocking day, a sobering day. This is a really bad day for Ten Hag.
“You can’t say it came from nowhere because Manchester United have been inconsistent all season, but they have chosen to put in their very worst performance, their very worst possible showing.
“It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half in effort, quality, everything you would want in a football team, and there are going to be a lot of questions to answer for that group and the manager in the next week.”
Former centre-back Ferdinand took to X, formerly Twitter, to post his own scathing response.
“Where’s the pride man? I just don’t know,” he said. “That fight doesn’t seem where it should be. The Bruno red card I think is p**s poor as well. I think it’s a p**s poor red card. In no day and age should that ever be a red card. A straight red card? No way, I can’t have it.
“But do not let that distract from the fact that we were terrible. We were an embarrassment today. The red card shouldn’t be an excuse for anybody at Man Utd now. It shouldn’t be an excuse for anyone at the football club.
“We were terrible. We were terrible to watch. It was a terrible kind of representation of who were are and what we are right now. Giving the ball away constantly. I’m ranting here but I can’t help it. I’ve sat and watched the game and just thought, ‘What the hell are we?'”
