Gary Neville, as expected, pulled no punches after watching Manchester United turn in a Europa League final performance so flat it almost defies the physics of a three-dimensional universe.
That 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao was, the former Manchester United captain says, the ‘perfect storm of absolute rubbish’.
A perfect storm made up of dreadful leadership from the very top – the fish rots from the head, as the old saying goes – of poor, costly recruitment mistakes, and of bad game management.
Ruben Amorim must accept his share of the blame. And, to be fair to the former Sporting boss, he is not the type of excuse himself from responsibility.
Gary Neville agrees with Rio Ferdinand’s assessment that Amorim probably should have picked Alejandro Garnacho ahead of an ineffective Mason Mount, all the while freeing up 19-goal talisman Bruno Fernandes to do what he does best in a more advanced role.
Yet with Andre Onana at one end and Rasmus Hojlund at the other – Roy Keane questioned Onana’s role in Brennan Johnson’s winner while Hojlund touched the ball only 15 times in 71 minutes – there does appear to be a limit to what Ruben Amorim can really achieve in charge of a team frequently underperforming their XG in both the defensive and attacking departments.
It is not Amorim’s job, after all, to parry simple saves or to stick the ball in the back of the opposition net.
Gary Neville worried by Rasmus Hojlund’s Manchester United struggles
Neville, speaking ahead of Sunday’s final day clash with Aston Villa, feels that an insipid display completely devoid of invention and intensity can be explained by a lack of individual quality as well as some questionable tactical decisions.
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A ‘perfect storm’, indeed.
“I thought Mount would play. Yeah, I would probably have Garnacho in ahead of Mount. I just think having Garnacho and Amad Diallo, [providing a bit more fire]…” Neville begins.
“Hojlund, he’s struggling like mad, the boy. He can’t control a ball, he can’t make a run [even though] the service to him isn’t great.
“The reality of the performance for me [proved that] if Bruno is not on his game then you’ve basically lost everything almost. Bruno probably had one of his most challenging games.”
Neville calls for big changes again at Old Trafford
It is certainly difficult to remember a poorer performance from Man United’s talismanic captain. His passing slack, his influence minimal and his best chance – a header guided wide heading into the dying stages – wastefully off target.
There is little some high-quality recruitment cannot solve, though, and Man United’s £62.5 million deal for Matheus Cunha will ease some of the burden on Fernandes’ shoulders.
Yet, Cunha is only one piece of a mighty jigsaw.
“I’ve called them a disgrace. I’ve called them all the words you can imagine,” Neville sighs, again calling out those taking the big and usually ill-advised decisions in the boardroom. “This is a time for serious, serious reflection at that football club.
“This is a result of many, many years of horrific recruitment, horrific decisions in and out of the club, of ownership, all the way through to managers, scouts, people in positions who have signed players.
“It’s like the perfect storm of absolute rubbish.”
The good news, a sliver of a silver lining, is that the curtain will officially and finally fall on a torturous campaign when the final whistle blows at around 5pm on Sunday.