Man Utd get chance to prove Gary Neville’s ’embarrassing’ and ‘worst team’ criticism wrong

Manchester United were humiliated the last time they face Newcastle and the two sides will square off this weekend with Ruben Amorim’s team out to show forward steps have been made

When Newcastle were leading Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford in late December Gary Neville claimed we were watching “the worst pound-for-pound team in the country.” The Red Devils were in the midst of one of the worst months in their history.

Five teams defeated the Manchester outfit in the final month of 2024 as the club appeared to hit a new low. That is saying a lot, given over the past decade the club have lurched from low moment to low moment. The 2024/25 season though really will exceed all that has come before it in a negative sense with United destined to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League for the first time.

Ruben Amorim has taken the club backwards since arriving and confessed after their loss to Newcastle that the situation was “his fault”.

Neville has been commentating on his former club for more than a decade and he’s been subjected to some truly horrific performances. It’s easy to say he’s running out of words to describe how bad things can get, but he was coming out with gold as he watched Newcastle tear United to shreds.

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Amorim’s tactics were all wrong. He played Christian Eriksen and Casemiro in the middle with Newcastle’s younger legs running rings round them. Joshua Zirkzee started but was taken off before half-time as his substitution was cheered by his own supporters.

Midway through the first-half Neville said: “Newcastle are hammering Manchester United. This is a mauling.” Alexander Isak needed just four minutes to put the visitors ahead, Joelinton would double their lead 15 minutes later.

Eddie Howe watched on as the likes of Sandro Tonali played as if they were in a training game – and it showed. “Newcastle are having the time of their lives out there,” said Neville. “They should be three or four up. They [Man Utd] have been absolutely awful.”

Even after he’d had time to reflect on what he saw Neville was no less fuming. “The first half-hour was embarrassing, as bad as you will see,” he said. Amorim had just celebrated, if you can call it that, his first month in the job but the extent of the task ahead of him was being told right before his eyes.

“Worrying times for Manchester United and Amorim,” said Neville. “He knew it was a big job but l think it is far bigger than he ever imagined.” Speaking afterwards the former Sporting Lisbon manager confessed that relegation wasn’t out of the question but, despite the team’s obvious struggles, he would not change his style.

Are Man Utd actually any better?

If that loss against Newcastle was the lowest of the low then they have a chance to show that they’ve turned a corner this Sunday when they head to St James’ Park. United haven’t won there in their last three visits, which has coincided with the rise of the Magpies.

Amorim can take some solace in knowing that things haven’t been as bad as they were in December – at least on paper. They haven’t lost three Premier League matches on the bounce since the turn of the year. They’ve lost four of their 12 games.

But even when they’ve avoided defeat, it has sometimes felt like a loss. Amad needed to produce a late ten-minute hat-trick against Southampton to turn a possible 1-0 loss into a 3-1 win. But that was against possibly the worst Premier League side in history.

The win over Fulham was lethargic and owed to a deflected goal. Their draw at Everton came after a late rescue mission. The most recent outing saw them draw with Manchester City, but it wreaked of two teams who had miles to go before they reached the heights they’re both aiming for.

Few who regularly observe Amorim’s side would say they are any better to watch. Bruno Fernandes has stood up in recent months but he has at times dragged this United team with few others stepping up to show they are capable of contributing should Amorim begin to make this squad look anything like the team he had at Sporting Lisbon.

Roy Keane was classically scathing – he rejected Amorim’s claim that progression has been made. The Irishman came out with his classic “my eyes don’t lie to me” admission having watched his former club, rejecting some of the positive comments that have been made about them.

In the final weeks of the season the Manchester outfit will travel to Newcastle, Bournemouth and Chelsea. They’ll also host Aston Villa on the final days of the campaign. The fear is that this side will have to deal with a few more reality checks as the gulf between them and the sides chasing European football underline just how far they still have to go.

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