Gary Neville picked out Man Utd's symbol of failure before Newcastle loss

02 November 2023 , 06:53

924     0

Gary Neville picked out Man Utd's symbol of failure before Newcastle loss

Gary Neville's scathing pre-match assessment of Anthony Martial rung true as Manchester United were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle.

Erik ten Hag's side welcomed the Magpies to Old Trafford for the fourth round of the competition with a place in the last eight on the line. Everyone associated with the Red Devils would have been hoping for some sort of response to last Sunday's 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City.

However, all they got was yet another 3-0 humiliation, with goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock heaping more misery on United and more pressure on Ten Hag. Ahead of kick-off, Neville singled out Martial in particular for some brutal home truths.

"Sometimes I ask myself the question when you walk away from a broadcast like Sunday that are we being too harsh?," Neville pondered. "But when you hear that stat there from Andy that a guy that has been at the club nine years, who is meant to be a goalscorer and cost £50/60m has scored 89 goals in nine years and we still can’t get him out the club - I don’t think we’re being harsh, I don’t think we’re being harsh enough.

"The failure of the football department and the recruitment is just absolutely incredible. They are human beings at the end of the day and I know (Anthony) Martial wants to go out on the pitch and not play badly and achieve their standards and doesn’t want to be injured and I accept all those factors.

Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash

"But the reality of it is, there is no way that he should still be at Manchester United and leading the line in any competition, even if it is the Carabao Cup - that is where the club is at."

Neville went on to explain how he has some sympathy for summer signing Rasmus Hojlund, given the 20-year-old doesn't have a wealth of experience. However, he made clear he does not have any sympathy for Martial given he has been at the club just shy of a decade.

HAVE YOUR SAY!Is Neville's assessment of Martial fair? Comment below

Anthony Martial made no impact against Newcastle

Ultimately, for all of Martial's ability, every word of Neville's brutal review is true. The Frenchman has not hit the levels many expected of him and he has proven he is not someone Ten Hag can rely on when the going gets tough.

Wednesday night's defeat by Newcastle was a prime example of that, with the 27-year-old tasked with leading the line for United and coming away with just one shot on goal before being hooked for Hojlund just after the hour mark.

Martial has just one goal across all competitions so far this term despite featuring in 10 games. That single goal came in the third round of the League Cup, meaning he remains without a Premier League strike to his name as things stand this season.

Josh O'Brien