Former Manchester United players are at it again, taking every opportunity to bash the current squad knowing very well that their comments will be seen on social media and put even more pressure on Erik ten Hag's struggling group. It's counter-productive and unhelpful. Here is my problem with them.
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Nobody can deny the 20-time English champions have fallen from grace, having last won the Premier League in 2013 and the UEFA Champions League in 2008, but is it actually helpful for some of the club's former players to be talking about it every week on TV? I'm not saying the likes of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville shouldn't work as pundits during United games, but wouldn't it be better if they provided actual analysis of the team's performances instead of reacting emotionally to every poor result?
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I believe those former players, who all were great players and contributed massively to the club's success under Sir Alex Ferguson, should be more responsible and measured in the way they talk about the Red Devils. I understand TV is all about emotion, but sometimes I wonder whether their remarks, often drenched in cynicism and gloom, are having an adverse effect on the current squad. This is, unfortunately, what Manchester United, the once-great institution, has become under the leadership of the Glazers, and it's time these former professionals, who understand the incredible weight of expectation and pressure that comes with playing for the club, accepted things are a long way from changing.
It's also time they reflected on whether their comments are helpful in any way, shape or form. Surely, as former players, they'd hope those in the current squad turn things around. They'd surely want them to find confidence, and start picking up positive results and get supporters back on side. So, does it make sense for Keane, for example, to suggest Bruno Fernandes should be stripped of captaincy on TV? This reminds me of the popular YouTube channel AFTV (Arsenal Fan Television) during Arsenal's difficult times early during Mikel Arteta's reign.
After a bad game, members of the AFTV group would scream into a microphone on camera, yelling obscene things such as "Arteta out" for clicks and views as they ironically benefited from the team's problems on and off the field by growing their own social media accounts at the expense of the very players they claimed to support. They, whether intentionally or unintentionally, unquestionably helped the "Banter FC" tag stick through the content they shared online about the club they said they loved. It look a long time for things to get better at the Gunners, but fans will tell you just how horrible it was during Arsene Wenger's final seasons and the years that followed under Unai Emery.
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Keane and the other ex-United players who are always ready to bash the current group need to be careful that their words don't have the same effect. They must understand that their comments will travel and that they will probably be seen by those players in the team at some point. Knowing what they know, regarding the poor running of the club by the Glazers and just how unsettling things can become when you're under pressure at one of the biggest sides in the world, perhaps they should consider the impact a more positive outlook might have.
Written by @KurtLaduma
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