Gary Neville brutally tears into ‘mannequins’ Man United after Fulham draw – ‘I’ve never seen this’

Gary Neville brutally tears into ‘mannequins’ Man United after Fulham draw – ‘I’ve never seen this’ Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw away at Fulham, a game that exposed a worrying lack of intensity. Sky Sports pundit and former Red Devils defender Gary Neville launched a scathing assessment of their performance. Michael Carrick ’s side have just one win, two draws, and two defeats from their opening five Premier League matches. The disappointing five-point haul leaves them 12th in the table. But it was the manner of their performance that appeared to concern Neville most. The former United defender accused the players of walking around the pitch and claimed he had never seen a Manchester United team spend so much time strolling when out of possession. Neville went as far as describing some of United’s players as ‘mannequins’ before taking aim at Carrick for his assessment of their performance. Carrick had praised his side’s energy, but Neville argued that the manager needs to stop defending the players when the evidence suggest otherwise. And those numbers make for grim reading. United have covered less distance at high intensity than any other Premier League side this season. They are also 20th for the amount of time spent operating at high intensity, underlining just how little sustained energy they are producing without the ball. Their sprinting numbers are even worse. Carrick’s side rank bottom of the Premier League for the number of sprints made and are also 20th for time spent sprinting. For a team expected to press aggressively and defend on the front foot, the lack of explosive running is particularly concerning. United are also 17th for the percentage of time they spend walking while out of possession, meaning only three teams in the division walk more frequently without the ball. With United struggling to produce the physical intensity required to press and defend effectively, the manager has a major problem to solve.