Gary Neville has called for a “cultural overhaul” at Manchester United, while also labeling the side as “mediocre” after the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim's side failed to build on the dramatic 2-1 win against Manchester City last weekend and will now remain in the bottom half of the Premier League standings as we approach Christmas.
Meanwhile, Liverpool are well at the top of the table after their impressive 6-3 win against Tottenham Hotspur, which fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher called a “performance of champions” from Arne Slot's team.
In his latest podcast, Neville assessed the contrasting situations at each club…
'United's squad is mediocre and that has to change
I think it is extremely positive that Ruben Amorim sees what he has to offer. There have been times in the past when you could be fooled into thinking you have a better group of players because of good results and a rise in the league.
But they are, for all intents and purposes, a mile away.
By playing the way Amorim wants to play, with the 3-4-3, he will have to change that. He's given everyone a chance by rotating the team and I don't think there will be many that he's looked at and thought, 'Yes, I want you on the bus.'
They are all very mediocre, and I don't know why; they are better than what they show, let's be clear. But it's a pattern.
Well done to Bournemouth, that's two years on the right track and Andoni Iraola is doing a fantastic job. It's a big positive that Amorim can look at these players in the cold light of day.
He has a beauty parade for six months, which is more of an ugly parade. Seeing what Manchester United fans have been watching over the past decade, there needs to be a cultural overhaul.
It's a really torrid time, there's not much to say about the performance levels or the way they play. They are all guys who are trying their best, it is not a personal attack, but they are not good enough to play for Manchester United because this club wants to be at the top.
The same as Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea: those clubs want to be top, but you have to get there.
When you look at these players, it is clear that they are not good enough.
'Liverpool reminds me of Ferguson's United'
There are perhaps bits of this Liverpool team that remind me of the Manchester United team I played in.
I see David Beckham here on the right, with Trent Alexander-Arnold throwing in incredible crosses, I see runs behind him and lots of bodies forward, but mainly I see different styles of football within a match.
We have been conditioned to this ideology for the past eight years, where you have a fixed playing philosophy, but I don't see that at Liverpool.
I see them playing with three or four different styles within the same match. I see them playing long passes to attackers, sometimes on the counter-attack, sometimes deep and compact, they start with high pressure and then switch.
Whatever the game needs and requires, they have the ability to do it.
When a team pushes back, they can dig in, dig in together, be compact and defend as a unit. If the game is there to go for, they will surrender and push a high line, but they don't play a certain style continuously throughout the game.
There are times when you see Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister in midfield controlling the game, slowing it down and keeping possession of the ball.
We're conditioned to think that a team has to play one way, and you can't adapt to a team that plays different ways in different games.
I thought some of that had gone away, where players had become a bit robotic: 'I'll do whatever my coach tells me.'
This Liverpool team has an independent mind, to know what a game needs. That's the bit that reminds me of us, and Liverpool are a lot better than I ever thought they would be this season.
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