Gary Neville calls out Carrick after another troubling Man Utd display

By Ihuoma Inyama

Gary Neville has criticised Michael Carrick and questioned Manchester United’s performance after their 1-1 draw against Fulham, urging the manager to stop publicly defending his players.

United appeared set for a third consecutive defeat after Lisandro Martínez scored an own goal in the 63rd minute at Craven Cottage.

However, Matheus Cunha rescued a point with an 89th-minute deflected effort, leaving United with five points from their opening five Premier League matches, their joint-lowest tally at this stage of a league campaign, alongside the 2014/15 season.

Neville, who was on Sky Sports co-commentary, was particularly critical of United’s lack of urgency and movement without the ball.

“I’ve never seen a Man Utd team walk out of possession as much as that,” Neville said, describing the players as “mannequins” and calling their performance during the first 15 minutes of the second half a “genuine disgrace”.

He also urged Carrick to stop defending his players publicly.

“Michael has got to stop defending them,” Neville said, while acknowledging that the manager’s loyalty to his squad was understandable.

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Carrick, however, rejected the suggestion that United had been passive.

“I didn’t think we did [look passive],” he said, insisting that his side had controlled large periods of the first half and played good football.

United forward Cunha offered a different assessment, admitting that Fulham had shown greater energy.

“They put in more energy than us, we cannot accept this,” he said.

Despite his criticism, Neville stressed that there is currently no indication of immediate pressure from United’s hierarchy on Carrick.

“There’s no panic in that sense – no one is putting pressure on Carrick,” he said.

However, he warned that could change if performances continue in the same manner.

“If those types of performances continue, he will find himself in a lot of trouble,” Neville added.

For Carrick, the challenge is becoming increasingly clear: turning a side that has managed only five points from its opening five league matches into one capable of producing consistent performances and results before outside criticism becomes even harder to ignore