Manchester United title hopes doomed by defence, Jose Mourinho not backed - Neville

Manchester United's defence is not good enough to win the Premier League title and Jose Mourinho is suffering because of a lack of investment in the squad during the summer, according to former Old Trafford captain Gary Neville.
United slumped to a 3-2 defeat at Brighton on Sunday with centre-backs Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof drawing particular criticism for their performances.
Mourinho wanted another central defender during the transfer window and Neville believes his former club are paying the price for not strengthening at the back.
"Forget everything else, that back four is not good enough to win a Premier League title," he told Sky Sports.
"Let's start and finish with that. That back four looks like it will always cause problems and always concede goals. It doesn't have authority and that is a problem.
"[Mourinho] is in his third season and I think he will feel extremely disappointed that he wasn't supported in the transfer market.
"You can't leave a house three-quarters built. You have to finish it and complete the build. ""He needs further investment. It's obvious that he does and the club should support him in that because you can't withdraw part way through a process. They have to go for it."
Mourinho said on numerous occasions during the summer that his team could find this season "difficult" -- a warning that looks like it will be proved right judging by the hopeless display at the AMEX.
It came just hours after Manchester City, champions last season by a record 19 points, had walloped Huddersfield 6-1 and Neville is concerned United are already looking over their shoulders just two games into the new campaign.
"It will get better and Manchester United will get stronger and won't be easy to play against," added the former England defender.
"I do think they will finish in the top four, but the top four historically has never been the benchmark of what Manchester United are.
"They have always judged themselves by Premier League titles. At this moment in time, that looks unlikely.
"Obviously it is still early in the season, but it does look unlikely that Manchester United are anywhere near good enough, as we sit here today."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

France avalanche: Four killed at Tignes ski resort

Image
At least four people have died in an avalanche at the ski resort of Tignes in south-eastern France, rescuers say. The group was buried after the wall of snow swept through an off-piste area, police say. Some reports say there were nine in the group, including a guide, and that the other five remain missing, trapped in the snow. However, local police have told the BBC that the other five may have failed to show up for the session. The 400-metre (1,300ft) wide avalanche occurred at an altitude of 2,100 metres, and struck at a particularly busy time during half-term holidays. The resort is popular with British holidaymakers, but local police said the four dead skiers were all French nationals. The avalanche appeared to have been set off by a group of skiers higher up, the ski station said in a statement. Rescue services deployed two helicopters as well as sniffer dogs to help search for the missing skiers. There are about 40 people involved in the rescue operation. The in...
Read more

El Chapo 'paid $100m bribe to ex president

Image
Former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto accepted a $100m (£77m) bribe from drug cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a witness has testified. Alex Cifuentes, who says he was a close associate of Guzmán for years, told a New York City courtroom that he had told authorities of the bribe in 2016. Guzmán is accused of being behind the Sinaloa drug cartel, which prosecutors say was the largest US drug supplier. Mr Peña Nieto served as the president of Mexico from 2012 to 2018. Guzmán, 61, has been on trial in Brooklyn since November after he was extradited from Mexico to face charges of trafficking cocaine, heroin and other drugs as leader of what the US has called the world's largest drug cartel. According to reporters in the Brooklyn courthouse, Mr Peña Nieto had requested $250m before settling on $100m. "El Chapo" (right) is the highest-ranking alleged drug lord to face trial in the US so far Cif...
Read more