Gary Neville v Jamie Carragher: Our view of Sky Sports’ pundits on-screen United debate after Livepool defeat

The pair were involved in a seven-minute exchange after Sunday’s loss to Liverpool and disagreed about the Red Devils’ future.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watches on from the sidelines. Credit: Getty.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watches on from the sidelines. Credit: Getty.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watches on from the sidelines. Credit: Getty.

After Manchester United’s humiliation at Old Trafford on Sunday, all eyes were always going to be on Sky Sports duo Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher.

Along with pundits Jermain Defoe and Graeme Souness, the pair analysed what went wrong for United in the 5-0 loss against Liverpool, before attention turned to the long-term future of the club and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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After such a lively debate, our writer Michael Plant gives his view on the biggest topics from their animated conversation.

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. Credit: Getty.Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. Credit: Getty.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. Credit: Getty.

Lagging behind Premier League rivals

Neville started the debate by stating he doesn’t think United are “close to winning the league or close to winning the Champions League,” before continuing: “I don’t think they’re close to Liverpool, City or Chelsea at the moment.

“Unfortunately for me, I have to go and watch Manchester City live a lot, and Liverpool, and Chelsea, and they’re really good and Manchester United aren’t good, nowhere near as good,” he added.

Meanwhile, Carragher later interjected to say United can’t compete with the top clubs while Solskjaer is at the helm.

Our view

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The Red Devils are too inconsistent to ever win a league title under Solskjaer and lack the consistency over 38 games. However, the United manager historically has a habit of pulling off great results against big opponens and has delivered several cup runs in the past. Even last year they beat Real Sociedad, AC Milan and Roma en route to the Europa League final.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Credit: Getty.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Credit: Getty.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Credit: Getty.

So, should Solskjaer steady the ship, qualify for the next rounds of the Champions League and remain in his job, then United could give Europe’s top prize a decent go in the spring.

But there’s no denying just how far they are off Liverpool, City and Chelsea at present and need a more tactically astute manager to compete long-term with their rivals.

Solskjaer’s job is safe for now

Neville opined that his ex-team-mate will not be sacked before the end of the season: “I think the club will hold their nerve,” he said. “I don’t think they planned for a new manager this season. I think they’ll get to the end of the season and sit with Ole until the end of the season.

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“We’ve all asked the questions, the media have asked the questions of the club’s communications department over the last few weeks, and the feeling is: ‘no, we believe in this project’.

“The club are stable in the sense that they’re not going to sack the manager and I believe they’ll follow through despite that today, but that brings unbelievable pressure,” he later added.

Our view

It would be surprising if Solskjaer was replaced immediately after that result, despite a few whispers on Monday morning that the board are considering his future.

However, Neville’s view that the Norwegian will remain in his job until the end of the season no matter what, seems a bit naive. Obviously the club have backed their manager in recent years and insisted he’s part of their long-term future, until, well, he suddenly isn’t.

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The next three matches are huge with United playing Tottenham Hotspur, Atalanta and then City before the next international break. Should things continue on a similar trend, Solskjaer’s position could be untenable by early November.

The club’s hierarchy have sacked three managers since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013 and unquestionably would do the same again if they felt it was necessary, even if the current boss is a club legend.

The concern for Solskjaer is how he’s lost so many of United’s match-going fans, while the players don’t exactly look like they’re fighting his corner either. It feels like the writing’s on the wall.

How honest should pundits be?

Neville and other ex-United players have been roundly criticised for failing to hold Solskjaer to account in recent weeks following poor performances. In fact, the former right-back said last week that he wouldn’t ‘call for Ole to be sacked’.

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It’s a view Carragher agreed with on Sunday. “I don’t want you to ask for that and I wouldn’t expect you to ask for that,” he told his Sky Sports colleague.

Our view

There’s a huge difference between calling for a manager to be sacked and admitting the time has perhaps come to look elsewhere. It is a particularly awkward situation for Neville, and stating United should change managers would only exacerbate the situation.

Neville’s views and opinions carry huge weight and a firm stance could be the final nail in the coffin for Solskjaer. However, the ex-defender is paid to give his honest assessment and he’s too invested in the club to give a completely true opinion. Even on Sunday the response that he never wanted Ron Atkinson or David Moyes to be sacked seemed a bit tenuous.

Neville is a superb pundit - the best in the business - but his stance on Solskjaer is infuriating. He criticised the tactics, claimed United are far behind the top sides and called for change, yet avoided the one thing he’s paid to do: give a totally unbiased view.

Learning from Van Gaal and Mourinho

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Neville and Carragher’s big disagreement came over whether United should look at another manager with a standout CV.

“The reason the board will stay stable and go at least to the end of the season is because what happened to Jose Mourinho, with Louis Van Gaal, they won’t bring a hitman in again, a hitman that comes in for two years, does a job, they’re not going to do that again,” Neville expressed.

“Is that right because of what’s happened in the past? How long are you going to keep going back to Van Gaal and Mourinho, with managers now?” Carragher responded.

“Just because a manager before, a great manager has failed, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking, either now or in the summer, to get a manager who has got a great CV,” the former Liverpool man had previously said.

Our view

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Again, there are questions to be asked about Neville’s impartiality and how genuine his opinion is. Carragher is right on this account and just because Van Gaal and Mourinho failed doesn’t mean another manager also would.

In fact, avoiding an aged coach like Van Gaal and Mourinho seems sensible, but that doesn’t rule out every candidate in world football.

One route United still haven’t tried is the young, dynamic boss with progressive ideas. Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Brendan Rodgers are a few obvious examples, but any potential new recruit would need to bring a clear tactical plan.

Admittedly there’s no obvious candidate for now, and neither Zinedine Zidane nor Antonio Conte are ideal replacements at this stage of United’s development. That might buy Solskjaer a bit of time, but it can’t keep him in the job forever.