Gary Neville Says Man Utd Players Downed Tools and Turned on Carrick

• Gary Neville accused Manchester United’s players of downing tools and turning on Michael Carrick after the 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth.
• United have gone eight games without a win, their worst run since 2015-16, and Neville fears Carrick is facing the sack.
• Neville said it “can’t just be the manager again” and called for consequences higher up the club.

Neville Says the Dressing Room Has Turned on a Man of Integrity

Gary Neville did not hold back on his podcast on Monday. Manchester United were booed off at Old Trafford after a 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth, and the Sky Sports pundit accused the players of downing tools and turning on head coach Michael Carrick. “It was a shocker today, a nothing of a performance,” he said.

The result stretched United’s winless run to eight games in all competitions, their worst since 2015-16. It came a week after a 4-1 loss at Como. Neville fears Carrick is facing the sack, and Carrick himself could not say whether he will be in charge for next Saturday’s trip to Chelsea. “The responsibility is mine,” he said. “What else can I say really right now?”

A Pattern of Nothings

Neville ran through United’s recent games and found the same story in most of them. “Nothing against Tottenham here, nothing against Como, nothing against Atletico Madrid. A little bit against Leeds, it was a bit of a fight, but nothing against Fulham. That was a waste of time.”

He called it “a pattern of nothings, of players switching off and downing tools.” Bruno Fernandes was an unused substitute against Bournemouth after his public criticism of Carrick’s tactics at Como. Lisandro Martinez, who spoke out against the club’s hierarchy after the Atletico Madrid game, came on only in the second half.

Neville used the Fernandes statement as proof of the mood inside the squad. “If that’s your captain saying that, imagine what they’re saying in the dressing room behind closed doors when no one’s listening. That’s horrific.” Jamie Carragher has described the dressing room as “rancid”.

Praise for Carrick, Anger for the Players

Neville had nothing but warmth for the head coach. “Michael Carrick is a brilliant man,” he said. “He’s a man of integrity, of credibility, of decency, of professionalism, of high-quality football and consistency and reliability. Everything the group of players in that dressing room aren’t.”

He argued that Carrick will pay for a squad he could not inspire. “He’s not been able to get a tune out of them and they’ve turned on him,” Neville said.

Then he turned on the players’ habits. “A few of them aren’t that professional. I live in Manchester. Some of them aren’t that professional. So I’ve got no time for them,” he said. He accused some of them of not going to bed at the right time, not eating the right things and not living and breathing the club as professionals should. He put the problem down to a feeling that “it’s gone to their heads” and added: “They are nothing, some of those players.”

The Fans Pick a Different Target

According to BBC Sport, Carrick applauded the home supporters after the final whistle and they sang his name repeatedly. As soon as he left the pitch, they turned on the players. The booing lasted until Diogo Dalot, the last of them, walked off.

The anger reached beyond the dressing room. Anti-Glazer and anti-Sir Jim Ratcliffe songs started inside the first minute. Supporters sang an obscenity about director of football Jason Wilcox, who sat beside chief executive Omar Berrada, and Wilcox was booed as he climbed into the vehicle taking him away nearly two hours after the final whistle. A “Standards” banner on the Stretford End showed Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and Roy Keane.

The Glazer family’s debt at the club has grown to over £1.15bn, according to the latest accounts, and the fans made clear they want the owners and executives held to account alongside the players.

Neville Wants Consequences Above the Manager

Neville does not want Carrick to carry the blame alone. “It’s 14 years now without a Premier League title,” he said, and he fears it could be another decade unless the club changes at the top. “They are making poor decisions. From a business perspective, this is really damaging.”

He ended with a warning for the people in charge. “It can’t just be the manager again. There has got to be consequences above that. You can’t keep letting the people pick the manager who keep getting it wrong.”

A sacking would be United’s third managerial dismissal in three seasons, after Erik ten Hag in October 2024 and Ruben Amorim in January. Carrick took over until the end of last season and was then made permanent after guiding the club back into the Champions League.