Lisandro Martinez Points the Finger at Jason Wilcox, Teammates Manchester United Fold in Madrid

• Lisandro Martinez told Amazon Prime after Manchester United’s 2-0 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid that the club’s hierarchy had not done enough to strengthen the squad.
• Martinez named director of football Jason Wilcox, saying “I expect more from our technical director”, while United spent just £150m on new signings, well below their Big Six rivals.
• Michael Carrick, who has won one of his last seven games, said he had not seen the comments and that now is the time for the squad “to be together”.

Martinez Looked Upstairs and Said He Could Not Say More

Lisandro Martinez did not hold back. After Manchester United lost 2-0 at Atletico Madrid, the defender gave Amazon Prime an interview that put the club’s hierarchy under the spotlight, with director of football Jason Wilcox named directly.

United lost for the third time in five games against Diego Simeone’s team, and the result leaves Carrick with one win from his last seven games. ESPN’s Mark Ogden reported from Madrid that pressure is growing on the head coach. Martinez, the Argentina defender, wanted the focus to move elsewhere.

A Reflection of the Mirror

The first thing Martinez said was brief and blunt: “Really poor. Really poor.” He then admitted how hard he was working to hold himself back. “I have to control myself a lot, but sometimes it is a reflection of the mirror of how is our club at the moment,” he said.

He pointed to last season as the standard. “We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete,” Martinez said. He gave Atletico their due in the same breath: “Atlético have an amazing team and they deserve to win today.”

Wilcox Is Named

Martinez then went from the general to the specific. “But I expect more [investment]. 100%. I expect more from our technical director,” he said, and ESPN identifies the technical director as Wilcox.

He did not exempt the players. “I have to be honest, as players we have to do more, but it is also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night,” he said. Martinez also described his frustration with what he saw on the pitch: “It is annoying, disappointing coming here and I am not seeing my team trying to get an amazing result here.”

Why Martinez Says Not to Blame the Manager

Asked directly about the pressure on Carrick, Martinez looked up and pointed to the people above the head coach. “You can’t keep changing, changing, changing the manager,” he said. “What about other areas?” He added that he could not say more.

He kept going. “Tonight it is easy to say the coach, easy to say the players but also we have to see other areas,” Martinez said, pointing up again as he spoke. Of Carrick, he said: “He does his best. Every season is different. You can’t stay with what you did last season.”

Martinez also gave a view on how opponents have adapted. “The teams knows how you play, they know every detail, if you don’t change next season is a big problem,” he said. “Last season we did everything, we created the base to create an amazing team.”

The £150m Question

The numbers sit behind Martinez’s complaint. ESPN reports that United spent just £150m on new signings, significantly less than their Big Six rivals. Martinez says the squad was not ready for a night like this, and that the people responsible for building it should answer for that.

The same week brought other verdicts on the squad. Paul Merson wrote in a Sky Sports column that he does not “know what the Man Utd owners want”, and Sky Sports reported that United have taken six points from six Premier League games, their fewest at this stage of a season in 40 years.

Jamie Carragher had already warned on Sky Sports that “If they don’t up their intensity very quickly, this could get very messy for all involved.” Merson, in the same column, said “I haven’t seen any signs with Man Utd at the moment.” Martinez’s interview gave those outside voices a view from inside the dressing room.

Carrick Chooses Not to Respond

Carrick was asked about his defender’s comments and declined to give an opinion. He said he had not seen them. “I haven’t seen it. After a game like this you come here to try and get something from the game and you are disappointed and can be emotional,” he said.

“I have not seen it so I don’t think it is the right time,” Carrick said. “We all care and show that in different ways but now is the time to be together and work through.”

He defended his squad’s attitude. “As a group, I don’t doubt the togetherness or their wanting to win,” Carrick said. “The players have been great, results haven’t, and they were desperate to get something out of the game.”

What Comes Next for United

United now have a short turnaround. They travel to Leeds United for a 2pm kick-off on Sunday 18 October, one of two games this week for which Merson said he “couldn’t think of two worse games”.

Martinez has made his case in public, and Carrick has said the time is for togetherness. The Leeds game will show whether the squad hears Martinez’s message as a challenge to the hierarchy or as a complaint that the dressing room has to answer for on the pitch.