Neville brands Man United players 'nothing' for turning on Carrick amid eight-game winless run

Gary Neville has accused Manchester United’s players of abandoning manager Michael Carrick, branding several members of the squad “nothing” as the club’s winless run stretched to eight games following Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

Neville, a former United team-mate of Carrick’s under Sir Alex Ferguson, delivered a pointed verdict on the squad’s professionalism, arguing the problems at Old Trafford run far deeper than the manager. “Michael Carrick is a brilliant man,” Neville 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.”

The former England right-back pointed to the public conduct of captain Bruno Fernandes — who was dropped after criticising Carrick’s tactics following the 4-1 defeat to Como — as evidence of a deeper dressing-room revolt. “I know that because if Bruno has turned on him publicly, with that little statement, imagine what they’re like behind the scenes,” Neville said. “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.”

Neville also took aim at the lifestyle standards of certain players, suggesting a lack of dedication was at the root of the collapse. “There’s a few of them that don’t go to bed at the right time, don’t eat the right things, don’t think about Manchester United every single minute of every day,” he said. “Why? Because it’s gone to their heads. But they still walk around like King William. They are nothing, some of those players.”

The criticism follows a turbulent week for Carrick, who also saw Lisandro Martinez speak out against the United hierarchy after the defeat to Atletico Madrid earlier this month. Despite Carrick receiving applause from supporters at his most recent match, the players were met with boos — a split in the stands that Neville said reflected the reality on the pitch.

Carrick had addressed the media for almost six minutes before that game, stressing the importance of “sacrifice”, “humility” and “hard work” in an impassioned speech centred on the values and responsibility of representing the club. His words, Neville suggested, fell on deaf ears.