Neville & Ferdinand top two as Man Utd’s most problematic pundits ranked | OneFootball

Ex-Manchester United players dominate the football media landscape in England – but which one is the most problematic as the club seeks to return to its former glories?

With the sheer number of United pundits in studios, every setback for the team is turned into a crisis and every utterance becomes front-page news.

We’ve ranked eight pundits with strong United connections by how unhelpful they’re being towards the club.

8. Owen Hargreaves

Urbane and reasonable, Hargreaves is far from a thorn in United’s side.

Much like his playing career, his contribution in the studio often goes unnoticed despite offering many astute opinions.

He’s more suited to Champions League nights, providing context on Internazionale’s defence or Bayern Munich’s recent form, than clippable rants about Manuel Ugarte.

7. Robbie Savage

He may be annoying, with as many correct takes as a stopped clock, but nobody at United is paying attention to Robbie Savage. Surely.

6. Wayne Rooney

Rooney isn’t as actively unhelpful as others on this list, but United’s record goalscorer is becoming more outspoken in the media.

With a regular spot on Match of the Day and his own BBC podcast, Rooney has been a refreshing addition to the discourse, demonstrating a clear-eyed honesty and genuine footballing intelligence.

His criticisms of United and Amorim were the definition of firm but fair. It will only be unhelpful if Ratcliffe and co decide to double down on their mistakes to prove a misguided point.

5. Nicky Butt

Butt was a no-nonsense midfielder during United’s glory days, dependable and called the best player of the entire 2002 World Cup by Pele.

But one of his suggestions for the interim job should’ve resulted in a severed microphone, ejection from the premises and a possible prison sentence.

“[Steve] Bruce has got unbelievable experience,” he said. “Unbelievable. He is a great bloke, really. He knows the club.

“He’s got no aspirations of going back into football for [himself] so he’s not gonna go, ‘I’m in charge here, it’s my club’… He’s gonna help.”

Society would be better if people engaged their brain before sharing their opinions on the internet.

4. Paul Scholes

Famously reluctant to engage with the media as a player, Scholes was a ubiquitous pundit in recent years before dialling back his commitments to care for his autistic son.

But he’s simply jumped on the podcast gravy train, teaming up with Butt & Paddy McGuinness on ‘The Good, the Bad and the Football’.

Close your eyes as the former midfielder bemoans another United defeat and his analysis sounds uncannily similar to Karl Pilkington speculating on the merits of Chinese street food.

We applaud his anti-boosterism mentality, but his tone is also suggestive of someone stuck in their ways and confused by the modern game. These qualities won’t help United get anywhere.

3. Roy Keane

In the era of surface-level soundbites over sensible speeches, Keane’s United-bashing sells.

His appearances on Sky Sports are appointment viewing, with nobody quite knowing what’ll set him off.

However, this is part of the problem; Keane was an exceptionally motivated player, with nobody in the current United squad capable of matching his intensity.

He’s only third because we suspect several current players have simply tuned out. Maybe the club should be listening.

2. Rio Ferdinand

“One thing [Darren Fletcher] will do is he’ll take counsel. He’ll lean on people. I’m sure one of his first phone calls will be Sir Alex Ferguson – followed by myself.”

Sure, Rio. He’s also suggested that Mikel Arteta would swap Arsenal for Old Trafford and jumped to the defence of Jason Wilcox with boot-licking shamelessness.

1. Gary Neville

It happened to Jimmy Hill. It definitely happened to Alan Hansen. And it’s now happened to Neville; the most prominent pundit in the country has become a caricature of himself.

His reaction to Amorim’s sacking, insisting that United should not change for any coach and get someone in who understands the ‘DNA’ of the club, has invited ridicule.

Supporters have been digging out old clips of Neville calling for United to deploy wing-backs before Amorim’s arrival.

It is this underlying arrogance and unwavering clinging to the past that has held the club back in the post-Ferguson era.

Someone that willing to change an institution that has completely lost its way is what is actually needed.

And now Sky Sports News are dedicating entire segments to discussing ‘who best fits Gary Neville’s managerial blueprint’. Someone needs to make it stop.