Ben Foster has admitted that he ‘really feels’ for one Manchester United star after Ruben Amorim’s men were “pumped” by Newcastle on Monday evening.
Manchester United entered 2025 on the back of four consecutive defeats across all competitions, including their exit from the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
The Red Devils have been winless since their 2-1 Premier League comeback win against Manchester City at the Etihad in December 2024.
Ruben Amorim’s side signed off 2024 with a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle and United were played off the park in the first half at Old Trafford.
Alexander Isak broke the deadlock for United inside the opening five minutes before Joelinton put Eddie Howe’s men 2-0 up before the 20-minute mark.
United offered very little in response to Newcastle’s performance and Amorim’s men suffered their third consecutive Premier League defeat under the Res Devils boss.
Foster makes Sir Alex Ferguson comment
Manchester United now face a tough test on the weekend with their away trip to Anfield for an encounter with Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Ruben Amorim’s side are 14th in the Premier League table and United are only seven points above the relegation zone amid their woeful run of form.
The former Sporting CP manager made the big call during Monday’s 2-0 defeat to pull off Joshua Zirkzee in the first half after a nightmare performance.
Joshua Zirkzee was deployed as one of the two No 10s and Amorim withdrew the United summer signing and replaced him with Kobbie Mainoo in the 33rd minute.
The 23-year-old Dutch forward received his coat in the dugout before Zirkzee walked down the touchline and disappeared down the Old Trafford tunnel.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ben Foster claimed that Zirkzee’s Old Trafford career would have been done if he had done what he did under Sir Alex Ferguson.
“When he [Zirkzee] walked off down the tunnel… If Alex Ferguson would have been manager, that player would have been done,” he said on The Cycling GK.
“Whoever that is, if you walk off that pitch when you’ve been brought off after 30 minutes, get a coat and walk straight into the dressing room. You’re done. I promise you: you’re done. It just doesn’t work like that.
“And I guarantee you, when he got back to the changing room, somebody would have said to him, ‘You need to get back outside. This is not a good look…’
“The camera has just watched you walk all the way down the line, the fans are booing.”
Foster reacts to Zirkzee subbing vs Newcastle
Joshua Zirkzee’s substitution allowed Amorim to deploy Kobbie Mainoo in central midfield alongside Casemiro and Christian Eriksen was moved into an advanced role.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were overwhelmed in midfield in the first half and Amorim was forced to sacrifice Zirkzee as part of carefully rebalancing his team.
Zirkzee, who has been heavily criticised since his summer move, later returned from the Old Trafford tunnel and took his place in the United dugout during the match.
“It is a horrible situation,” Foster said.
“I really feel for him. At that moment in time, the atmosphere in Old Trafford was horrible. United were getting pumped.
“They were on the back foot and it was almost like he was the scapegoat. He was just one of 11 problems on that pitch.”
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