The narrative surrounding Manchester United used to be ex-players speaking up against the club, not two ex-players are disagreeing with each other about the club!
Manchester United are on course to finish their worst-ever Premier League season so it’s understandable that the tensions are high.
Ex-players, especially the ones who played for an all-dominant outfit are struggling to stomach the current reality of the club they once conquered everything with.
In such a time, Rio Ferdinand has fought back against Roy Keane’s latest criticism of the club in the wake of the Manchester derby with a strong remark.
Rio Ferdinand defends Man Utd from Roy Keane criticism
The Manchester derby was an extremely anti-climactic affair where all the pre-match buildup went up in smoke at the end of 90 minutes.
United did create the better chances but it counts for nothing because the scoreline read 0-0, as the intensity of the game was below-par.
It was a contest between two struggling teams and lacked physicality, although Bruno Fernandes has valid reasons for it after the game.
Keane, in his usual style, called out the lack of competitiveness and United’s cageyness in the game, talking about how the standards have slipped because it was proclaimed as a good point for United.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand pushed back against Keane’s claims by giving him a reality check.
He said: “The expectations that Roy is talking about there is the Man Utd he played in where a 0-0 draw at home against anybody is unacceptable. This team aren’t there, at that place.
“They got beat by Notts Forest last week so to think that you’re going to beat Man City or expecting to beat them is wild to me. It’s not realistic. Four points off City this season. We’ve overachieved.”
Ruben Amorim at sweet spot between Keane and Ferdinand
Keane and Ferdinand are both right in their own way but the need of the hour is to balance the two narratives instead of going towards one extreme.
It’s right that the current United can’t be judged by the earlier standards but at the same time, systematically lowering the standards permanently shouldn’t be tolerated.
Ruben Amorim has cracked the sweet spot between the two extremes where he accepts that the United side has a long way to go, but they want to get there quickly.
He has regularly talked about the pressure he’s putting everyone under by talking up their prospects for next season while reminding them they need to improve “everywhere” this season.
That is the kind of balanced messaging that’s needed and United are fortunate that the person whose opinion matters the most is approaching it in a balanced way.
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