Pundits frequently get it wrong, as Alan Hansen’s famous ‘You can’t win anything with kids’ line fatefully showed at the start of the 1995/96 season.
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes may have come up with his own statement to regret, and he seems to already be backtracking.
Speaking on BT Sport last week, Scholes picked at new signing Antony, remarking: “He seems to be a bit of a one-trick pony.”
Scholes makes U-turn
Rushing into a snap-judgement on a player is always dangerous, especially when the footballer concerned cost a huge fee and is being managed by the coach who helped to turn him into a star at his previous club.
Antony scored again at the weekend for Manchester United in the win over Everton, making it three goals in three league games.
He is the first Manchester United player in 50 years to net three goals on his first three league games for the club.
Scholes was reminded about his criticism on social media after United’s win over Everton.
He posted a short message on his Instagram story feed along with his earlier quote with a picture of Antony, simply stating: “Whoops.”
Scholes’ concession is an acknowledgement he may have rushed into judgement and criticised the Brazilian a little too early.
And if Antony was a ‘one trick pony’, it hardly matters when the ‘trick’ of cutting inside to score goals is so devastatingly effective – as shown by Dutch legend Arjen Robben.
Erik ten Hag spoke after the game to say he is constantly working with Antony to mix up his game, and over the course of the season we will likely see the winger’s full repertoire. Far from being just ‘one trick’, Antony is the whole magic show.
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