Roy Keane says Man Utd stars are ‘terrified’ and picks key man
ROY KEANE took aim at Manchester United’s ‘terrified’ stars and named Harry Maguire as the reason why they cannot make inroads.
The Irishman, 52, spent 12 years as a player at Old Trafford and led them to great success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Nowadays, the former midfielder regularly looks at Erik ten Hag’s side as an expert and never shies away from giving his opinion.
However, it was fellow Sky Sports star Jamie Carragher who made headlines this week after criticizing United for their disjointed setup and lack of pace in midfield following the 2-1 home defeat to Fulham on Saturday.
That led to Ten Hag firing back at the Liverpool legend, but now Keane has chimed in and revealed why he believes centre-back Maguire is at the root of his old team’s problems.
And it’s all because he says United are ‘terrified’ he could be caught with a ball over the top.
Speaking about the Stick to football podcast, brought to you by Sky bet, he said: “They don’t push. I don’t want to put it all on Maguire, but there is always that worry of Maguire coming forward and squeezing the field like all the other top teams do.
“There are constant concerns with him – there are gaps there. They’re terrified of coming all the way up because they think, “If he did something over the top, he’d get in trouble.”
The ex-United captain then highlighted both Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes as he explained the different playing styles at the Red Devils and those who don’t agree with an energetic defensive format.
Keane said: “Manchester United don’t have the players for that [press].
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“Fernandes is not going to do it. Rashford won’t do it. They might do it for five or ten minutes, so if you have a team that’s not going to push – we’re talking leopards and spots.
“Man United will never be really good in that pressing side.”
Carragher then expanded on his criticism of the show last weekend.
He said: “Teams now press from the front, press high and everyone is on the halfway line.
“Man United are trying to do two different things; the front six went man-to-man under pressure [against Fulham], and the rear four were miles behind them. You are one or the other.”
That was after his damning analysis last weekend following the last-ditch defeat to Fulham.
He said: “They have no pace at the back and they have a lack of legs in midfield. Another big problem for them is when they have the ball.
“These players cannot receive the ball in the positions they occupy, so actually there is a huge problem for Manchester United when they have the ball.”
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