‘Desperate’ – Manchester United hit ‘new low’ in humiliating Brentford defeat, says Gary Neville

The situation at Manchester United is “desperate” and their humiliating defeat to Brentford was like watching men against boys, according to former Red Devils defender Gary Neville.

It marked a seventh consecutive away defeat for the 13-time Premier League winners, who finished the day bottom of the table for the first time in almost 30 years.

Sky Sports pundit Neville, who described the game as like watching “men against Under-9s”, believes the start of the new campaign marks a new low for the fallen giants.

“I’ve been watching United for 42 years and I can’t think of a moment where I’ve felt it was as bad as it was in that first half,” Neville said.

“Today was a new low. It seems continually that Manchester United can surpass their previous lows. When is the lowest low going to come? The reality of it is this is really, really bad.”

United, who finished sixth last season under the guidance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick, have started their Premier League campaign with back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Brentford, scoring one goal and conceding six.

Neville was critical of their transfer business, with Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen being the only new arrivals so far as protracted negotiations for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong go nowhere.

“Manchester United have known for eight to 10 months they’ve needed to rebuild the squad for the summer. Ralf Rangnick described it as open heart surgery,” he said.

“To not get the players in early – the quality of players, the number of players – that Ten Hag needed is baffling and difficult to forgive.

“It’s a real achievement to spend a billion pounds and be this bad,” he added.

“It doesn’t take much to dismantle this Manchester United team. It just takes a bit of organisation, a bit of fight, and you’re there. If you just rough them up a little bit and get a goal, they’re flaky like you wouldn’t believe.”

A glance at the fixture list won’t fill United fans with much hope, as their next task is a home clash with fierce rivals Liverpool on Monday, 22 August.

A third consecutive defeat is therefore a distinct possibility, and Neville believes the poor performances of the team could impact their chances of bringing in much-needed reinforcements before the window closes.

“United in the past have always answered the fans’ anger through money and spending in the transfer market. The problem is that now, no one wants to take their money,” he said.

“That’s a massive issue. They can’t spend the money. If you’re a player watching that performance in the first half, what are you thinking about coming to this club?

“It’s a great football club, it’s a magic football club, it’s been the biggest thing in my life and I couldn’t be more proud to support the club but at this moment in time, it’s really desperate.”