Roy Keane laments Man Utd players as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prediction comes true
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Manchester United icon Roy Keane lamented the Red Devils’ players for making his own prediction over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure come true. Keane, a former club captain, has been strong in his criticism of the United players in the last few years.
The Irishman reserved particular criticism for skipper Harry Maguire a few weeks ago, labelling the England star a ‘robot’.
But Maguire was not even at the club when Keane made a stinging prediction about Solskjaer’s spell based on evidence from Jose Mourinho’s ill-fated stint as United boss.
Keane believed that the players would lose Solskjaer his job when he replaced Mourinho in December 2018.
Mourinho was sacked after the atmosphere at Old Trafford became toxic. An infamous 3-1 defeat at Liverpool, in which several star players were dropped, prompted his dismissal.
Solskjaer initially took charge on a caretaker basis before being handed the job in early 2019.
An initial good start began to deteriorate before the end of the Norwegian’s first half-season at the helm.
A 2-0 home defeat by rivals Manchester City was among a run of five matches without a win to end the 2018-19 campaign.
And it was after that fixture, in which City were utterly dominant, that Keane predicted the players would cost Solskjaer his job.
“There are too many bluffers, and ultimately these players will cost Ole his job,” the 50-year-old lamented in his typically blunt style.
“The players he has got there, they threw the previous manager under the bus, and they will do the same to Ole.”
It has taken nearly three years but, ultimately, that prediction has come true.
Solskjaer was dismissed following last weekend’s 4-1 thrashing by lowly Watford. It followed heavy defeats by Leicester City, Liverpool and yet another by Man City.
“They’re not working as hard as the three teams we have mentioned (Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City), who are brilliant and have a lot of talent,” Keane said on Sky Sports.
“They (United) are well coached but they stop running. The players stop running. You see Marcus, sometimes it is difficult for players in interviews when a manager has lost their job.
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“[He says] ‘Players have to take responsibility’, but these players don’t. you saw a great example after the Watford game. The players going over [to the fans] and trying to defend the manager, but the damage was done.
“I did say it over the last year or two – leopards don’t change their spots. Man Utd have talented players, particularly in possession. But unfortunately a lot of the game is about when you’re out of possession.
“If you want to compare them to Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City, it’s chalk and cheese. They don’t run, they don’t sprint. They don’t close down, they don’t work as a team. they’re almost just dependent on their talent, which is coming up short as well.”
He added: “Maybe Ole was too nice to these lads because they have done what I predicted: They have thrown him under the bus.”
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