Red Devils are devilishly lazy

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes expressed his concern about the abundance of "lazy" players at his old club following their 1-0 loss against Newcastle United on Saturday night. Erik Ten Hag's team faced their sixth Premier League defeat of the season at St James' Park and left their supporters and former players genuinely disgusted.

Throughout the match, Newcastle displayed a superior level of determination and outplayed their visitors for the majority of the 90 minutes. Manchester United struggled to make a significant impact in attack until Rasmus Hojlund and Antony were introduced, substituting Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. Despite a late push towards the end, they failed to equalise, and Newcastle deservedly clinched the win due to their overall performance.

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Scholes highlighted his concern over what he perceives as a lack of drive and effort from certain players within the United squad.

"Rubbish. They're a poor football team at this minute, aren't they?" Those decent results they've had recently are misleading. There are too many lazy players on this team - you can't get away with that. Going to places like Newcastle, the first thing you must do is work hard. You could see Newcastle getting down both sides and exploiting the wings. I felt sorry for the fullbacks."

Martial and Rashford were the most apparent under-performers. They never tracked their opponents back and did almost nothing of note in either attack or defence. Ten Hag admitted he became "aggressive" with the Frenchman amid the first half of Newcastle's dominance in their defeat of Manchester United. With Newcastle bombarding United's goal in the first half, Ten Hag rounded on Martial, who expressed his dismay at the United manager's complaints. Hojlund was instructed to warm up, and the Dane went through his paces again at half-time, but Martial still re-emerged for the second half.

The former Ajax tactician faces too many challenges to get his team doing the basic things - like respecting the club, the fans and his own authority. Speaking after the game, he tried to explain that arguing with his player during the match was "normal". OK, Erik, if you say so.

"It's not about Anthony Martial, it's about the team. I try to energise the team and try to get a reaction from the team in this moment. As you can see, we had a tough period, and when you're coaching, you are a little more aggressive, so that's normal. I will talk with my team about the reasons, but we have to do better. And, as I said, I am sure they will pick this up. I am sure they are resilient, and they have the character to do this. I'm not hoping, I'm sure. We have seen good performances in the week against Everton and Galatasaray, and you always want to play the perfect game every game, but you have so many games in a short period you can also have a less good performance. And now we have to pick this up."

Ten Hag has encountered challenges within his squad since assuming the managerial role last year, especially concerning some key players. Initially, there was a highly visible conflict with Cristiano Ronaldo. Subsequently, he banished Jadon Sancho, reportedly due to disciplinary concerns. Now, there are reports of a rift emerging with Raphael Varane. Following a public disagreement on Saturday night, tension might also be between him and Martial.

Former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas, now a TV pundit, watched the game closely and delivered a scathing assessment of Manchester United's body language and mentality.

"The body language of a team tells you a lot at times. A few of them were sending a message to the manager. I thought Rashford on that right-hand side in particular, the way he just walked around throwing his arms around like he was saying, 'I don't want to be playing on this right-hand side'. There was no tracking back at all. There were too many of those moments that I looked at, and I thought Ten Hag seems to be such a disciplinarian off the pitch, but I didn't see the same level of respect from the players on the pitch. That's a big concern for Manchester United."

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 14

Saturday

Arsenal - Wolverhampton 2-1 (2-0)

/Saka 6, Odegaard 13 - Cunha 86/

Burnley - Sheffield Utd 5-0 (2-0)

/Rodriguez 1, Bruun Larsen 29, Amdouni 73, Koleosho 75, Brownhill 81/

Brentford - Luton 3-1 (0-0)

/Maupay 50, Mee 57, Baptiste 82 - Brown 76/

Nott.Forest - Everton 0-1 (0-0)

/McNeil 67/

Newcastle - Man.Utd. 1-0 (0-0)

/Gordon 56/

Sunday

17:00: (1.28) Liverpool (6.75) Fulham (10.5)

17:00: (3.70) Bournemouth (3.50) Aston Villa (2.00)

17:00: (1.75) Chelsea (3.90) Brighton (5.00)

17:00: (2.05) West Ham (3.45) Crystal Palace (3.60)

19:30: (1.33) Man.City (5.90) Tottenham (9.50)

***odds are subject to change***