Gary Lineker blames Sir Alex Ferguson for Man Utd's decline as Ruben Amorim spell hits new low
The former England forward made the admission while presenting the BBC's coverage of the FA Cup fifth round tie on Sunday.
Gary Lineker has given his thoughts on the state Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United in when he left the club in 2013.
Ferguson, 83, left his role as manager of Man United at the end of the 2012/13 season, in which the Red Devils won the Premier League.
Since then, the club have failed to win the Premier League or Champions League and currently sit 14th in the top flight with just nine league victories from 27 games.
Advert
To add to the gloom surrounding Old Trafford, on Sunday, they crashed out of the FA Cup after a penalty shoot-out against Fulham.
Joshua Zirkzee and Victor Lindelof saw their penalties saved by the Cottagers’ goalkeeper Bernd Leno as United were beaten 4-3 from the spot, having played out a 1-1 draw over the previous 120 minutes.
As ever, several pundits, including United’s all-time record goal scorer Wayne Rooney, weighed in with their take.
The former England captain even suggested that Danny Welbeck, who scored the winning goal in Brighton’s 2-1 victory against Newcastle on Sunday, should still be at the club despite him leaving the Red Devils over a decade ago.
While Lineker, 64, suggested that the state Ferguson left the club in could be partly to blame for United’s lack of success since the Scot's departure.
“If you look at Liverpool now, they’ve got a new manager in Arne Slot, and it’s testament to how Jurgen Klopp left the club in a really good state,” Lineker said during the BBC’s live coverage of yesterday’s game.
“That probably wasn’t the case at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s [time at Old Trafford]. I know they won the league that season, but it wasn’t their best side, and a lot of their great players were coming to the end of their careers. I think from there, they had problems. The academy wasn’t delivering the players that they were before.”
Of course, despite his claim the likes of Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay, Kobbie Mainoo, and several others have come through United's academy over the past decade or so.
Ruben Amorim's side will return to action on Thursday when they take on Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie at the Reale Arena in San Sebastián.
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Gary Lineker, Premier League, FA Cup, Wayne Rooney, Liverpool
Luke Davies