Sky Sports pundit Jay Bothroyd attracted criticism on Saturday after slamming the performance of Manchester United in their Premier League win against Burnley.
Man Utd needed a Bruno Fernandes penalty deep into stoppage time to beat the Clarets 3-2 after the visitors had twice equalised in a topsy-turvy Premier League encounter at Old Trafford.
The nature of the goals conceded by the Red Devils in their first win of the season left them looking for answers in the last couple of days of the transfer window but Burnley, by manager Scott Parker's own admission, started slowly and could have been buried by the time Lyle Foster prodded in their first equaliser.
Bothroyd's condemnation of United's celebration on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday Fan Zone was quickly picked up on by fans, who suggested the one-cap England international might not have been watching as closely as they were.
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"To be honest, that was a great performance from Burnley" said Bothroyd. "[United] still got the win, which is important."
Asked about the players' celebration after Fernandes' stoppage-time spot kick, Bothroyd's hitherto rambling vacuum of insight took a predictable turn.
"That was embarrassing, for me," he yelped. "I have to be honest, that was embarrassing. Like, why are you celebrating after a 3-2 win against Burnley?"
It was a risible piece of punditry from the former Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo and Muangthong United striker, which presumably sent up some sort of bat signal to Mark Goldbridge, real name Brent Di Cesare.
The self-styled Man Utd fan and YouTube take merchant railed against Bothroyd's criticism, leaping to the defence of the Red Devils.
Goldbridge posted on X, formerly Twitter: "The only thing Embarrassing is him sat their on Sky clearly talking about a game he didn't watch lol! Burnley played well? They should have been 3 down at half time. Scary thing is agenda's grow from propaganda like this."
"It is a bit embarrassing; it is only Burnley. You haven't just avoided relegation on the last day, but it was a six-pointer in the relegation battle," replied one fan after deciphering the tweet, but the reaction wasn't always barbed in Goldbridge's direction.
"The agenda on United is incredible," posted another with a limited understanding of at least three of those six words. "With better finishing, Burnley would have been crushed in the first half."
Said another, who might take football too seriously: "These people hate Man Utd with passion. They glow when we lose and become bitter when we are happy at the slightest. This is why we need to protect ourselves from them."
Topics: Football, Premier League, Manchester United, Sky Sports, Mark Goldbridge
Chris Nee