Lisandro Martinez SLAMS Man Utd's bosses | Football Weekly

Guardian Football

Martinez slams Man Utd hierarchy as panel debates his comments, Carrick and United's standards

The video reacts to Lisandro Martinez's explosive post-match comments after Manchester United's loss to Athletic Club. The panel largely agrees the hierarchy and recruitment deserve criticism, but many question whether Martinez should publicly call out his own squad and whether he has the standing to do so. It also covers Wayne Rooney's pushback, Tielemans's comments and Michael Carrick's pressure.

Lisandro Martinez stole the headlines in the wake of Manchester United's humbling at the hands of Atletico Madrid by taking aim at the club's hierarchy. Former City star Nedum Onuoha and The Guadian's Jonathan Liew join Max and Barry to debate the rights and wrongs of Martinez's outburst. Watch the full podcast episode ► https://youtu.be/T3Ac4O8KhXI Subscribe to Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball?subconfirmation=1 We want your feedback! If you had any thoughts on our coverage of the World Cup, please let us know here ► www.theguardian.com/YTWorldCupSurvey The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com/ Guardian Football Weekly: https://www.tiktok.com/@guardianfootballweekly https://www.instagram.com/guardianfootballweekly/ Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/sport.theguardian.com Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/guardiansport/ The Guardian on YouTube: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theguardian Football Weekly podcast ► https://www.youtube.com/@footballweeklypodcast Guardian News ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiannews Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianaustralia Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport

Transcript

Uh let's start at the wonder Metropolitan then Athletic 2 Manchester United nil and before we talk about the game the quote afterwards from Landro Martinez pretty um you don't hear it that often we did a fantastic season last season now we expect more from the top more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well um I expect more investment 100% I expect more from our technical director uh he didn't name Jason Wilcox but that is Jason Wilcox I have to be honest as players we have to do more but it's also important when you a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night. Um, you can't keep changing changing changing the manager. What about other areas? I can't say more. You do sort of feel he's said enough before he says I can't say anymore. >> Yeah, you said plenty there. And I'll be honest that it was one of those moments where I was watching it real time. I thought, "Oh my god, did he say that?" And then he doubled down. He tripled down and he quadrupled down. I was like, "Wow, okay. Okay, this is interesting." And it was like Gabriel Clark's dream, wasn't it? Because the next person in was Yuri Tielemans, a member of this squad that's not good enough. So Yuri, what do you think about uh Martina saying you're basically no good? Ah, listen. H you know then Car I've not heard it. It was a crisis in real time. And I think uh the point that he's trying to make personally, I don't think it's his point to make because I in some ways was more with Wayne Rooney on that where I thought it was a little bit disrespectful cuz you can have an issue for example with the board over different sorts of things when you're talking about squads not being good enough and this that and the other. You're making direct reference to the people that you play alongside, people who you're supposed to be a peer of. And I didn't love that to be honest. So clearly he's frustrated, but I don't know man. I didn't I personally didn't like it from the former pro side of things, but from the pure sicko side of things, it was worth every single second of it. It was pure pure cinema. And again, like United in my mind could have played better uh across his first few months of the season. They probably should have had more points. And I wouldn't necessarily pin that down to the makeup of the squad itself. I think if anything, you know, they've just underperformed and I don't know personally what Jason Wilcox is responsible for when it comes down to some of those little moments in games. >> Was Jason Wilcox responsible for Leandro Martinez being bullied by Dominic Sanki for that last minute equalizer? I mean I do you think he's right Barry at all? I mean, you know, United don't have a didn't get a left back, didn't get a center forward. They did buy a lot of midfielders, but I wonder if he you know if he might have a point whether he was right to say it when he said it. >> I do think he had a point. Um, I think he probably shouldn't be airing the club's dirty laundry in public, but it's great for us that he has done that and I wish more players would do it. Um, even though it's not ideal. Um, my problem with him saying it is that he's had a bad start to the season. I don't think he's earned the right to pontificate about who's good enough to play for Manchester United or not. many of the goals they're conceding. He's there at the scene of the crime and has has been culpable. You mentioned the Salanki goal uh on Saturday. That's one of several. Even if United did buy a load of players, most of the players they've bought in recent times haven't really worked out. The transfers have been bad and those players are presumably still being paid for. So they can't because of the grasping uh manner in which Manchester United is run. They don't have the money to splash loads of cash on various positions all over the field. And as Nam alluded to, it's not a very kind thing to say because Carlos Balibbe, Andre Santos, Yuri Tielemans, and presumably to a lesser extent Carl Darlow who were all brought in during the summer are going to go, "Hey, sorry mate. What are you saying here? So, uh, in the interest of team morale, he should probably kept his mouth shut or, you know, kept it in the dressing room at least. But, um, yeah, I'm I'm delighted he he said it and because it's going to stir up a hornet's nest and who doesn't like that? >> No, but he just said, you know, Gabriel Clark said and anyone in particular went Carl Darlow for a secret keeper is absolute sh. My conspiracy, Johnny, is that he had a little chat with Christian Romero on the pitch. Um, who is probably the the only other player I can, you know, who took to Instagram, didn't he, to sort of say, "Everyone at Spurs is useless." And, uh, and then he got a move that we all was probably good for everybody. And maybe Christian Ra said, "Hey, listen. If you go big, then they'll have to get rid of you. Can you can come here, for example." But I don't know how how does how does Will Cox react to this? How do the other players react to this? What what what happens next, do you think? >> Well, I I think back to uh the summer or certainly when when the window was still open and Magguire says Harry Magguire comes out and says, "We need more players. I want, you know, I want them to be greedy in the transfer market. I want to to have worldclass center backs competing from our place." Uh I think back to to Luke Shaw before the end of the window saying, "We need a couple more players." Carrick saying we we definitely need more players in, you know, before the window shuts. So, it I I don't think Martinez is is acting as a kind of lone wolf here. I think he's he's clearly reflecting uh a sentiment that is felt in the dressing room more broadly. Uh, and I think what what it does, it takes a little bit of the heat, rightly so, off Carrick. Uh, because I think until the full-time whistle, at full time whistle in Madrid last night, I think Carrick's head is probably on the block. And I think what Martinez has done is buy him a little bit of breathing space and turn the discussion towards the decisions of the hierarchy over the summer. It's not Carrick's fault that they don't have they haven't signed a defender in two years. It's not Carrick's fault that Bruno Fernandez is clearly playing unfit and and and bust his balls last season and and has has got very little left to offer this season. It it's not his fault that they couldn't like United couldn't sell any of their defenders. They couldn't find a taker for Mazar. No one no one wants to buy Mazari or Diego Dallow and so they couldn't bring in extra defensive reinforcements. These are these are decisions that that that go back years and years. Uh, and I I I'm wondering like I I'm thinking back over the the 21 years that the Glazers have been in charge, has any player been so explicit in in calling out the United hierarchy? Because we've all seen what's gone on. You know, we we've documenting it. Solar kind of made a little bit of a stand before the Glazes took over. Ex players have spoken out after they've left. Um, I can't think of a a a United like a a current United player or United player who who was in the side at the time speaking so brutally about the hierarchy and and I I think about all the you the United players who had the the last 21 years who had a chance to do that uh when it it might have taken a little bit of heat off their manager when it might have just put a little bit of pressure on the Glazes and uh and Inos and and they didn't take that chance and I think you know we don't I'm not a huge fan of Martinez. He hasn't had a great season. is probably the the wrong person to deliver that message. But I do kind of salute him for for being brave enough to grasp the nestle and actually speaking the truth that we've all been able to to see for the last 20 years. >> Harry Magguire came out and said we need more players. Then his mom came out and said they need more players. Then his sister and brother both came out and said they need more players. So there is a lot of heat on the United >> Do you think that this will make any difference to the United hierarchy then? It's probably not going to change change strategy as such, but you know, you sort of mark your card about who's willing to speak out in that sort of manner. And if they really do have the power, then you know, maybe this is the start of the end for someone like a Martinez whether people like it or not. And what I thought was interesting yesterday after what he said was just listen purely by coincidence. Amazon yesterday was basically at Man United TV at some point before the game when I was watching Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young interview their friend Michael Carrick and then there was a 20-minute piece afterwards about how Michael's such a great former player, great guy and all this. I was like this is >> they're filming a documentary. They're doing all all or nothing this season. >> Uh oh. Okay. All right. But it just felt >> it just felt so so soft from that sort of standpoint. But after Martinez made his comments, Rooney immediately pushed back against it. >> So from that standpoint there, I almost felt like uh it's going to become more of a referendum on Martinez as opposed to the validity of his words as such because Rooney if Rooney thinks this and Martinez thinks this, >> like obviously they might agree about the board, but the nature in which he's done it, is this going to cause an issue now as opposed to this going to be sort of like a a bigger discussion? So somebody with a sort of status of really amongst that fan base and through his legacy and so on and even the punetry stuff that he does now like you kind of I'm trying to decide whether it's more important about what he said or the fact that he had the goal to say it because those conversations afterwards like what is Yuri Tieleman saying to Landro Martinez did you say I was crap? Mat says, "No, no, no. Not you. Not you." "No, no, no, no. It's this. As you said, it's Calo. It's Calalo." I was like, "Oh, is it?" So, it's me. No, no, no, no. It's not It's not that. It's not that. You know, it's awkward. These guys are flying back together from Madrid to Manchester. It's got a game coming up on the weekend against the leads. >> Yeah. >> My word. Like, this is, as I say, I wouldn't want to be in that situation as a player, but on this pundit side of things now, it is pure cinema. >> I suppose Tielemans has been pretty crap, hasn't he? I mean to be I if if Martinez was going to call him out. >> I mean this with the utmost respect but I felt like there was a lot of cope yesterday being spread around on the commentary for this game to where people were saying oh you know you know they weren't too bad actually you know like the bar was like the game against Spurs they were so bad against Spurs that yeah you know what >> there was some positives here. Yeah they've lost but you know positives. I'm like what what is this? What is this? Surely a team like >> this is Manchester United we're talking about. Are you about to say this? with the scale of that cannot have a bar so low that a we're praising a performance which wasn't as bad as the one that was there before. If for me if you're watching a team playing in the Champions League in a midweek like judge it based on say relatively speaking what they they could be doing if you know what I mean. I think they could have performed better. I think they could have scored those goals but instead of like oh no they they created some chances. We spoke about them as if like I don't know they've they've won a raffle or something to play in in Madrid this midweek as a as a chance to feel better on the weekend. And me personally, I didn't like it because a loss essentially is a loss, is it not? >> I I think they were poor. Um they were better than they were against Spurs, but that's not saying much. And it was a fairly comfortable Atletico victory. Yeah, I mean I I think you know you maybe give them credit for for hanging in there, you know, for for not completely folding after they go behind in the first minute. Uh but there yeah, I mean Nam and Barry are right that there there seems to be a kind of really ingrained fatalism there. Uh and once you start accepting two-nil defeats in Europe as green shoots of improvement, I think you're you're well on the course to you're well on the the route to oblivion. most scandalous thing that was said in the postmatch interviews was actually not Martinez. It was Tielemans came out and said and obviously everyone was listening for for what he was going to say about about Martinez's comments, but he also said something like, "Are we in Atletico? They're just going to play through us. They're just going to naturally play through us because of their quality. It's totally normal in football." And I thought that was like a ridiculous thing for for for someone to say. Dan Tibus, who's obviously a decent player who has kind of just been promoted just beyond his level of competence, sort of sort of encapsulates that that they are they are trying hard. They're trying to do all the right things um but they're just not quite good enough. >> Yeah. Okay. So, what does this mean for Carrick Canadam? Does this mean this has bought him some time or it doesn't really ch I don't know if I agree that had had Martinez not said that that he'd be sacked, I don't think that would have happened. But, you know, we said on Monday that the sort of writing is on the wall. Like, we've seen we haven't seen great performances, but what what do you think this performance and Martinez comments mean for his future? >> Um, I wouldn't necessarily say doesn't feel to me like the writing's on the wall as such. I think there's a lot of criticism being leveled out them. And I think in some ways it is fair, but there's the wider criticism about stuff off the field, but I think there's a real good focus now on the stuff that's on the pitch. And I think for Michael Carrick like from when he first got the job some of the sort of positive P I could get from say putting Mayu into the team push pushing Bruno Fernandez forward actually talking to the media like a normal human being instead of like Amarim just trying to gaslight everybody and thinking this is the best system ever and nothing's going to change that was all good and feels quite easy relatively speaking but now it's crisis management so we get a chance to see what it's going to be like from that standpoint cuz I thought before the season began that he would almost be judged based on say how he could reintegrate somebody like a Marcus Rashford who divides rightly or wrongly say a lot of the fan base. But that seems to have gone relatively well in the grand scheme of things. But as you say now, it's the next few days of having to speak in a manner which isn't too aggressive towards your board cuz if you get that wrong, you'll probably be sacked, but then not speak too much pro the board because then that separates you from your players. So yeah, these next few days will be a real test for him. And what he needs more than anything is one of those like big victories like a way it leads at the weekend when everyone says oh we are united bash of chess you know we we we thrive in adversity because the other side of that if it looks the other way then yeah I think come Monday morning you'll be doing the next part saying yeah yeah it's probably time up isn't