Gary Neville has promised he won't be making a return to management after his nightmare at Valencia, but he did spend some time sitting in the Stamford Bridge dugout this afternoon as part of a Sky Sports ensemble also featuring Jamie Carragher, Graeme Souness, Thierry Henry, and host David Jones.
During the course of their conversation, conversation meandered onto the subject of Romelu Lukaku as he prepared for a return to his former side. Lukaku is currently dealing with charges that he is little more than a flat-track bully, given his scoring exploits against the likes of Everton and Swansea have not been repeated against Liverpool or Spurs. While this reality is partly mitigated by the fact United showed little interest in attacking in either of those games, Lukaku has been stung by the criticism, telling the media this week not to judge him as the finished article.
While Carragher and Neville debated Lukaku's performances, the latter briefly hit on a more interesting topic: United's complaints about the opinions of pundits and critics. Neville admonished such practice, treating his own job in admirably self-effacing fashion.
Speaking as a United fan, why is everyone at that club speaking about critics and pundits? I never once during my football career listened to a pundit or a critic and reflected whether that would help me or not help it. It was an irrelevance. What we are saying here is noise. We are filling time until the game starts. Why are they obsessed with critics and pundits?
Stop it. You're making yourself look weak.
The full debate can be viewed below.
