Another good day at Aintree for my @AtTheRaces tipping column with Zeus Power being the highlight. It's been on a great run from the start of Cheltenham to here and hopefully I can cap it with a big result on Grand National day. RTs appreciated: https://t.co/nq7jPMAv7J
A solid start on Aintree day one with all three selections hitting the frame, but it's winners we want and hopefully we'll find at least one on Friday. Here are my exclusive thoughts and selections. RTs appreciated. https://t.co/nq7jPMAv7J @AtTheRaces
⚫️ What Needs to Change
The solution isn't complicated, though it may be difficult for egos to accept.
These former players need to acknowledge that the media landscape bears no resemblance to the one they navigated, recognise that Ferguson's media management gave them massive advantages, apply consistent standards across all clubs rather than singling out United, offer solutions instead of just criticism, and either support the club directly or recognise that television punditry doesn't constitute helping.
The most frustrating aspect is that Keane, Scholes, Neville, and Butt possess the intelligence and experience to understand all of this. They've seen elite sport from every angle. They know the pressures of performing at the highest level. They understand how marginal gains in psychology can impact performance.
Yet when it comes to their former club, they retreat into simplistic takes that ignore obvious realities. Perhaps acknowledging the modern environment's unprecedented intensity would require acknowledging that their generation had advantages current players lack. Perhaps it would require admitting that the "we handled it fine" narrative isn't the full story.
Until that acknowledgment comes, Manchester United remains trapped between an idealised version of its glory years and a constantly criticised present. Current players face not just the normal pressures of elite football, but also the additional burden of being told by their own legends that acknowledging those pressures constitutes weakness.
That's not demanding high standards. That's actively undermining the conditions necessary for success. And ironically, it represents exactly the kind of excuse-making mentality these former players claim to despise, except their excuses are for their own behaviour, not their performances.
Roy Keane recently said Ferguson and Gill were "hanging around the club like a bad smell." The truth is it's Keane himself, along with Scholes and others, who've become the lingering bad smell, not at the club, but in the media ecosystem around it, poisoning the atmosphere with bitterness disguised as standards.
Manchester United deserves better from its legends. More importantly, the current players who are trying to restore this club to glory under unprecedented scrutiny deserve better. They deserve support, or at minimum, constructive criticism rooted in reality rather than ego protection and nostalgia.
Until United's former players recognise this, they'll continue being part of the problem they claim to be criticising. And that might be the saddest legacy of all.
Thank you for taking the time to read this thread. As Always, please feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments below 🇾🇪
5/5
🚨 Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Manchester United advance in positive talks over caretaker manager role.
As revealed yesterday, Ole wants the job and he’s a serious candidate with talks well underway.
No issues on contract lenght. Ole is ready to say YES.
Up to #MUFC.
Today in Dublin, I went to photograph what I thought was a parade. They grabbed my camera & pushed Steve over. They then kicked him in the head, unable to get up they continued to kick him. They were Schalke football hooligans. I'm so appalled & disgusted!! #schalkehooligans
HERE WE GO, @FabrizioRomano 🚨
With the transfer window closing, it's time for a massive giveaway 👇
🎮 x1 PS5 or cash
👕 x1 Signed shirt of your choice
To enter:
✅ Follow @EvoFtbl
🔁 Like and Repost this post
@CWeston_Indo Good morning Charlie, My partner and I are in the final stages of buying a house. I’m trying to diagnose two reports from my financial adviser regarding life insurance and mortgage protection. Do you have any advice on this for me please ‘ex’ “do’s “ and “don’ts”