Dwight Yorke's Reaction To Man United's 7-0 Defeat To Liverpool

Man United's 7-0 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend was one of the most humiliating defeats in the history of the very proud football club.

In the wake of the crushing defeat we got the chance to chat to former Man United striker Dwight Yorke who was full of criticism for the way the players handled themselves in that game.

Yorke pointed to Bruno Fernandes' behaviour as captain, reflected on the decisions made by manager Erik Ten Hag and looked to areas the team can improve in going forward.

Liverpool Loss Unacceptable

Q. Would the treble team have given in like the Man United team did yesterday?

I'm not so sure our treble side would give in like Manchester United did against Liverpool. A lot of heads dropped because no one could have foreseen this result coming because Manchester United have had success in the cups and we've been unbeaten. It happened to us in the treble year when we were beaten 5-0 away to Chelsea.

These results can happen, you can give them a pass, but that result against Liverpool because of who they are is not acceptable.

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You have to give Liverpool the credit on the day and it's a bad day at the office for Manchester United. Maybe the manager got the selection wrong, but that's debatable of course.

Fernandes Needs To Be A Better Leader For Man United

Q. Bruno Fernandes was complaining, diving, pushing officials and not tracking back, and then he asked Ten Hag to be subbed off at 6-0, how do you feel that this was Man Utd’s captain on the night?

Bruno Fernandes asking to be subbed off is not a good look, especially as it was our captain. It's easy to be happy when football is going great, when everything is going perfect. That's where the great captains like Roy Keane or Bryan Robson, they would never give in and would keep b*llocking their teammates and showing their passion and desire.

This is where it has crept into the game a bit, I won't say foreigners but there is a lot of play-acting as captains in the game more and more nowadays. I come from the hard school where you get up and get on with it, the game has gone a bit too much in the other direction in my opinion.

It was not a great look for Manchester United's captain to be getting called out the way he did when he should be leading the team by example.

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Fernandes will learn from it, when you have the like of Keane and Garry Neville chirping at you on TV, there is no hiding place from it. If those two Manchester United legends were not the pundits, he might have gotten away from it. I would like to see Fernandes improve from this.

Keane would be dishing it out and not complaining, he would be taking a couple of prisoners down with him. There is no comparison with Fernandes, they don't have the same comparison. If I was playing in that team and saw my captain complaining, it would not have registered very well with me.

We lose together, we win together, that's the saying in the dressing room and you can't look to abandon ship. It's not a sign of a great leader.

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This Man United Team Is Too Good To Lose 7-0 To Liverpool

Q. Graeme Souness and Gary Neville were arguing last night about the result, Neville said the result was a ‘freak result’ and Liverpool played ‘alright’ whereas Souness claims it’s not a freak result because United have lost to Man City 6-3 and Brentford 4-0 as well, what do you think?

Graeme Souness is a great manager, he was a great player in his time and a great pundit. But football now has become so debatable and everyone has their own opinions. We all played the game at a certain level where we think anything that comes out of our mouth comes with credibility.

I don't believe everything that comes out of Gary Neville's mouth and I don't believe in what Souness is saying.

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If you're a Liverpool or Manchester United fan, you will take a side, but sometimes you need to find a common ground. Everyone needs to agree that the Manchester United team is too good to be beaten 7-0 but at the end of the day, that's the result, that means Manchester United were not good enough on the day, no matter what you think.

Manchester United have let these results happen too much this season, with their squad in recent times, it is too frequent. You can get a 'freak' result every once in a while, like our treble side when they lost 5-0 to Chelsea. Results like that can happen, but this team is not equipped to be losing 7-0 to Liverpool, 4-0 to Brentford and 6-3 to Manchester City.

You can lose, that's the nature of the game, but their lack of consistency shows why they can't challenge for the Premier League. Maybe they got ahead of themselves and thought they could do a job at Anfield because of recent results, but it doesn't work that way.

There is a history between these two teams, form does not matter and you always have to be at your best, Manchester United weren't and found out the hard way.

Ten Hag's Role In Liverpool Loss

Q. Do you put any blame on Erik Ten Hag for the result?

Erik Ten Hag could not control the player's attitudes, but he can control the formation and system he puts out. Now I'm in management I'm trying to look at it from Ten Hag's point of view, not from a pundit's. I feel that Marcus Rashford is most-effective when he plays on the left-hand side, I played the centre-forward position and it's the hardest position with the goal to your back.

Rashford's strength is running and taking people on, Ten Hag asked him to do a different role. Rashford is good enough to perform in different roles, but this game was not the appropriate time to do it, he even shuffled the system playing Bruno Fernandes on the left-hand side rather than the right or in the 10 position.

Ten Hag is a good manager and I'm sure he'll look at that and say he got it wrong.

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Man United v Real Betis Prediction

Q. How do you see the game against Real Betis going? Score prediction?

You would think Manchester United are favourites before the 7-0 loss to Liverpool! In my experience, Spanish teams like Real Betis are always good in these competitions. But Manchester United have just beaten the best team in Spanish football, Barcelona, this game Manchester United should be confident of winning.

I think Manchester United will do the job at Old Trafford then they'll get a 1-1 draw away from home to see us through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

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Is David De Gea Holding Man United Back?

Q. What do you think of De Gea? Does he hold United back in terms of building up? But does he make enough game winning saves for him to keep his spot?

David De Gea has been superb and you can't point your finger at him for the seven goals against Liverpool. He's getting better with his feet and you look at his record and it speaks for itself. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes De Gea does, but the pundits like Gary Neville and Graeme Souness have made their fair share of mistakes, people haven't called them out and don't have the balls to do it.

Even Roy Keane made mistakes back in the day.

De Gea is an exceptional goalkeeper and yes he will make more mistakes, but I will not point the finger at him for the 7-0 loss to Liverpool.

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Erik Ten Hag A Miracle Worker?

Q. People have labelled Erik Ten Hag as a ‘miracle worker’ for what he’s done with Man United this season, is that accurate or exaggerated?

Erik Ten Hag is not a 'miracle worker' when he's spent that amount of money and brought that many players into the club since he's been there. A miracle would be if he hasn't strengthened his team, hasn't brought in any players and turned the same players at the club already into winners.

Ten Hag has brought in players like Antony, Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, Wout Weghorst, Marcel Sabitzer and Christian Eriksen into the team. What Ten Hag has done is made us a lot more competitive and we now look like a team that's brought dignity back into the dressing room which has made Manchester United fans a lot happier.

It's a big difference from the suffering Manchester United have been through over the last few years. But I would not use the word 'miracle' for what Ten Hag has done.

Weghorst Does Not Make Man United Better

Q. Weghorst may not be the classic goal scoring striker, but has he been better for the team when he plays compared to when Ronaldo or Martial played?

Wout Weghorst is in a winning team so you can't complain about him at the moment, but as a striker, you'd be disappointed in the number of goals and assists he's contributed to the team. Weghorst's record is not great, but the fact Manchester United press on and keep winning games means you can give him a pass.

I don't think he makes the team better, yes he works hard, but I'm trying to figure out what his actual strengths are. Is he fast? No. Can he head the ball? Maybe. Does he hold the ball up well? Potentially.

I won't be too critical of Weghorst because Manchester United are winning while he is playing, but from a personal view and if I was him I'd be disappointed with the number of goals I've scored, he's not a classical Manchester United striker. But he's got himself a trophy and is winning games so there's not much to complain about.

Jadon Sancho v Antony - Who Should Start?

Q. Are Man United better with or without Antony? Should Sancho start ahead of him?

The jury is still out on Antony. With the fee that's been paid for him, you'd expect him to set the Premier League alight. From the clips I've seen of him before he joined, he did look impressive but it's often the same case with foreign leagues, players come to the Premier League and struggle because it's a different ball game.

In time we might see the full potential of Antony, but what we expected of him, especially me, I thought he'd be a lot more effective. I'll give him a pass for now because of where the team is and how we're performing, but I do expect a lot more from Antony going forward.

Qatari Bid To Take Over Manchester United

Q. Qatari interest in Man Utd seems to have stalled. Is that a good or bad thing?

It's very clear that everybody wants the Glazers out of Manchester United and I think it would be a good thing for the football club. Everyone will have a divided opinion on the new owner. I know how Gary Neville and the likes make a big deal out of it on television, but I think fans just want to see an owner invest back into the club and care.

If the Glazers want to sell and Sir James Ratcliffe and the Qataris want to be in a bidding war, whoever comes in will want to help invest in the club. There's too much talk about human rights and money-washing, what do any of us know about that? You hear Neville go on about it and people don't call him out.

Let the new owners buy the football club, invest, improve the stadium and training grounds and bring in new football players, that's what football fans want to see. It doesn't matter who comes in whether it's Ratcliffe or the Qataris, Manchester United should get the support it needs.

Frenkie De Jong To Man United?

Q. Should Man Utd go back in for Frenkie De Jong?

I actually spoke to Frenkie De Jong when we played him in an all-star game in Australia. I have a little bit of insight, he wanted to see what Barcelona would become under the new guidance of Xavi and see how that panned out before he chooses to join Manchester United. But there is a Dutch connection with Erik Ten Hag, De Jong would be a great pick because he's an excellent player.

He would be the player that would fit into that midfield net to Casemiro and give us a bit more stability. Manchester United would have a very solid core to the team if he was to join.

In a recent post Yorke, a former teammate of Roy Keane, told us who he rates as Ireland's best ever player.

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