Lisandro Martinez has had some heat for simply saying it as he sees it with Manchester United at the moment, but he’s far from the only one concerned with the running of the club.
Just over a year ago I wrote here about the “dire” mood inside Man United under Ruben Amorim, with the directors and the ownership aware of how bad things were getting, whilst being in little mood to make yet another managerial change.
On the face of it, that doesn’t sound unreasonable, and it’s likely that view continues to be held by the majority of the fans. Except, these people are paid very handsomely to make these tough decisions, not to run away from them.
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Many United fans have had these complaints about how the club is run for years, and yet somehow it’s beyond the pale for one of the players to come out and say the same thing? Consider for a moment that this is their working environment, this is a large part of their lives, and it’s been a mess from top to bottom for years.
Lisandro Martinez – right message, wrong messenger?
“We did a fantastic season last season and now we expect more from the top, more players to compete because many teams bring many players as well,” Martinez said in his post-match interview after the defeat to Atletico Madrid last night.
“I expect more (investment). 100%,” he added. “I expect more from our technical director (Jason Wilcox). I have to be honest, as players we have to do more but it is also important when you make a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night.”
Not a word of that is unreasonable. Perhaps it’s rubbed some fans up the wrong way because, after all, it’s not like Martinez has done his job particularly well either, so who is he to criticise others?
Ultimately, though, if fans want change, it’s encouraging that one of the players is using their voice to call for it. It might not be particularly professional, and it might cause some short-term harm in the way of even more negative headlines that the Red Devils don’t need more of right now, but I have it on good authority that Martinez and other players have held back on comments like this for some time now.
“At some point, someone’s patience was going to run out,” one source said. “There was real surprise and disappointment at the lack of work on the squad this summer. Players aren’t that different from fans in a lot of ways – there’s a buzz when top players join to strengthen the team, and they know they didn’t do enough of that this season.”
What next for Lisandro Martinez?
Still, there’s a risk from the MUFC board of alienating the players even further if they take that kind of action. Numerous other senior players would support what Martinez said last night.
Even if Amorim himself was not popular among the players, he also aired similar frustrations about club chiefs towards the end of his time at Old Trafford.
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Amorim ended up being sacked, so that doesn’t bode well for Martinez. United will be aware that they need to instil some discipline and at the very least try to push everyone to show a more united front when it comes to speaking to the press.
There’s also the risk of Martinez looking to leave. I’ve previously reported here on Barcelona being one of his admirers as he nears the end of his contract. Unsurprisingly, it seems the Argentine is very clearly not happy, so I’d expect more murmurings about transfer suitors to emerge in the weeks and months ahead.
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