Roy Keane has blamed Manchester United’s decay on Sir Alex Ferguson ‘hanging on like a bad smell’.
The Old Trafford legend, who famously fell out with Sir Alex in 2005, believes United’s powerbrokers are holding the club back with weak decision-making.
Caretaker manager Darren Fletcher admitted he asked for Ferguson’s blessing before taking on the role – despite the Scot retiring in 2013.
Yet Fergie’s old boy could only muster a 2-2 draw at Burnley and Keane fears the slide will only continue unless United’s chiefs make the right choice about the future manager.
He said on Sky Sports: ‘What happens in these job interviews? I’m intrigued. Why do they keep giving certain people a job? What happens in the interview that they sit there and go, and 12, 14 months later, “he’s not the guy for us.”
‘Do you not suss that out when you speak to them? You look somebody in the eye and go…
‘You see who’s making the decisions at Manchester United… you still have [Alex] Ferguson and David Gill [former chief executive] hanging on like a bad smell.
‘Who’s making the decisions? [Sir Jim] Ratcliffe, [Jason] Wilcox? Who’s coming into this interview process, you’re speaking to a manager, you get a feel for somebody and go “he’s the guy for us?”
‘Almost forget the CV. You need something on your CV, of course, that you’ve won a trophy or managed a long time. But you’ve got to look somebody in the eye and go “are you the man to get us places?”
‘What happens when somebody walks in your dressing room, the top players sit and go, “what have you got for us?” That’s what the top lads do. And if you haven’t got the answers, the players are going to eat you alive.’
He has also said: ‘United Burnley, the standard of the game was a joke. Everyone after the game was like, ‘It wasn’t bad, we did well’ – nonsense! Absolute rubbish. We’re going around in circles. Any ex-United player has got a chance.’
As Keane ranted, his fellow pundit Daniel Sturridge was clearly trying to not burst out laughing and at one point covered his face with his hands.
In Ferguson’s defence, he cannot help if a former player wishes to ring him and the 84-year-old holds no formal position at United.
In 2024, INEOS ended his multi-million pound ambassadorial role and told him not to enter the dressing room following games.
Fletcher has a particularly close relationship with Ferguson, having been handed his debut by him aged 19 in 2003 and remaining with the club throughout his reign.
‘I don’t like to make any major decisions or things without speaking to Sir Alex and that’s something I’ve done since I’ve been at the club and since I’ve left the club in everything I do,’ he said.
‘I’ve got a really good relationship with Sir Alex, so he’s probably the first person on the phone actually, so I wanted to speak to him first. And, ultimately, to get his blessing, to be perfectly honest with you.’
Fletcher is the 11th boss to take charge of United, either on a permanent or interim basis, since Ferguson won his 13th Premier League title and left in 2013.
Already INEOS have cycled through Erik ten Hag, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Amorim, and it is expected that Fletcher will be replaced by somebody else until the end of the season.
One name that has been raised is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a former player who managed the club between 2018 and 2021.
Gabby Agbonlahor told talkSPORT that his return would be ’embarrassing’.
‘It’s embarrassing,’ he said. ‘When I saw the news that Solskjaer might be coming back… it’s a laughing stock of a football club.
‘The Manchester United fans were relieved when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got sacked. We’ve got receipts.
‘Everyone was excited when he was getting the sack at Manchester United. It’s that three years ago and now you’re bringing him back?’
Another name raised has been Michael Carrick, who had a reasonably impressive stint in charge of Middlesbrough from 2022 until the summer.
Carrick won two of his three games in interim charge of United in 2021 after Solskjaer’s sacking, drawing the other game.
