Gary Neville Slams Ed Woodward, 'Unforgivable' Manchester United Recruitment

Manchester United legend Gary Neville thinks the club should sack executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward because of the team's poor recruitment in recent years.

The Red Devils put in a timid performance on Sunday, being comfortably beaten 2-0 by rivals Liverpool in the Premier League.

While Liverpool are storming clear at the summit of the table, United are in fifth place and a whopping 30 points behind their rivals. Following the game, Neville provided a scathing assessment of his former club's work in the transfer market on The Gary Neville Podcast (h/t James Ducker of the Daily Telegraph):

"I can't change the ownership of United, no one can. I'm struggling to understand why the ownership have persisted in trusting that management team to oversee the building of a Premier League title-winning team since Sir Alex [Ferguson] left.

"I saw a statistic two weeks ago that United have the second-highest wage bill in the world. And that's the squad they've got. It's unforgivable. It really is.

"I can't believe the investment that's been put into the squad in the last five, six, seven years and you end up with that out on the pitch. If you don't lose your job for essentially overseeing that investment, that wage bill, and putting that team out on the pitch then I have to say something is really wrong."

Neville was part of the Sky Sports commentary team for Sunday's game and reacted angrily to a spurned chance by Anthony Martial when the scoreline was 1-0:

While it was no surprise to see Liverpool roll over the Red Devils, in terms of the bigger picture, United have a lot of work to do to become a serious challenger again.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did have injuries to contend with for the game, with Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba absent. However, as Neville noted, given the money spent on the squad in recent years, United supporters would like to see more depth in the setup.

Football writer Jonathan Fadugba also criticised the Red Devils' transfer business, contrasting the work done by United and Liverpool:

Per BBC Sport's Phil McNulty, there was a sense of apathy from some United supporters following the Anfield loss:

United have lurched between different strategies since Ferguson's retirement in 2013. With that in mind, it's no surprise the squad is fractured, made up of players brought in by a number of managers who want to play different brands of football.

While the jury is out when it comes to Solskjaer's position, United are crying out for some stability and a uniform transfer strategy the club can fall in line with, which is something Woodward should be intent on setting.

Until they find a way to get that clear identity, they will be a long way off competing for major honours.