Former Manchester United captain and prominent football pundit Gary Neville has launched a scathing attack on Red Devils' head coach Ruben Amorim following a disappointing 1-1 Premier League draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The stalemate, played on Tuesday, December 31, 2025, saw United drop two vital points, with Neville pinpointing the Portuguese manager's tactical setup as the primary culprit.
Neville's Furious Reaction to Tactical Reversion
Neville expressed his profound disappointment, specifically targeting Amorim's decision to field a back-three defensive formation against a Wolves side that had suffered 12 consecutive defeats prior to this match. The pundit argued this choice directly led to the dropped points, stating the team had "gone backwards." He revealed the depth of fan anger, noting supporters not only booed the team at full-time but waited in the stadium to continue their protest.
"That was the baddest of the bad that. They weren’t just booed off at full-time. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them," Neville said on his podcast. The result meant Manchester United missed the chance to climb to fourth place in the Premier League table and became the first team to drop points to Wolves since October.
A Puzzling Tactical Shift
What baffled Neville most was the timing of the tactical change. Just days earlier, on Boxing Day, Amorim's side had secured a 1-0 home victory over Newcastle United using a back-four formation. For the Wolves game, the only personnel change was Joshua Zirkzee replacing the injured Mason Mount, making the shift to a back-three even more perplexing for the analyst.
"I’m not quite sure why they have changed. Wolves have probably been the better team," Neville was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. He felt the performance level plummeted due to the formation, labelling the results with the 3-4-3 setup as "appalling."
Amorim, Media Pressure, and Accountability
Neville also took issue with Amorim's previous comments about media pressure influencing his tactical decisions. After the Newcastle win, Amorim had suggested he avoided changing his system earlier because he didn't want his players to think he was succumbing to external criticism.
Neville countered this sharply: "He doesn’t need to say ‘I haven’t changed because of the media’ because then he’s telling us basically that the media is in his head. The reason he’s had to change is because the performance levels with the 3-4-3 have been so poor and the results have been appalling."
The former defender concluded with a direct message to the manager, emphasizing the need for accountability. "When I see that we go back [to three at the back] after five minutes tonight and I’m thinking, no, Ruben, why have you done that?. The manager has to look at that and think, I got that wrong. I complicated it," Neville added.
The draw leaves Manchester United's Champions League qualification hopes in a delicate state and piles more pressure on Ruben Amorim, whose tactical convictions are now under intense scrutiny from legends and fans alike.
