'It's A Waste Of Time' – Gary Neville Savages Shaw As Amorim Fears United Are Miles Off Ronaldo Standards

Gary Neville savagey labelled Luke Shaw "a waste of time" as Manchester United slumped to a lifeless 1-0 defeat against Everton at Old Trafford, marking a disastrous one-year anniversary for manager Ruben Amorim. 

The Red Devils saw their four-match winning run at home come to an abrupt halt on Monday night, despite the visitors playing with ten men for the vast majority of the contest. The result leaves United languishing in 10th place, a far cry from the dominance of the Cristiano Ronaldo era that fans desperatey crave to see replicated.

The game turned on two pivotal moments in the first half: a shocking red card for Everton’s Idrissa Gueye and a stunning goal by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. 

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Gueye was dismissed after just 13 minutes for slapping his own teammate, Michael Keane, in a moment of madness that should have handed United the initiative.

 However, despite dominating possession, Amorim’s side failed to break down the Toffees' resilient deep block.

Frustration poured out from the stands and the studio alike as United’s inability to stretch the play became painfully evident. Neville, watching on as a pundit, directed his ire specifically at the tactical deployment of Luke Shaw. 

Operating on the left of Amorim’s preferred 3-4-3 system, Shaw was tasked with driving the ball forward, but his reluctance to overlap and attack the space left Neville seething.

Amorim’s persistence with his back-three shape even against ten men meant that Shaw, Leny Yoro, and Matthijs de Ligt were often left passing the ball harmlessly amongst themselves. The lack of urgency allowed Everton to settle into a comfortable defensive rhythm, protecting their lead with relative ease. Neville argued that Shaw needed to abandon his defensive duties to overload the final third.

The United legend insisted that the tactical rigidity was suffocating the team's creative potential. He pointed out that while Yoro could be forgiven for his hesitation due to his profile, Shaw’s experience and technical ability meant there was no excuse for his lethargy.

 The criticism highlighted a disconnect between the manager's system and the players' on-field application.

”'I'm not saying it's easy playing against ten men, you have to play with some urgency, you have to put as many players as possible forward, into forward areas,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

Neville continued his tactical dissection, noting that Shaw’s positioning was deceptive and ineffective. He felt the defender was "ambling" rather than sprinting to join the attack, a fatal flaw when trying to unlock a packed defense.

"Shaw is starting to move forward a little bit, but he's ambling forward, let's be clear," he continued.

While Neville focused on the tactical failings, Ruben Amorim was more concerned with the psychological fragility of his squad. The Portuguese coach, who has now been at the helm for a full year, delivered a striking response to the defeat.

Amorim was particularly alarmed by the lack of "fight" in the positive sense—the hunger to win the ball back immediately after losing it. 

He referenced the bizarre incident between Gueye and Keane not to mock Everton, but to highlight the contrast in intensity. 

“'Fighting is not a bad thing. Fighting doesn't mean they don't like each other,”  Amorim said.

The manager’s post-match comments suggest a dressing room that is still fragile. He was candid about the team's current standing, refusing to sugarcoat the reality that United are still drifting far from the summit of English football.

“Fighting is that you lose the ball and I will fight you because you lose the ball and we will suffer a goal. I feel afraid of returning to this feeling of last season, that is my biggest concern. We are not even near at the moment where we're supposed to be in this club,” he added.

Neville’s criticism of Shaw ultimately boiled down to a demand for bravery. He felt that by staying deep, Shaw was essentially removing himself from the game when United needed him most. 

The pundit’s assessment was withering, suggesting that the defender was "conning" viewers by appearing to offer an option without actually committing to the attack.

“You can't do that. You should be running forward every single time, I don't care. Yoro, I have more sympathy with because he's not as comfortable on the ball, but Shaw shouldn't be playing there. It's a waste of time, I don't care. Honestly, what he's doing there, you're not conning anybody.”