Liverpool legend Graeme Souness refers to Manchester United as the “Hollywood of football,” candidly exposing the issues behind this Premier League giant.
Manchester United has had a difficult start to the new season, losing two out of their first three Premier League matches. Their most recent home game against Liverpool ended in a 0-3 defeat.
Souness criticized Manchester United’s practice of placing high expectations on players before they have proven themselves. The former Liverpool player specifically mentioned the case of 19-year-old Kobe Menoo, believing that this young midfielder should not bear such heavy responsibilities.
Souness said in an interview, “I want to emphasize that I don’t mean any ill will. Menoo may be a good player, but this is exactly the tradition of Manchester United. This isn’t a criticism of Manchester United; they’ve always been like this. Whenever there’s a new face at Manchester United, regardless of the era, they are dubbed the ‘new George Best’, ‘new Bobby Charlton’, or ‘new Denis Law.’ This phenomenon is similar to how the Germans refer to Bayern Munich as ‘Hollywood on the pitch’, and in England, Manchester United shares the same situation.”
Souness added, “At Manchester United, when a player shows a little bit of talent, they are immediately hailed as a superstar, even before they truly become an outstanding player. Menoo should be a player who occasionally gets to play against strong teams, rather than being the mainstay of the team facing top opponents as he is now. He has the potential to become an excellent player in the future, but he clearly cannot yet be relied upon as a central figure in Manchester United’s midfield, as they are doing now. Manchester United players are being overshadowed by other teams and unable to perform at their expected level in games.”
Since emerging last season, Menoo has become an indispensable member under Ten Hag. However, this English international has lost three out of four matches this season, including a defeat to Manchester City in the Community Shield.