After Man Utd's absolute annihilation of those fools across town in which they were lucky to not have lost by more, the butcher Lisandro Martinez along with the rest of his teammates, were given a lot of praise for their superb performance in what was Michael Carrick's second debut in the MUFC dugout. Just btw, in his four games, Carrick hasn't lost to Unai Emery, Thomas Tuchel, Mikel Arteta and now Pep FRAUDiola.
Not bad for an interim 👏.
There was much talk before this match of matches both on and off the pitch and how City are looking good again despite three draws in a row and United being all over the place after the sacking of Amorim, an unsuccessful couple of games for Darren Fletcher as caretaker and the re-appointment of Carrick until the end of the season.
Ex-players had their say on the new interim boss, his coaches and a specific dig at United's 2022 World Cup winner.
I'm talking about that comment by Nicky Butt in which Paul Scholes agreed with:
Butt - "Haaland would pick Martinez up and run with him. You know when you see a dad at school running with a little toddler."
Scholes - "Martinez against Haaland...he'd score then throw him in the net."
The butcher himself responded after the win by saying that "Honestly, he [Scholes] can say whatever he wants, I told him already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to wherever he wants. To my house, wherever. I don't care."
Scholes himself then replied on his Instagram story with "Someone's had a good game, was really happy for you... Tea, no sugar pls @lisandromartinezzz."
Apparently United were unhappy with these comments by the ex-players believing it to be more in mockery of Martinez rather than to offer any contsructive criticism [Rob Dawson].
What makes these quotes worse is that had they had done their research, Scholes, Butt and anyone who agreed with them would see that Martinez's record against the Striking Viking is actually very strong.
In six games at both United and Ajax, Haaland has only scored 3 goals when facing the butcher. All 3 of those came in the 6-3 thumping at the Emptyhad in 22/23, very early into Erik ten Hag's and Martinez's time at the club. The City striker also played 90 minutes in five of those matches whilst being substituted for the final 10 minutes in this recent derby defeat.
This shows Scholes and Butt don't know what they're talking about.
With all that being said though, I absolutely love this.
Firstly, what they said does come across as mockery, just as the club said. I think they were picking on the height of Martinez as a centre-back who admittedly, is on the shorter side for one playing in the position, but is this the angle to go about criticising him? Do you really want to be picking on someone's appearance rather than their ability?
As per those stats, we can see that the best striker in the world really struggles against Martinez indicating that it's got nothing to do with height or perhaps any other physical aspect of one's game. Martinez is actually the perfect type of character. We arguably need more players like him in the squad and if that were the case, I believe we would be in a much better situation, at least on the field.
And what the butcher lacks in height, he more than makes up for with his ability in possession, his calmness and composure both on and off the ball, his aggression and reading of the game (two aspects that I believe won him this latest battle with Haaland), his leadership, and more than anything, his passion, his heart and soul. These are the things we love to see as fans and Martinez has that more than most.
Scholes and Butt picked on the wrong player. More Martinez's are needed at United.
Secondly, I do believe that in a way, even if they go about it the wrong way, the ex-players do test the current squad. They want to see whether they are capable of proving them wrong and sitting them down, just as Martinez did.
I don't think Scholes had any issues with what Martinez said post-match. I feel as though the legend liked it because it shows a player who does to an extent, want to prove people wrong, ex-players or doubters, and that he has that fight in him, which isn't something we can say for most.
I understand that in general for a long time, the squad at United has been shit. Let's not beat about the bush.
But this doesn't mean that all players are shit. There have been quite a few good ones (like Martinez) who are unfortunately part of a terrible squad. You can still criticize the squad as a whole but give credit to those who deserve it.
And also, don't pick on one's appearance. It's the character and ability as a footballer that truly matters.
Well done Martinez. Keep it going 👊.
Lisandro Martinez with dominant performance against Erling Haaland in Man Utd's 2-0 win over Man City | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)