Fans get United are not best any more... pity the Class of ’92 can’t do the same

IS any Manchester United manager going to get a fair crack of the whip with the Class of ’92 and their mates hanging around Old Trafford like a bad smell?

We start with a discussion point because, surprise, surprise, another former superstar has been wheeled out to point the hairdryer full-blast at Jose Mourinho. This week, it’s Paul Scholes. If it’s not Scholes, it’s Gary Neville. If it’s not Neville, it’s Ryan Giggs. If it’s not Giggs, then it’s Rio Ferdinand. If it’s not him, then Roy Keane is putting the boot in.

The last two weren’t strictly part of that great youth side, but they were of the same era, so it is fair to lump them all into this together.

Mourinho has been fixed in their sights, being called “embarrassing” among a myriad of other moans.

The bloke has won 25 trophies.

At present, he’s being verbally battered by a bloke who failed to land the Oldham Athletic job, (Scholes) plus a coach who flopped spectacularly with England and Valencia (Neville).

Keane imploded after a bright start at Sunderland and disappeared without trace at Ipswich Town.

Giggs is a fledgling boss with Wales and then there’s Ferdinand, a full-time pundit and part-time restaurateur.

Look, some of the criticism is fair. No issue with that.

The centre of defence is a problem. And the manager cannot whine, given he’s tried to plug that gap. The midfield lacks a leader. The front three are short of the wow factor.

Toss into the mix the fact Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea look like the teams to beat in the Premier League this season and the frustration is obvious. Mourinho has spent big in the marketplace – £350million isn’t chicken feed. But having attended the last home game against Newcastle United, the question over whether he had lost the dressing room was answered in emphatic style. You know, what would these former players be saying if they were suffering similar stick from the sidelines? They would have a take on it. And it wouldn’t be pretty, either. And stories this week that Mourinho’s players are getting increasingly fed up with the constant barrage of negativity may have been planted by the manager, but, if not, you can understand his – and their – frustration. However, it may boil down to something much more basic. Scholes, Neville and the rest were so good that they never truly received recognition for that at the time. And they are judging this current mob by their own standards. En masse, they were the greatest crop of players produced Scholes, Neville, Keane, Giggs and Ferdinand and nurtured by any club during this observer’s 30-odd years of watching football.

But the issue isn’t whether Scholes, Neville, Keane, Ferdinand and Giggs could play.

And it’s not whether they are entitled to a point of view.

It just seems that, every time they open their mouths, they place Mourinho (right, at Stamford Bridge) and his current side on a level pedestal with themselves. United are nowhere near that. They haven’t been since these players retired and Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day. The supporters have moved on. They are coping with the situation. They stood squarely behind Mourinho at Old Trafford and gave chief executive Ed Woodward the bird. That may not be fair, either. Mourinho does have questions to answer.

But Manchester United are competing. They are in the Champions League and on the fringes of the title race.

The fans appear to be accepting of that. Liverpool’s supporters had to cope when their period of dominance was over. United’s fans will have to do the same.

It is just ironic that the ones who cannot get to grips with the changed landscape are those who helped shape it.