Ian Wright calls out Man Utd & INEOS for ‘not caring enough’ about women’s team and criticises head coach Marc Skinner’s ‘David Brent-ish’ interview

Ian Wright criticised manager Marc Skinner’s remarks, saying Manchester United “don’t care enough” about their women’s squad.

INEOS and Manchester United were criticised.
Charged with disregarding the women’s team
David Brent was compared to manager Skinner.

WHAT OCCURRED?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a minority owner, described the initiative as a “work in progress” after United’s women’s team was relocated from their training facilities during the past year to make room for the men’s team. After their goalless draw with Aston Villa, former Arsenal forward Wright has now criticised both the Red Devils and women’s coach Skinner in his post-game interview. Wright said that Skinner’s demeanour reminded him of Ricky Gervais’s character David Brent from The Office. The coach had lamented that he was working with a “new team” in response to fan criticism.

IAN WRIGHT’S COMMENTS
On the women’s football podcast Crossways, he stated: “When you hear rumours that Man United would concentrate on the women’s team when they finish the men’s, when will that happen? You observe how far away the men are from it at the moment. When will they genuinely pay attention to the women’s? I really think they don’t care, especially given the way Man United Women are performing. They truly don’t give a damn.”

“Unfortunately for him, the interview he did the other day didn’t stand him in good stead,” Wright continued about Skinner. What he’s saying about the new players and the club’s gelling is that he’s had this team long enough for them to be doing much better. You mention the four new players: [Elisabeth] Terland, [Dominque] Janssen, [Celin] Bizet, who has experience playing in the WSL, and Grace Clinton, who had to move to Tottenham in order to improve and earn a spot in the England squad. You hear that interview with no backup plan and no clear framework for their actions. He talks about how they had a terrific outcome at home against a Villa team that was at the bottom of the league. For this reason, I was happy to see Man United supporters confront him about the interview and how David Brent-like it felt to me.

THE LARGER IMAGE
Despite having a game in hand, United has drawn their previous three games and are now seven points behind Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City following a great start to the season in which they won three straight games. For a large portion of the previous season, Skinner faced pressure to stay in his position, but their FA Cup victory kept him there. But if things don’t work out, he might be fired.

UP NEXT?
On Sunday afternoon, Skinner’s United team, now in fifth place in the WSL, will travel to eighth-place Leicester City in an attempt to go back to winning ways.