Lisandro Martinez will be in the Manchester United squad when they face Leeds on Sunday. And of course he will, because he was right about that shambling wreck of a club.
If he was wrong, and United were indeed a functional, intelligent organisation, he wouldn’t be anywhere near the bus for Elland Road. Not after what he said the other night.
A proper recruitment system would have meant there was enough defensive cover to drop a dissenting voice in questionable form. But United don’t have that. Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s politburo of under-qualified, over-protected advisors messed up another transfer window, so kicking Martinez into the long grass wasn’t an option.
In other words, if Jason Wilcox was better at his job then Martinez would have lost his and here’s a little list to support the point: Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford.
In the past few years, all of them have spoken out about those above them at United. And with the exception of Rashford, their feet didn’t touch the ground. Straight red. Rashford got put in the freezer for 18 months.
Martinez’s comments were slightly different, of course. He didn’t go after his manager, like Ronaldo and Sancho, and he didn’t turn up late and then flash some leg to potential suitors, like Rashford.
But he did sing a similar song by tearing strips off the regime in public. That used to be a hard no-no at Old Trafford, irrespective of how much truth was in the pudding.
We know that everything Martinez said about Wilcox and the club’s lack of ambition was accurate. We also know that his performance at the microphone was better than anything he has shown on the pitch in quite some time. No one could score points off him for accuracy, only his wisdom in stating the obvious and his reliability as a witness.
Michael Carrick says the club have moved on from Lisandro Martinez’s comments after the defeat by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night
Sir Jim Ratcliffe brought in Jason Wilcox from Southampton in 2024
Michael Carrick’s position in all of this is quite interesting. Unlike Wilcox, he has to answer questions about rogue speakers, limited options and poor results and the links between them.
When the Martinez situation was put to him on Friday, he dealt with it the way he used to play, by taking the least fussy option – he managed upwards by not slapping his bosses and he limited his criticisms of Martinez to saying he made a ‘mistake’. Pinned into a tight space, he found a sensible pass.
Carrick couldn’t have done much better in that no-win scenario. But on some level, and in thoughts best kept to himself, he might even wish to thank Martinez. Because who else in-house has pinned United’s difficulties to the lapels of those who are largely responsible for this mess?
It won’t count for much in the long run, as it’s always the manager who carries the can. And some of the flak he has drawn in recent weeks is justified, of course. Same goes for the players.
But it is inconceivable to think Carrick, a smart man, would have supported the thinking behind a summer window in which United prepared for a return to a European workload by signing three midfielders and a back-up goalkeeper.
A window that offered no cover for a left-back in Luke Shaw, who has managed 25-plus Premier League games in four of his 12 seasons at United. A window that left Martinez and Harry Maguire as the first-choice centre-back pairing. A window that marked two years since they last signed a senior defender, the entirety of which has been spent under the watch of Wilcox, the director of directionless football.
Those are the decisions that shape seasons and what we are seeing from United is no surprise. We all called it a mile off. And we can all see Carrick’s points of exposure when Leeds are in the opposite corner.
Wilcox brought in Carlos Baleba from Brighton to complete United’s transfer business this summer – he was the third midfielder they signed, after Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans
In many ways, they are the last thing he needs right now. They are a club that, for a number of reasons, highlight his shortcomings and those of United’s executive tier.
I was at their game against Arsenal and left with three main thoughts – Leeds dominated the champions for an hour, they are brilliantly organised by Daniel Farke and they know the value of a good defender.
Leeds didn’t have a spectacular window, but it was key to the building of a backline that is jointly the best in the Premier League so far. Nico Elvedi has been a good signing and Tarik Muharemovic an exceptional one; between them, they cost roughly the same as Youri Tielemans, with the difference being that Farke had a clear idea of how to use them.
It’s possible that Carrick will crack that code on Sunday – his team are good for attacking moments, if nothing else.
But it is also possible that Elland Road will prove the worst possible place for him to be, because so many of the areas where his side have under-performed are those where Farke has excelled.
A solid, physical midfield, a reliable defence, and a collective that operates with a detailed, well-understood plan has been shown so far this season by only one of the two clubs in the fixtures.
For Carrick, there is some blame to be swallowed there. But only some. The vast majority goes to higher planes, where the responsibility truly lies for United’s problems.
I would doubt Lisandro Martinez’s judgement in designating himself as the man to point it out. But he wasn’t wrong.
