Gary Neville pinpoints the biggest issue with Manchester United after poor start to the season

Manchester United icon Gary Neville has blamed the club hierarchy for the club's poor start to the 2023-24 season. The Red Devils are currently eighth in the standings and have picked up just 15 points from their opening nine games.

Neville has always been quite outspoken about where Manchester United are heading under the Glazer ownership. When a fan recently asked the former player-turned-pundit for the reason behind United's current form, he tweeted the following:

"The ownership and poor football management at the club."

Manchester United's ownership has been a subject of conversation since the summer, with rumors suggesting that the Glazers family are willing to sell the club. However, no deal has come to fruition just yet.

Earlier this month reports emerged that Qatar's Sheikh Jassim withdrew his offer to buy the Red Devils for a price worth around £5 billion (via BBC Sport). With the deal falling through, British tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now set to take a 25 percent stake in the club worth £1.3 billion (via Sky News).

On the field, Erik ten Hag's side have struggled to find their feet, both in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. They suffered back-to-back defeats against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray before picking up an unconvincing 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday (October 24).

United have also picked up two consecutive 2-1 victories in the Premier League, against Brentford and Sheffield United. They required two injury-time goals from Scott McTominay against Brentford to claim all three points.

However, on the bright side, Manchester United are still very much in contention for a top-four finish in the Premier League. As things stand, they are just five points behind fourth-placed Liverpool and six behind city-rivals Manchester City in second place.

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Manchester United take on rivals Manchester City next in the Premier League

Ten Hag's team face yet another stern test when they face their rivals Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday (October 29).

The Red Devils got one over their cross-town rivals once in the league last season when they beat them 2-1 at Old Trafford earlier this year. However, they did suffer a 6-3 defeat at the Etihad Stadium, with both Erling Haaland and Phil Foden netting hat-tricks.

The two sides also faced each other in the FA Cup final last season. Manchester United suffered a 2-1 defeat on that occasion as City went on to win the treble.