Martinez breaks the deafening silence

It was about time someone from the red half of Manchester piped up.

The sound from the noisy neighbours has drowned out any criticism of its own bungling.

Nothing like the hanging offences of their counterparts at City, but still enough to merit a stern reprimand from long-suffering fans.

Lisandro Martinez spoke for much of United’s diaspora when he let his frustration pour out after a 2-0 Champions League defeat at Atletico Madrid.

This was not another Brighton or Grimsby moment – there was no great shame in losing to one of Europe’s top sides in their own den and ultimately with 10 men.

But it was another failure, and United have had only two successes in nine games this season – against newly promoted Ipswich and Azerbaijani minnows, Sabah.

Next up is their historic nemesis Leeds in another ‘cauldron of hate’ at Elland Road, a tough place to go at the best of times.

On a roll and aware of the rivalry, Daniel Farke’s men will be primed for the kill. The Damned United indeed.

It’s another of the fixture list’s “last place they would want to go to” assignments, but hardly what City faced at Anfield.

Whether United can rally as City did to rise above it is doubtful – their players are just not in the same class.

Nor will they have the same level of motivation.

Those in the dressing room who take umbrage at not being deemed good enough might, but many will surely agree with the Argentina defender.

Michael Carrick may, too.

Damned by faint praise – “he does his best” – Carrick got off lightly compared to those “in other areas”, especially technical director Jason Wilcox.

But Carrick will know that there has to be a reaction from “the Politburo” besides a routine fine for Martinez.

He will also know that, unlike when Ruben Amorim was given the benefit of the doubt, there are big names after his job.

Favourite is Eddie Howe, who thought he was building something big at Newcastle until the owners sold his best players.

Second favourite is Antonio Conte, whose CV is littered with league titles (including the EPL at Chelsea), but also bust-ups, short tenures and dismal failures in Europe.

You’d expect co-owner Jim Ratcliffe to go for Steady Eddie over the combustible Italian, exciting though it may be.

But both would demand substantial budgets for the rebuild.

Intriguingly, Conte isn’t the only Italian on the list: the other is Carlo Ancelotti.

A long shot, but if he decides he’s been dealt a poor hand of Brazilian players, he could be tempted.

Ratcliffe would like him, but can he afford him? Are there any more tea-ladies at Old Trafford left to sack?

The wise money is surely on him waiting to see if Carrick can turn it around.

And you’d like to think he knows it’s not the manager’s fault – Martinez is right, it’s “in other areas”.

The crackpot recruitment idea of focusing on one part of the field per season is no longer a laughing matter.

But what is amusing is that after insisting he wouldn’t pay “silly money”, Ratcliffe did just that.

Returning to Europe’s top competition was something to build on and United rewarded Carrick for steadying the listing ship with a permanent job and long-term contract.

But instead of going for the leading names available, United refused to pay the admittedly steep asking prices.

For Elliot Anderson, City paid Forest £116m, while Southampton persuaded Spurs to shed £85m for Mateus Fernandes, whom United had long courted.

So United settled for two players well down their list.

Youri Tielemans, at the end of his contract with Aston Villa, represented decent value at £35m.

But Chelsea’s Brazilian youngster, Andrey Santos at £50m, seemed just the sort of price Ratcliffe said he wouldn’t pay.

So, too, Carlos Baleba, a long-term target for whom Brighton extracted £70m.

The Cameroonian has hardly played after injury, but for a total of £155m, United are well short of transforming their squad.

However you look at it, the strategy was dumb, poorly executed and ended in panic.

Once the budget was spent, there was still a glaring gap at left-back and no second striker.

Luke Shaw is 31 and creaking and has no replacement. Perhaps if Howe comes, he can persuade Lewis Hall to join him.

United refused to pay Newcastle’s asking price, which has no doubt risen after Hall’s England form, but were fleeced by Chelsea for Santos in a position in which they’d already covered.

Baleba may be the best, but they couldn’t avoid paying the “Brighton tax”.

For a club returning to the Champions League, £155m was a paltry amount to invest – incredibly on three players in the same position.

They were even outspent by promoted clubs, who took the trouble to bolster other areas of their squads.

Someone could also have told United that recruiting from within the EPL is not the way to get value (Tielemans excepted).

But it’s not just in players where Wilcox’s judgement is being questioned.

After arriving from Southampton in 2024, he pushed strongly to retain both Erik ten Hag (after an eighth-place finish) and Amorim after United ended 15th.

And they lost the Europa League final to Tottenham, too.

What Wilcox cannot be blamed for is if the prodigy, JJ Gabriel, to whom United are still clinging, ends up leaving. That may have more to do with pushy parenting than any slackness by the club.

But it’s a grim picture that someone had to highlight. That it came from within the dressing room makes a response more urgent.

Meanwhile, the silence from the Glazers, the majority owners, is thundering.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.