Former United stars, streaming channels and All or Nothing: how coverage of Manchester United turned into an industry
Gary Neville and Michael Carrick, former Manchester United and England team-mates, are central to renewed scrutiny of the club as Carrick prepares to take charge for Saturday's visit to Chelsea. Amazon's All or Nothing series has been granted "unprecedented" access to document behind-the-scenes activity at Old Trafford this season.
The volume of commentary from ex-players and influencers has grown into a persistent media presence that many supporters now encounter daily rather than only around matchdays. It is easier, the coverage argues, to name United legends who do not have a platform than those who do, and digital and streaming outlets have expanded the audience for that commentary. Neville launched The Overlap in 2021 and the channel's growth across video and podcast platforms has made it one of the most influential outlets in sports media. Wayne Rooney has appeared on Neville's Manchester United-dedicated YouTube channel 'Stick to United', where he said Carrick's players "need a firework up their a***".
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville delivered strong criticism on air after United's 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth last Sunday, later conducting a post-match podcast from the Old Trafford gantry in which he accused some players of lacking professionalism. "There's a couple of them... I live in Manchester and they're not that professional, some of them," Neville said, adding: "I've got no time for them. There's a few of them that don't go to bed at the right time. Don't eat the right things. Don't think about Manchester United every single minute of every single day." Neville also pointed to a banner in the Stretford End which read "standards" and said, "They went a long time ago."
Neville expanded his media reach last summer when he acquired a network of YouTube channels from United influencer Mark Goldbridge, a move that increased coverage of the club on his platforms. Goldbridge, whose real name is Brent di Cesare, had amassed more than 3.7million subscribers and was known for viral clips from streamed 'watchalongs'. Goldbridge now co-hosts the 'Stick to United' show with Rooney.
Class of '92 pair Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt co-host a podcast called 'The Good, The Bad & The Football' and made pre-match comments ahead of last season's Manchester derby that attracted attention. Butt predicted Erling Haaland would "pick Lisandro Martinez up and run with him" and Scholes said Haaland would "throw him in the net"; United won the game 2-0 and Martinez produced a strong performance. Martinez responded to Scholes by saying: "Honestly, he can say whatever he wants. I told him already, if he wants to say something to me, he can come to wherever he wants. To my house, wherever. I don't care."
Asked how he deals with the volume of comment from former players, Carrick said he largely ignores it. "I don't see it really. I see the things that I need to see," he said. "I don't look for it - it doesn't really help in any way. I've said it before, I care about what the supporters think. I care about what it feels like in the stadium, and them travelling to games for us, to come and see us and support us. I care about what we give them, and what we offer them, and what they see. I genuinely don't take any notice of anything else." Former manager Erik ten Hag told The Athletic that former players could be "more helpful" to the club and said: "Sometimes it's difficult for players. Some of them get affected by it, get annoyed by it." On Rio Ferdinand's podcast last summer Neville acknowledged the need for balance, saying: "It's a balance though Rio, isn't it?" and adding "I absolutely don't want City anywhere near the league title." He also said: "United are the hardest games I do" and admitted: "Sometimes, over the last maybe 10 years, the balance, maybe I've not got it right," admitted Neville.
Nicky Butt, another academy graduate, has defended the right of former players to be outspoken while insisting their criticism comes from loyalty. "When it goes bad, you can't cry and go, 'Oh, they're [ex-players] having a go at us'," he said. "We love the football club. I've been a Manchester United fan since the age of six or seven, as long as I can remember. I'm not saying it to go, 'Let's stab everybody in the back'. I'm saying it because it is genuinely c**p." Off the pitch, United remain commercially powerful: the article notes the club have stayed among the highest-grossing in world football since last winning the Premier League in 2013, underpinned by industry-leading commercial deals and strong matchday revenue, and that only Arsenal made more money from matchday revenue last season in the Premier League. In 2018 former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward drew criticism when he said: "Playing performance doesn't really have a meaningful impact on what we can do on the commercial side of the business." The club's global profile is reflected in fan slogans such as 'hated, adored, never ignored' and a clothing range that adopted the phrase.
Carrick will be in charge for Saturday's visit to Chelsea as the season continues to unfold and the expanded media ecosystem — from traditional punditry to subscription streaming and influencer-run channels — remains focused on Manchester United's on- and off-field developments.
