Manchester United fans are not happy with Luke Shaw's latest comments after the defender scored in England's 2-1 win against Switzerland. The left-back was interviewed after the game and asked how the atmosphere with his national team compared to the one at club level.
Shaw said: "I think when I come here [to England], for me it's about enjoyment, playing games with a smile on my face and enjoying it. I feel like here when I come here I always do that, we all love playing for our country.
"When we're here we just focus on what's happening because my main focus is England at this time. I think everyone does. It's always important to feel like you're wanted.
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"Especially here, I always feel that. I'm not saying I don't at United but especially here, the way things are, I feel wanted, I enjoy my football. The big part of football is enjoyment.
"Of course, it's hard to enjoy it when we're losing and we're not playing well at club level, we have to face that, this season it's not been good enough at all it's hard to enjoy, we've got a lot to improve on at the club but we're here at England so it's more focused on that."
There has been a certain amount of outrage on social media, with many supporters there telling Shaw to leave if he wasn't happy and questioning the player's mentality. But maybe instead of looking at what he is saying, we should be looking at why he is saying it.
United are disjointed and without direction, which is the complete opposite of England under Gareth Southgate, so why wouldn't any player enjoy playing there more?
If Shaw was to leave and the problems continued, what would those same fans say then? Would they maybe ask why this is still happening or would they move onto another player to criticise and install as the scapegoat for United's problems?
The issue is that United fans will complain that the club is broken from the inside with multiple issues, but then demand that they win every trophy put in front of them against much more organised opposition. These are two situations that cannot happen at the same time. The players then catch the brunt of the criticism, while the manager that was originally the problem had already been shown the door.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had flaws, but he was appointed with the hope that he would eventually become the standard of manager United needed to compete, something that was never likely to happen although he wasn't helped by what happened behind the scenes. Scattergun recruitment and an archaic footballing structure are only some of the issues that you can point to, but he eventually lost the job and the only piece of stability United had left with him.
Some fans and pundits had said that the players had given up on Solskjaer. Did anyone truly think that a team that consistently had to come back from losing positions to win games would sustainably continue that good run of results without reinforcement in the clear problem areas?
As a fan, I want my players to love playing for the club and win every trophy available, but when you look at United in the cold light of day, can you see a club that can create that environment right now? It's a shadow of its former self.
Footballers are at the end of the day, the same as you and me. The extortionately high wages they earn muddy the waters in how we perceive them, but if you take it at a surface level, you wouldn't want to work in an environment you didn't enjoy if you didn't feel like the company you worked for was going in the right direction.
United have had no clear identity or direction since Sir Alex Ferguson left the dugout nearly a decade ago and unless the next manager is fully supported it seems like it may continue for a decade more. Shaw has come out and said how he feels, and at least it shows that he understands that there is a problem that needs to be solved.
He didn't say at any point that he didn't want to play for United, and his comments seem to infer that he wants to work towards improving the club with better performances. But the club have got to meet players halfway and probably even further than that, given how much club decisions will affect the future.
While that is happening, fans need to remember that although the players are the face of the club and ultimately determine whether the team wins or lose on a matchday, a lot is going on behind the scenes that is affecting their ability to compete. While form and performances are open for criticism, they should not shoulder the blame for others' failings and we certainly shouldn't exaggerate our criticism or insult them personally, because otherwise, this cycle will just continue.
Hopefully, the appointment of a new manager and the change in leadership from Ed Woodward to Richard Arnold will help change the club's fortunes. Fans will need to remember however that this won't be an instant fix and given the damage that has been done, it will take time for the club to get back to where the board, the players and the fans want it to be.
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