Gary Neville cheekily claimed that his former Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes had "snapped" after the ex-midfielder shared a scathing Instagram post in the wake of United's chastening 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton.
Scholes was one of the pundits analysing Sunday's match, which saw Erik ten Hag start his Old Trafford tenure with a humbling reverse against Graham Potter's side. The Seagulls clinched victory courtesy of a brace from Pascal Gross, although an own goal from Alexis Mac Allister halved the deficit late on.
A number of players came in for some heavy criticism after the defeat, with Scholes and Roy Keane both tearing into Scott McTominay and Fred, who once again failed to impress as a midfield pairing.
Speaking on Premier League productions, Scholes raged: "McTominay was always trying to run with the ball, ridiculous. The quality in the middle of the pitch was really poor. I was happy he didn't get sent off [for a high challenge] but I think he was slightly lucky. Again, he's running with the ball, absolutely ridiculous.
"It could easily have been a red card. The quality in the middle of the pitch was nowhere near good enough but we’ve seen that for the last few years with these two players. With Fred and McTominay, he [Ten Hag] is going to have to go with just one of them but even one of them is probably too many.
"Fred gives the ball away all the time and McTominay is trying to run with the ball constantly and then gives it away. Pass it to your best players! It’s not that difficult. It’s criminal on a day like today."
Join the debate! Do you agree with Scholes' verdict on Fred and McTominay? Let us know here.
But Scholes wasn't done and he ended up embarking on another rant in a social media post that was picked up by Neville, who quipped that United had caused his pal to "snap."
Scholes posted in an Instagram story: "Thoughts for the week 'MDF's [midfielders] it's all about body shape when receiving the ball, too many times facing their own goal and can only play one way... get on the 'half turn' for f*** sake and bring your forward more talented players into the game'...Have a great week everyone."
Scholes wasn't the only United legend disappointed by the midfielders against Brighton. Roy Keane said of the duo: "The decision making and the football intelligence, in particular from Fred - and I've said it for a long time - Fred and McTominay are not good enough.
"They won't get Man United back competing at the top, we see it week in week out… not up to it. They had to gamble in the second half and Eriksen is probably in his position when he drops back and he's picking up people but too little too late."
Although McTominay and Fred were regularly criticised last year, Manchester United's failure to get a deal for long-term target, Frenkie de Jong, over the line this summer left Ten Hag with little choice but to deploy the underwhelming pair once again.
United are still pursuing a deal for De Jong, but it is looking more and more likely that the former Ajax man will stay at Barcelona this summer; particularly after Joan Laporta issued a public plea for the midfielder to snub a move elsewhere on Sunday night.
