Gary Neville was not impressed with Luke Shaw's performance in Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Everton at Old Trafford on Monday night
Gary Neville on Sky Sports
Gary Neville has singled out Luke Shaw for his woeful performance in the Everton loss
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Gary Neville has launched a scathing attack on Luke Shaw, labelling him 'a waste of time' in a heated rant following Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Everton. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall led the 10-man Toffees to an unexpected victory at Old Trafford on Monday night, putting an end to the Reds' unbeaten streak in the Premier League.
Despite having a one-man advantage for nearly 80 minutes after Idrissa Gueye was sent off for hitting his own team-mate, United were unable to penetrate Everton's staunch defence. Just before the hour mark, Ruben Amorim made some substitutions in an attempt to alter the game's trajectory.
Patrick Dorgu made way for Diogo Dalot, while Kobbie Mainoo came on for Casemiro. However, the United manager stuck with his five-at-the-back formation – a decision that left Neville seething, with the pundit branding it as 'embarrassing'.
Neville also singled out Shaw and accused him of 'ambling' as United went in search of an equaliser. Speaking from the gantry on Sky Sports, the Reds legend said: "You have to have urgency and make the pitch as big as possible, and you have to put as many players as possible in forward areas.
"You have Shaw,[Leny] Yoro and [Matthijs] De Ligt behind the ball. Shaw is getting forward more, but he's ambling forward, let's be clear. He's been bugging me for the last 20 minutes. He's ambling, you can't do that.
"He should be running forward every single time, I don't care. Yoro, I have a little bit more sympathy for but Shaw? That's a waste of time. I don't care. It's a waste of time. It's not conning anybody. I'm not having it."
Neville was not impressed with Ruben Amorim's tactical decisions
Neville was not impressed with Ruben Amorim's tactical decisions
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United dominated possession throughout large periods of the contest, yet they were unable to unlock David Moyes' well-organised defence. As the second half wore on, Neville's frustration mounted as the Reds failed to find a breakthrough.
The former United defender argued that Shaw shouldn't have been deployed in a central role, suggesting Amorim ought to have introduced more attacking players. Neville added: "Ruben Amorim has a question to answer.
"Bringing Dalot on over there in front of Shaw? I don't quite see it. You have five at the back, why? They still don't win the first ball or the second ball. Embarrassing.
Everton's Idrissa Gueye had to be restrained after his red card during Manchester United's defeat
Everton's Idrissa Gueye had to be restrained after his red card during Manchester United's defeat
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"This should be like the Alamo. Really quick, high-tempo passing side-to-side, getting into good wide areas, putting crosses in, getting bodies in attack, sustaining attacks. It's very slow from United. There is no presence in the box whatsoever."
After the final whistle, Neville looked back on his comments about United. Speaking on his podcast, the Old Trafford icon suggested his former club had been 'complacent', warning the result could 'erode trust' among the squad.
"It just smelt of complacency," Neville said. "They weren't at it from the beginning. That is a bad one for United. I think they've been a lot better in the last few weeks. That probably takes us back to Brentford away.
Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford on November 24, 2025 in Manchester, England
Shaw was accused of showing no urgency by an angry Neville on Monday
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"You can't go from the fight that they showed in certain games to that. It just erodes confidence, it erodes trust. We're trying to build a trust in a manager, we're trying to build a trust in a team.
"The fans booed collectively at the end. It was loud, and rightly so. That was a really poor performance. It's almost as if you've gone sort of like two or three steps forward, everyone's feeling a little bit better about themselves, and you've just gone back to the start again.
"You can lose football matches, but you can't lose them like that. That's nowhere near good enough, it's not acceptable."