“Hanging on like a bad smell:” United legend launches explosive accusation at Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has blamed Sir Alex Ferguson for enabling the club’s lengthy decline. The former Man United captain has been highly vocal about the team’s fortunes this season, seldom holding back from delivering scathing critiques. While many of his views have been viewed as controversial, his new critique will surely ruffle many feathers, particularly given how much of the United fanbase admires Ferguson. A bad smell Speaking on Sky Sports (via Daily Mail), Keane criticised Ferguson for remaining involved at United for longer than Keane believes was appropriate. He called out the legendary manager specifically for what he believes is his involvement in the decision-making process within the club regarding a new manager. “What happens in these job interviews? I’m intrigued. Why do they keep giving certain people a job? What happens in the interview is that they sit there and go, and 12, 14 months later, “he’s not the guy for us,” Keane said. “You see who’s making the decisions at Manchester United… you still have [Alex] Ferguson and David Gill [former chief executive] hanging on like a bad smell,” Keane shockingly exclaimed. “Who’s making the decisions? [Sir Jim] Ratcliffe, [Jason] Wilcox? Who’s coming into this interview process, you’re speaking to a manager, you get a feel for somebody and go, ‘he’s the guy for us?’” Even with his frustration toward Ferguson, Keane did not exclude United’s current players from criticism. Reflecting on the Burnley game While there were some observers who took some positives out of United’s first match without Ruben Amorim at the helm, Keane was not one of them. “United Burnley, the standard of the game was a joke. Everyone after the game was like, ‘It wasn’t bad, we did well’ – nonsense! Absolute rubbish. We’re going around in circles. Any ex-United player has got a chance,” Keane commented. With Michael Carrick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer listed as two leading candidates to become United’s next caretaker manager, it remains to be seen how United will progress as the season wears on. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Mathew Cohen A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.