THEATRE OF DREAMS IS CRUMBLING

Infighting are tearing United apart early in the season

WHEN Gerard Houllier was sacked by Liverpool in 2004, he blamed it on the number of club legends scrutinising his work on screen and in print.

“You must understand there are 28 former Liverpool players and coaches who collaborate with the media,” he complained.

It is just as well for Houllier he is not connected with Manchester United right now.

The Class of 92, particularly TV pundits Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, carry enormous influence and have become key figures in the latest Old Trafford wars between Jose Mourinho, Ed Woodward and Paul Pogba.

It’s the story of how United have reacted to their gradual decline is the power wielded on camera by the group of homegrown players who dominated English football and now see themselves as custodians of the United way: the Neville brothers, Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt.

When two or more of them work in tandem, whether it be Neville on Sky, Scholes on BT and Giggs on ITV, they usually get their way.

Managers David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal were axed by United after sustained criticism from the Class of 92, but what is interesting this time is that their ammunition is being deployed against those in the posh seats, notably Woodward and Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola, rather than Mourinho.

Though they are not natural allies of the sulky Special One, they are helping to bail him out. Make no mistake, Neville’s intervention last Monday night 24 hours after United’s humiliating 3-2 defeat at Brighton was a game-changer.

Mourinho had been lambasted by supporters on social media and phone-ins for poor tactics and even worse motivation.

Then Neville dramatically outed Woodward as having been the source of briefings against Mourinho’s transfer plans — a breach of etiquette planned to take the heat off the manager and onto the ownership of the club - and it worked.

From that moment, Woodward has had no choice but to back his manager rather than flirt with Zinedine Zidane or Antonio Conte.

There has been talk of a fans’ protest plane against the executive vice-chairman, while Mourinho, for all his many faults, will receive a great welcome at kickoff from United fans before he is pitted against Tottenham today.

Significantly, while Neville was applying his own pressure to suggest Mourinho had been let down by lack of summer transfers, Scholes leapt in like one of his bad tackles to take the manager’s side against Pogba, who has appeared to be making a power grab of his own.

The Class of 92 will know Ferguson detests Pogba’s bullish representative Raiola and sees him as a malignant influence.

So Scholes’ accusation that Pogba lacked leadership qualities was a kick in the ribs and prompted Raiola’s Twitter response: “Paul Scholes wouldn’t recognise a leader if he stood in front of Sir Winston Churchill.”

All very unedifying for a club of United’s stature. Revered as local lads who conquered Europe, the Class of 92 first stretched their power muscles under Moyes.

So now we have the peculiar situation of the Class of 92 having to give Mourinho the benefit of the doubt despite his football failing to thrill the Theatre of Dreams.

Ferguson’s mantra of always supporting the manager is back in vogue.

Neville has said that if Woodward gave Mourinho a new contract last season, he had to follow it through by getting the players the manager wanted, even though United have spent £711 million (RM3.7 billion) on players since Fergie left in 2013.

However, Ferguson is proud of the influence his former players have.

“Rio is running television alongside Scholesy. Gary runs the city of Manchester now, buying everything,” he said recently.

It suggests he and the Class of 92 are for now supporting this manager more than they did Moyes or Van Gaal. As long as that continues, Woodward’s hands are tied.

The influence of Neville and Co runs even deeper. There are two hurdles for Mourinho, Woodward and Pogba to overcome today: facing a difficult game against Tottenham at home and then having to listen to what Neville says on Sky’s Monday Night Football.