When you play for Man United, not only are the highest standards of play expected, but also behaviour that is befitting of one of England’s most storied football clubs. Players need to wear their badge on their kits with pride, but take that into their daily interactions with other members of staff and the paying public.
Although there appear to be occasions when the mask slips for certain players, for example when they are accosted by over-exuberant supporters, in the main, Premier League stars manage to remain calm. The Red Devils left-back, Luke Shaw, has overstepped the mark of late, however, according to Stan Collymore.
Man United’s Luke Shaw slated by Collymore
Ahead of the European Championship, Shaw has been struggling for fitness, potentially putting his England place in jeopardy, and he’s blamed the Man United medical staff for his predicament.
“I’m a big fan of criticising managers because they ultimately make the decisions and it’s not unheard of, but I think that Luke Shaw criticising the medical staff is bang out of order,” Collymore said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“The reason why that is, is that the medical staff work their absolute nuts off for one aim; to try and get a player fit and healthy, and ready to play football.
“I’ve never ever come across a medical person that says ‘you will play more often than not.’ They are a conduit between the player and the manager and they’ll say to the player, ‘look, you’re not ready for another couple of weeks yet, but the gaffer wants you back in a week. I’ll smooth it over and get it all sorted out.’
“So I think that Luke Shaw’s making excuses if I’m being honest, and I hope that this isn’t going to blow up in England’s faces when he inevitably comes into the team on match day two.
“Universally, medical staff in my opinion are not only a great buffer, but they would never ever, ever tell a player ‘you’ve got to be out there on Monday… You’ve got to train today…’
“Those old school physios that came on with the magic sponges and gave you a kick up the backside… that’s changed now. I’ve known medical staff treating players with hamstring injuries, broken legs, calf problems, hernia operations, you name it, and despite them wanting to get back as quickly as they could, the medical team will have told them that the best time for them to come back is when their injury has healed completely and they’re ready to properly play football.
“Ultimately, a player has a choice to be able to say ‘I’m not ready yet.’ The flip side of that is that there is the generation of players that won’t go on the training ground unless they are absolutely 100% fit.
“I hope it’s not a warning sign for England. Luke Shaw saying he’s nearly there only for him to break down on match day two. It’s up to a player to say he isn’t ready and to talk to the physios and medical staff about getting him sorted.”
It’s hard to disagree with Collymore’s sentiments on this occasion. Whilst Shaw’s frustration is abundantly clear, to seemingly place most of the blame on the shoulders of the people trying to help him back to full fitness is unprofessional at best. Particularly when you consider that he has voiced that opinion in the public domain rather than behind closed doors.
