Do statistics back up Neville's effort claim?
· Yahoo Sports
Manchester United's dismal running and sprinting statistics made for stark reading in the wake of Gary Neville's criticism following the draw against Fulham.
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The former right-back directly questioned the team's lack of effort and referred to the players as "mannequins".
He said United - and Fulham - were walking too much during the game.
In the Premier League this season only four teams have covered less distance than the Red Devils, and just three teams have produced fewer sprints.
It comes alongside United's joint-worst start to a Premier League season, with four points from five games.
So is this down to their lack of running and overall effort?
[BBC]Let's take a look at the second half of last season, after Michael Carrick had been appointed as interim manager.
Between 17 January and the end of the campaign, United picked up more points than any other team - 39 from 17 games.
Yet only four teams ran less than United, and only two clubs had fewer sprints.
There is no material difference in the running stats between the seasons, but United were returning 2.29 points per game compared to 0.8 this season.
Something is clearly different, but it does not appear to be linked to this particular stat, because barely anything has changed - apart from the results. Perhaps this United squad simply does not have runners?
Then there is the comparison to rival teams.
Manchester City have won all five Premier League matches but have covered less distance than United. Enzo Maresca's squad have also recorded the lowest number of sprints in the division.
Brighton, one of the most exciting teams in the league this season and the top goalscorers, are just one place above United for sprints.
Perhaps United's problem is tactical and to do with personnel, rather than a simple case of not running enough?