If until some time ago Noel Gallagher's digs were mostly aimed at his brother Liam (and vice versa), now that Oasis are back together The Chief's favorite victim seems to have returned to being Manchester United. In fact, during an interview given to the radio program talkSPORT Drive, Noel (a historic Manchester City fan) commented on the current situation of the Red Devils, comparing the city rivals to the Libertines, in a comparison that is not exactly flattering for Pete Doherty's band.
But let's take a step back. Noel's words come after the dismissal of United manager Ruben Amorim, who was shown the door after the press conference following the 1-1 draw against Leeds, in which the Portuguese had attacked the club's top management. So, with United suddenly forced to find a new manager mid-season, the English sports press started a name-calling on a possible replacement.
Among the most popular are Oliver Glasner of Crystal Palace, the former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, the former England manager Gareth Southgate and, above all, Unai Emery, manager of Aston Villa, currently third in the Premier League, -6 points behind leaders Arsenal (Manchester United is sixth at -17).
And it is precisely from Emery's name that Noel's comment started. In fact, when the host of the program, Andy Goldstein, suggested that Emery was considering a transfer to the Red Devils' bench, Gallagher commented: “It seems to me that you are living in the past,” he said, referring to the not so rosy situation that United has been going through in recent years. “Managing and playing for that team used to be the pinnacle of English football, but that's no longer the case,” Noel said. “A player would have to be completely crazy to move there,” he added.
The guitarist then continued, stating that “the whole club is in ruins”, and that “the only reason to go there is money”. And it is precisely here that the “most Gallagher” part of the interview arrives, the moment in which Noel (jokingly, but in his own way) launched into a musical analogy, saying that Emery's transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester United would be “like asking me to leave Oasis to join the Libertines”.
According to Noel, the history of the band founded by Pete Doherty and Carl Barât in 1997 would be comparable to that of the Manchester Red Devils. Both would have reached their respective peaks between the end of the 90s and the first decade of the 2000s, the former with albums like Up The Brackets or the homonym The Libertinesthe latter with trophies won under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. After that, again according to The Chief, both the Libertines and United began a slow decline that is still ongoing, while Oasis and Villans would be in the midst of a new rebirth, among the tour's records Oasis25 and the excellent placings achieved in recent seasons by the Birmingham team, now among the big names in the Premier League following Emery's arrival in 2022.
