How talking about Man Utd's cycle of doom became an industry

Manchester United's struggles are pored over more than ever before – not least by former players. Gary Neville and Michael Carrick were Manchester United and England team-mates Manchester United. More a high-volume content farm than a football club these days. Michael Carrick's starring role in what has become one of the nation's favourite soap operas has been extended for at least another week, with the 45-year-old set to be in charge for Saturday's visit to Chelsea. Good news – you'd think – for Carrick. But even better news for Amazon's All or Nothing camera crews, who have been given "unprecedented" access to document the behind-the-scenes goings-on at Old Trafford this season.

United fans will presumably be relieved when the football resumes on Saturday, if only to break up the constant stream of opinion for 90 minutes. But while the wall-to-wall reporting of one of the world's biggest football clubs is hardly new, the unrelenting coverage from former players is a growing phenomenon. It is easier to name the Manchester United legends who don't have a platform from which they scrutinise the club's every move than those that do – and it begs the question whether the club's demise has been industrialised into a content-creating machine. Whether supporters feel comments from ex-players are damaging or not differs from fan to fan,