United have been strongly criticised in the press after their disappointing 0-0 home draw against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with some familiar faces weighing into the debate.

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Roy Keane was even more scathing in his attack on Wayne Rooney, whom he described as “awful”.

Even former United striker Michael Owen had stern words for his former employers, and now Ferdinand has weighed in as well, pointing the finger at United’s twin holding midfielders.

"If I’m a central midfielder facing [Bastian] Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, I would not be worried. They pose zero threat,” wrote Ferdinand in The Sun.

Rio Ferdinand Image credit: Reuters

"They are not players who can pass the ball like Paul Scholes or Andrea Pirlo and they don’t get forward. They just sit in front of the back four venturing forward for set-pieces.

"I have no idea from one week to the next which United will turn up. Every time I see signs of progress like with the display at Watford I’m immediately let down again. It is one step forward and two steps back."

Ferdinand also admitted United were not always an exciting team under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferdinand told The Sun: " When I was a player my main aim was to win a trophy first and win it playing exciting football second, and that seems to be Van Gaal's too. It wasn't always exciting in my day at Old Trafford, either. Certainly during the final three seasons under Sir Alex it was more a case of us getting over the line than anything cavalier.

"However, there was certainly a lot more ambition and threat in our play than there is currently with United."

Champions League Keane: 'Awful' Rooney 'needs to take a look at himself' 26/11/2015 AT 07:47