Hmm I also don't recall reading this before and I thought I'd read every UK based 'piece' with U2 as its subject at least 10 times. A few points...
1. Yes there is a strong influence on later big rock acts but I think this writer is wrong to blame Achtung Baby for the sounds these bands produce, okay except for this one...
You can't argue that the guitar sound that Edge made his own has been diluted out and he now finds it difficult to mark any territory as his own.
2. The criticism about lyrics is ridiculous. When I discovered U2, I was blown away because so often their songs were explicitly about something in a way that I'd never heard before. Achtung Baby marked a move to the more personal lyrics which on the surface could appear more airy but they were incredible explorations of love, faith, hurt and TV! Very well written and tied together in an album that stands head and shoulders above most of what came later.
3. The most stupid point - U2 taking music away from punk. Well I think U2 did it all their way (the punk way) more than probably any other multi million selling band out there. They might not have sounded punk but they held on to those punk principles and took control over everything. Yes they also had ambition and wanted to be massive but I think being massive is just against the law in NME's world rather than in some punk rule book.
4. What the hell happened to The Courteeners?