Robbie Savage believes Erik ten Hag should be given until at least Christmas to get his Manchester United tenure back on track.
It has been a disappointing start to the 2023/24 season for the Reds. We are losing far too many matches and I don’t see where the wins are going to come from because the team isn’t scoring enough goals.
Savage, as someone who came through the academy at United, has questioned some of Ten Hag’s decisions, including his recruitment and giving Bruno Fernandes the captain’s armband.
“I went on record in saying that Erik ten Hag had done one of the best jobs in the world to get Manchester United to the top four in the Premier League and two cup finals, but there’s no getting away from the fact that this season they have regressed,” Savage told Planet Sport Bet, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
“The recruitment is very confusing. They let David de Gea go and brought in Andre Onana for a big fee, they needed a centre-half and brought in 35-year-old Jonny Evans. They got [Sergio] Reguillon from Spurs to cover at left back yet they play a right-footed centre-half [Victor Lindelof] in that position against City.
“Then you look at the likes of Mason Mount who was brought in for over £60million and isn’t in the starting 11, so you have to question the recruitment process and how decisions are being made.
“Add to that the fact that there have to be big question marks over Bruno Fernandes as captain. Is he a proper leader who is setting an example? I’m not sure.”
City made it look easy against us on Sunday and that makes it an extra bitter pill to swallow. It doesn’t help that we’ve got so many injuries along with a depleted defence.
Moreover, United’s build-up play was appalling. Sometimes we look like a side that aren’t used to playing with one another.
Savage added: “If you look at the time Erik ten Hag has had and compare it with Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton, Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool or Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, the stark difference is no-one knows how Manchester United play or at least what they are trying to do.
“It’s a bit of a mess right now and while I still believe they need to give Erik ten Hag until Christmas to get things right, he’s certainly had enough time to make the club challenge and be competitive against the likes of City.
“They are a million miles away from that and the stat that really struck me was that in 26 years under Sir Alex Ferguson, United only lost 34 league games at home. In the 10 years since he left, they’ve now lost the same number.
“We’ve got to stop saying ‘it’s Manchester United’. The fact of the matter is that Manchester United are turning into an average team.”
Rinse and repeat
We’ve said this before but Manchester United can’t keep sacking managers when the biggest problems at the top of the club still exist.
If United sack Ten Hag, he’ll just go elsewhere and become a success there. We might be busy replacing his successor…
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And Robbie isn’t bitter is he after his son was sold. Let’s all jump on the campaign.
Mike, Robbie was definitely more tight-lipped when his son was at United. Spot on.