If Erik ten Hag is not considering quitting Manchester United now, he will be, soon otherwise he risks being fired.
The Dutchman took charge of the club three seasons ago and has failed to impress despite the big words he spoke at his unveiling. He has also failed to impress despite the promise he came with from AFC Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie, where he was akin to Pep Guardiola with De Godenzonen, marching away with the league year after year and also coming out tops in the domestic cups.
He has won two trophies for the Red Devils but both have come at the expense of the club’s sporting reputation. They have also come at the expense of the club’s overall reputation as a place for superstars because of the apparent mediocrity in the squad, according to fans and most members of the media.
One such person who has constantly stated this is veteran broadcaster Piers Morgan, who was responsible for giving Cristiano Ronaldo the platform to air his frustrations with the Dutchman a few years ago. While Morgan has berated both United and ten Hag any chance he gets, former Red Devils gaffer Ralf Rangnick has chosen to speak out against the club as a whole, citing their culture as a major reason for ten Hag’s struggles.
What has been said
Morgan claimed in a recent interview with sports radio talkSPORT that one of ten Hag’s problems is his inability to handle superstars, one of which used to be Ronaldo. The broadcast giant said: “Ten Hag is a complete idiot. I’m sorry, he is. He has been since he went there, right? He talks in complete gibberish.”
“He’s now banging on about Harry Potter or something. ten Hag is everything Ronaldo told me he was in that interview, which led to him leaving United.”
“The biggest problem with ten Hag, he’s like that bossy little school teacher you get who doesn’t know how to handle supreme academic talent,” Morgan continued. “So you look at the players he’s been unable to handle at United. Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford. It’s all the top players.”
“He can handle the lesser rung. He can handle the guys he brings in from Ajax who’ve never been on the big world stage, but he cannot handle top players.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this because it’s a miracle, but they’ve actually gotten worse than they were last season.”
Rangnick, on the other hand, claimed that United needed “open heart surgery” just before leaving his role and has doubled down on those claims in a recent interview. The Austria national team manager said: “I probably made that statement when the season was almost over about two years ago. It is probably only two or three weeks since Erik ten Hag was asked the same thing.”
“Then he said that I was right in my analysis. I don’t know how many players they have signed since, but it looks like I was right.”
Meanwhile, ten Hag will also be worried about one of his current assistants, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who is reportedly being lined up as the club’s next manager.
