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Gossip: Southgate, Inzaghi and Van Nistelrooy options to replace Ten Hagpublished at 07:33 1 October
07:33 1 October
Inter Milan's Simone Inzaghi and former England boss Gareth Southgate are serious contenders to take over as Manchester United manager should the club sack Erik ten Hag. (Star), external
'We have just delayed the inevitable'published at 18:56 30 September
18:56 30 September
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Gaz Drinkwater, co-host of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast, told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast that he thought Erik ten Hag would have been dismissed following Sunday's home defeat to Tottenham.
"It has got to the point now where it feels like we have just delayed the inevitable," Drinkwater said. "There's a new setup at the club and the decisions are being made by people who understand football, rather than those involved in the Glazer family.
"I thought under Ineos, and the way they looked at replacing him in the summer anyway, that it would be different news this morning.
"Instead he has two more games before the international break which have to go well for him to remain at the club.
"I can't see that happening."
'Leadership has been a real problem' - Meulensteenpublished at 16:58 30 September
16:58 30 September
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Former Manchester United first team coach Rene Meulensteen, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast: "United didn't play well at all. But sometimes you get games of two halves and I thought, you know, Tottenham were by far the better team.
"Bruno Fernandes is such an important player and for him to get the red card, I think that was what really threw a spanner in the works and once they conceded straight after half-time there was no coming back from then.
"Leadership has been a real problem for United and you know that is definitely an issue that you know, we'd have to to solve.
"The only thing that Erik ten Hag can do is just focus on the next game. That's the only thing he can do. He has to focus on and and make sure he gets the plan ready for a better performance against Porto."
🎧 Is the writing on the wall?published at 16:58 30 September
16:58 30 September
The latest episode of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast has landed on BBC Sounds.
Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath look back at 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford and discuss whether this is the beginning of the end for Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager.
Was Fernandes' red card unlucky?published at 15:22 30 September
15:22 30 September
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BBC Sport Chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on the weekend's football.
Oden asked: Hi Phil, All I hear/read everywhere is 'harsh sending off' of Bruno Fernandes because the studs didn't hit James Maddison. Well, Fernandes had such bad control of his body that he slipped and still makes the tackle knee high without any chance at all of reaching the ball. Sheer luck, I say, that Maddison’s knee was higher than knee-high so he got hit on the leg. Is it really good for football that we almost need a severe injury for a red card to be considered? Don’t like it myself.
Phil answered: Hello, Oden, I thought it was a red card but Fernandes was slightly unlucky in that he did slip as he went in to make the tackle. Not sure that was bad control of his body, simply a treacherous surface. It was desperation that forced him to raise his foot like that and I have no problem with the referee’s decision.
Happily no harm was done to James Maddison and Erik ten Hag’s claim that the red card "changed the game" was nonsensical. Spurs were running riot even before that incident.
Ricky asked: Hi Phil, sorry but to dismiss the idea that the red card had no impact is laughable. How many times do you see teams come out after a poor first half and turn a game around especially when they are only 1-0 down.
Also, the red card is arguably one of the worst sending offs in recent years, at worst a yellow, if that. That said, I have no words of defence for the overall United performance especially that first half. Ten Hag probably needs to go as I’m not sure the players want to play for him let alone the shirt and the fans.
Phil answered: Hi, Ricky. You are more than welcome to disagree and thank you for doing it in a constructive way. It’s what the Q&A is here for.
I took the strongest issue with Ten Hag’s suggestion it "changed the game". It made United’s task even harder but it did not "change the game". United were being outclassed well before Fernandes was sent off. In fact they were outclassed from the first whistle.
I actually agreed with the red card but certainly had sympathy for Fernandes, who acted in a bit of desperation having slipped, so he was a bit unlucky.
As for United, this was as bad as I’ve seen under Ten Hag. No discernible strategy or game plan and a complete lack of discipline.
Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham - the fans' verdictpublished at 12:35 30 September
12:35 30 September
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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Manchester United and Tottenham.
Here are some of your comments:
Man Utd fans
Perry: Erik ten Hag needs to go. Simple as that. There has been no improvement in performances since his arrival. He is doing a disservice to some of the real quality we do have like Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and a couple of others. We have no style of play or identity. It is becoming so hard to watch them. Shocking today. Absolutely shocking.
David: Completely shambolic from United - lack of confidence, enthusiasm and discipline. Ten Hag has to go now because these players are good players as individuals. It’s the manager’s responsibility to create team spirit amongst the quality players that we have!
Mark: Thought last year was as bad as it would get. Thought Ineos was the new start we needed. Convinced that Ten Hag is not the right manager to take us forward and our start is even more embarrassing than the whole of last season. Enough is enough. Needs sorting now and even then the season is at serious risk.
Alan: They have won two trophies but I still don't see much of a team yet. Loose passes all over the pitch, poor response to losing the ball, ineffective in attack, wide open in defence and almost never the same team played twice. I want them to do well but just don't expect much from them anymore. Sadly, not a surprise today.
Tottenham fans
Doug: Fantastic result - we should have won by a lot more. We’re going from strength to strength and clicking so much more as a team. So chuffed Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson scored again. Good to see the starting players rested and the young players given some valuable minutes. Surely even the negative ones of our fanbase can see the direction we are heading now.
Robert: Sensational performance. The best in a very long time. Completely outclassed United. Could and probably should have won by a bigger margin. Hopefully, this will kickstart our season. More please!
Nick: Whisper it quietly, but this was yet another dominant display that has been seen all season. We are starting to get the results our performances have warranted. People have forgotten that the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle had to plat ultra defensively to take three points. United couldn't come close to competing with us.
Andy: Sure, I’m hard to please, but don’t judge us too highly after this game. United were simply a disgrace -no running and no spirit. A shambles. Werner’s two clear goal chances might hurt us. He’s a willing runner, he covers well, but as at Chelsea, he loses his nerve and prods the ball anywhere! Our two central defenders were magnificent.
Would Postecoglou have been a better fit? What next at Old Trafford?published at 11:17 30 September
11:17 30 September
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BBC Sport Chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on the weekend's football.
David from Glasgow asked: Hi Phil. Would Ange have been a better fit for Man Utd?
Phil answered: Hello, David. It’s easy to be wise after the event and Ten Hag looked a good fit at the time after his work with Ajax.
I remember how Postecoglou was greeted when he was appointed Celtic manager. I’m sure you will agree he hardly had the red carpet rolled out for him, even though he then did a superb job delivering thrilling attacking football.
I certainly think Postecoglou’s style would have been enjoyed by Manchester United’s fans but he has not won a trophy yet while Ten Hag, for all the criticism, has won two at Old Trafford.
He may well have been a good fit but you just never know and, as I said, it is an easy thing to say now. Ten Hag’s appointment was very well received at the time but I do feel he is under serious pressure now.
Harrison from Johannesburg asked: Hey Phil, what's next for Manchester United? To keep Erik or not and get who? What exactly is the problem with United - players not playing to the manager’s instructions or a Manager that's clueless?
Phil answered: Hello, Harrison. I think the problem is that there is no clear identity to United’s team, no obvious strategy Ten Hag is employing.
Whether it has flaws or not, and it did not yesterday, you can see exactly what Ange Postecoglou is trying to do at Spurs. Pace out wide, attacking style, high defensive line. It is clear.
Look at Arne Slot and Enzo Maresca at Liverpool and Chelsea in particular. They have barely got their feet under the desks but you can see Slot is incorporating the best of what Jurgen Klopp left him with a more measured, controlled style. You can see Maresca is adopting a very obvious passing style, front to back.
What can you see that is positively identifiable with Ten Hag? I’m struggling to be honest.
As for Ten Hag’s future? The reality suggests he is on the brink. He was given an almost reluctant vote of confidence in the summer and there have been no signs of improvement.
Tactician or motivator?published at 09:42 30 September
09:42 30 September
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Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy believes Erik ten Hag is currently "more of a tactician than a motivator" at Manchester United.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, following the Red Devils' 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, Murphy said: "I think he is probably more of a tactician because, from a motivational point of view, we never really see Manchester United play at a real high energy or level.
"I'm talking about players dying for the cause. If you don't do that, the tactics always fall down anyway. You have got to be a motivator first and then the tactics man after."
Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones added that Ten Hag's side look like they are "struggling to get into a rhythm and a momentum", after recording two wins and one draw in six Premier League games this season.
'There is no way it is violent conduct'published at 09:41 30 September
09:41 30 September
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Should Bruno Fernandes of seen red for his challenge against James Maddison?
Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown said it "was a ridiculous decision" on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily Podcast because "there was no force" used from the Manchester United captain.
"He slipped going into it and then he has gone to clip him," said Brown.
"He has not gone in with a straight leg to his shin pad. There is a flick on Maddison from the side of his foot, so there was not even that much contact.
"The referee should have gone to the screen and looked at it back in motion. There is no way it is violent conduct and that he deserves to be suspended for three matches."
'I've never heard so much rubbish' - Suttonpublished at 07:55 30 September
07:55 30 September
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Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton believes Manchester United's loss to Tottenham was "the type of performance which gets the manager the sack."
Ten Hag's side have lost consecutive Premier League matches without scoring at Old Trafford for the first time since November 2021, in what were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final two home games in charge of the club (0-5 v Liverpool and 0-2 v Manchester City).
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Sutton said: "Especially in the first half, Tottenham could have been out of sight, and do you know what? It was 'Angeball' at its best. There is no finer sight in the Premier League when Spurs do it right."
Following Ten Hag's post-match comments, Sutton added: "How many times have we heard Erik Ten Hag come out with comments like that 'we will learn from it?
"He's got verbal diarrhoea - I don't know what game he was watching. And, the lap at the end, it's is a lap for losers.
"If I'm a Manchester United fan and I'm hearing my manager come out and make out that the sending off changed the game - they got slaughtered in the first half.
"Slaughtered. Spurs should have been out of sight, I've never heard so much rubbish."
'They are not a team'published at 07:51 30 September
07:51 30 September
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Former Premier League midfielders Nigel Reo-Coker and Michael Brown believe Manchester United's players lack connection and "are not a team".
In the aftermath of a 3-0 home defeat to Spurs, the two pundits unpicked United's current state.
"What can be said about them that has not been said before?" Re-Coker said on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily Podcast. "They have no identity, there is no culture, and none of it represents what Manchester United once were as a club. That is the scary thing.
"I don’t see any leaders on the pitch, or what it means to where the shirt which is the foundations of what the club was built on.
"It is funny Erik ten Hag says his players are ‘great characters’ because we are not seeing that. There is a lack of connectivity between Ten Hag and the big players within the team. I don’t feel that they believe in the manager anymore, or in themselves, to win matches. All of that stems from the manager.
"It is Ten Hag’s job to motivate them and get to them to perform at the highest level and he is struggling with that. There is only really one outcome left and that is change."
Brown added: "It has been a difficult situation for some time but I don’t see an improvement in the structure of the team. The summer's recruitment has made the squad depth better and more balanced, but it hasn’t come to play in the Premier League yet. They are miles off it.
"They are not a team, they are a group of players who are yet to connect and understand what it means to play for each other. The manager is accountable for that and so are the players.
"What is also worrying is that some of the players are speaking out about the lack of effort and desire. That does the manager no favours."
Gossip: Man Utd linked with Sunderland goalkeeperpublished at 07:31 30 September
07:31 30 September
Manchester United are considering signing 24-year-old Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, to be an understudy to Andre Onana. (Sun), external
Meanwhile, Manchester United are considering former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri as a possible replacement for manager Erik ten Hag. (Caught Offside), external
'This is not good enough'published at 19:12 29 September
19:12 29 September
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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day after today's loss: "To concede a goal after two or three minutes like that, it did something to our belief. Totally unneccessary. To concede a goal like this, the [opposing] centre-half stepping in and passing the whole team over the right side and then the winger tapping in at the far post. Same mistake as in the midweek against Twente, it should be stopped in the first moment.
"From that moment on we were stressed on the ball. We could not find the triangles or the switches, we had some good moments, but from that moment we could not get a foothold. And we can do better than that. Even after such a mistake from us we should stay calm.
"We had chances and our moments to get back in the game, with Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho when we still had 11 players and then after the red card too we had moments.
"We had our chances before half-time and in the second half with 10 men we had chances as well. It definitely had an impact on the game. I don't think it was a red card."
"First we have to deal with this and show resilience. This is not good enough. We have to accept this and get better. Focus on the next game and do things better than we did today."
'Never a red card - that is my view'published at 19:01 29 September
19:01 29 September
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day after his sending off: "I just wanted to come and talk [do the interview] and be myself because my team-mates deserve that for what they have done in the game playing with one man less. Particularly as I was the man sent off, the one that let them down.
"The team showed a lot of character, a lot of resilience, a lot of fight. They tried. It wasn't easy."
On the red card: "Never a red card - that is my view. I agree that it is a foul. The referee tried to tell me that as he saw it was a clear contact with the studs, no. I didn't touch him with the studs or even the foot, it was my ankle. It is a clear foul.
"If he wants to give me a yellow because they are going to go on a counter then I agree. But more than that, no. It is not the case."
On the game being tough before the red card: "Yes I think we struggled a bit. We tried to force it a little bit, to rush it and go too quick. When they have the high line we made mistakes on the ball and then we got punished and it didn't go the way we wanted from there.
"Then the red card makes it worse. I have to appreciate all the effort my team-mates have done to try and return to the game but it wasn't possible. They showed great effort and character and I was happy for that."
