Some statistics give Manchester United less than a 3% chance of finishing in the top 4 of the Premier League at the end of the season. Eighth in the standings, eight points from fourth place, the club coached by Erik ten Hag has fallen back into its mistakes. Plunged into internal uncertainty due to takeover rumors, MU has also had to manage several crisis situations for several months now. And in recent weeks, the Dutch coach’s position has been considerably weakened. For good reason, he shows himself incapable of redressing the bar on a sporting level (MU has just suffered two consecutive 0-3 against City and Newcastle) and his locker room can’t stand him anymore. After the rout against the Magpies, the English press also claimed that ETH had been abandoned by its players.
And this is confirmed even more this Friday after other revelations from Telegraph. Hailed by critics when he was able to reframe Cristiano Ronaldo to put the interests of the club first, the Dutchman no longer enjoys unanimous support within his locker room. CR7 had notably pointed out the strange management of Erik ten Hag with him. “I don’t have respect for him (Ten Hag) because he doesn’t show respect to me. If you don’t have respect for me, I won’t have any for you.” the Portuguese confided in an interview that went around the world. A few months later, Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer the only one to point the finger at the behavior of his ex-coach.
An inconclusive meeting with the players
The English media explains that a large part of the Mancunian locker room did not at all appreciate Erik ten Hag’s methods regarding the management of the Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire cases. As a reminder, the first was excluded from the professional group after having publicly expressed his disagreement with his coach and because he refused to apologize. A sidelining of which certain details are of concern. The second was stripped of his status as captain. The fault is his more than criticizable performance. But the Telegraph assures that the Red Devils locker room did not appreciate their coach’s way of doing things and that several players made it known that they were against his methods.
For his part, The Sun revealed this Friday information which confirms the total divide between Erik ten Hag and his locker room. Aware that he is more than ever in the hot seat, while the British press announced this Thursday evening that MU would target Zinedine Zidane to replace him, Ten Hag decided to organize one-on-one discussions with his players to resolve worries. He asked each player to concretely express their grievances in an attempt to address them. But this obviously did not bear fruit since the British media explains that “the desperate attempt” by Erik ten Hag “failed”. The noose is therefore tightening around ETH.
