"He’s basically dismantled a lot of what was good about that" - Mark Goldbridge blames Ten Hag for Manchester United's performances this season
Mark Goldbridge has hit out at manager Erik ten Hag after Manchester United's slow start to the season. The talkSPORT presenter said that Ten Hag has dismantled good things from last season, causing chaos at the club.
In his talkSPORT column, Goldbridge said that he was baffled with the direction Manchester United are headed in this season. He believes that the manager overachieved last season and has failed with his transfers this summer.
Goldbridge wrote:
"I think when you look at some of the bad results Manchester United have had this season, you’ve got to look at Ten Hag, and a lot of people are questioning him.
"I’m baffled at how we’ve gone from a team that was so progressive last season. I think he overachieved last year, taking us to third and two cup finals."
Goldbridge added:
"He’s basically dismantled a lot of what was good about that. I know there’s been injuries to Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Luke Shaw but Raphael Varane is sat on the bench. He was massively important last season.
"Replacing David de Gea with Onana, bringing in Mason Mount – it hasn’t worked. There are game-management and man-management issues with Ten Hag, but I think that’s because he’s reliant on a lot of players that aren’t good enough for Manchester United."
He continued:
"There’s a few players back in the team that failed under (Ole Gunnar) Solskjaer. They are in the team because they run around a lot, but that doesn't offer a lot. There are some players that beat their chest and talk about passion but offer very little."
Manchester United are fifth in the Premier League after 13 games. However, they are at the bottom of their UEFA Champions League group and face an early exit.
Manchester United in a tough spot after poor start to the season
Manchester United are in a tough spot after a mixed start to the season. Their top scorer in the UEFA Champions League - Rasmus Hojlund with five goals in as many games - has not scored in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Andre Onana - the new signing who replaced David de Gea in goal - has the most clean sheets in the Premier League this season. However, he has conceded 14 goals in the UEFA Champions League and made too many errors leading to goals.
The Red Devils are riding on individual performances but are yet to see any of their strikers get on the scoresheet in the European competition. They need to beat Bayern Munich in their final game and hope that Galatasaray vs Copenhagen ends in a draw to get to the knockouts.