"It was a massive shock" - Gary Neville says Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to prematurely sell Manchester United star was 'a travesty'
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has shared his thoughts on Sir Alex Ferguson prematurely selling former defender Jaap Stam back in 2001 after just three years.
The Red Devils signed Staam from PSV Eindhoven in 1998. The Dutchman was considered one of the best centre-backs in the world at the time. He made 127 appearances for United, winning multiple trophies, including the historic 1999 treble.
However, he released an autobiography named 'Head to Head' in 2001, which led to tensions with Sir Alex Ferguson. The book was seen as more of a public display of the inner workings of Manchester United rather than Stam's autobiography. This led to the club selling the Dutchman to Lazio for a reported fee of £15.3 million.
On the Stick to Football podcast, Gary Neville recently opened up about Ferguson's decision to sell Stam, saying (via Mirror):
"Sir Alex Ferguson has since admitted it was a mistake [letting go of Jaap Stam]. When it happened, it was a massive shock. It's a travesty really that [Jaap] only played for Manchester United for three years.
"The quality of centre-back [Jaap] was – one of the best centre-backs that's ever played in the Premier League, let alone at Manchester United."
Stam eventually moved to AC Milan from Lazio before joining Ajax, where he retired in 2007.
Gary Neville compares Erik ten Hag to former Manchester United managers
Erik ten Hag was appointed Manchester United manager last summer. He was expected to bring in the possession-based incisive playing style that he displayed at Ajax but has arguably failed to do so.
The Red Devils won the Carabao Cup and finished third in the Premier League last season. This season, however, they are sixth in the league and have been eliminated from the EFL Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Ten Hag's lack of identifiable playing style has received immense scrutiny from fans and pundits alike. Gary Neville recently shared his thoughts on the same, comparing the Dutchman's style to former United managers like Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. He said (via Football365):
“I don’t see any difference between what Erik ten Hag’s doing, what Ole did and Jose Mourinho did in terms of playing in moments and on the counterattack.
“[They were] poor in possession in big games, losing away from home sometimes. I think Mourinho and Ole’s away records against big teams were better, but the patterns are there from the way they played."
He added:
“Louis van Gaal did implement a Dutch style of play, it was the Ajax style of play, Barcelona stay, but it wasn’t Man United, and I didn’t enjoy that much. But he did instil a style of play straight away and the players, to be fair, they could pass it.”
Manchester United have lost 12 of their 24 games across competitions this season, having had to grind out results in some of their wins as well. They will next face Liverpool in the league at Anfield on Sunday, December 17.