“This was a person to take us forward” - Dwight Yorke evaluates Manchester United title chances, slams the Red Devils under Erik ten Hag
Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has blasted Erik ten Hag and Co. for their style of play. He believes the Red Devils are nowhere close to winning the Premier League title and in some aspects, are the worst they have ever been since the league's inception in 1992.
The Red Devils have endured a shaky start to the season and are currently 10th in the standings with six points from four games, six behind leaders Manchester City. Despite recently defeating Southampton 3-0, they have suffered losses to Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion over back-to-back weeks.
The most concerning aspect for the Old Trafford faithful has been Manchester United's style of play, which has yet to see a drastic improvement during Ten Hag's tenure as head coach.
Yorke told beIN Sports (via METRO):
"We are a million miles away from winning the Premier League. When talking about the current manager, this was a person to take us forward, and we thought after the first season this was the guy. What has happened, yes we have managed to win the FA Cup last season, but where we are doesn’t mean that we’re a good team after winning the cup. Winning a cup is great, we’ve got to keep the trophy cabinet ticking over."
He added:
"But where we are as a football club, the identity in terms of how we play, where we finish, goals conceded, number of goals that we’ve scored is the worst in our history since the Premier League started in 1992."
Manchester United will aim to build momentum going into their next league fixture against Crystal Palace (Saturday, September 21).
How has Erik ten Hag fared as Manchester United boss?
Many fans expected Erik ten Hag to turn Manchester United's fortunes around when he replaced Ralf Rangnick as head coach back on April 21, 2022. Despite bagging the EFL Cup and FA Cup over the past two years, the Dutchman has failed to implement a convincing style of play, leading to their struggles in the league.
Nevertheless, the Red Devils had a decent 2022-23 campaign, finishing third in the league with 75 points. They also won the EFL Cup and reached the FA Cup final - which they lost to treble winners Manchester City.
However, United failed to build on this the following season, finishing eighth with 60 points, a mammoth 31 points behind champions Manchester City. While Ten Hag won the FA Cup to narrowly keep his job, the Red Devils struggled in front of goal, scoring only 57 goals in the league - the joint-lowest amongst the top 10.
To date, Ten Hag has managed 119 Manchester United games across all competitions, winning 70, drawing 15, and losing 34, with a win percentage of 58.82.