Troy Deeney: Man Utd are a strange and disjointed club… for all his plaudits, what has Ten Hag actually achieved?
A WORD that keeps getting thrown about at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag is ‘culture’.
He is clearly still trying to change it, despite being well into his second season in charge.
But fundamentally, this is a strange club at the moment. A disjointed club with a squad that doesn’t excite me, and why would it?
The Antony situation doesn’t help. The Mason Greenwood situation doesn’t help. The Jadon Sancho situation doesn’t help. The Harry Maguire situation doesn’t help.
But you need to start getting a tune out of some of these big-name players otherwise you are in a position with high-profile stars on a lot of money just sitting around.
What we said about Cristiano Ronaldo before he left, we will start saying about Sancho, Antony, Maguire, even Mason Mount potentially if he drops to the bench.
With Sancho, I appreciate his situation and why he came out and said what he did on social media in response to Ten Hag.
As a manager now, you have to be extremely careful with what you say about players.
As for Maguire, I agree with Gareth Southgate. The abuse he is getting is bang out of order.
It is like if anything wrong happens, it is his fault, whether that is at United or England.
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He has stuck around because he wants to fight for his place — that is a good thing, right? He has got big, broad shoulders.
And yet, he gets battered for it. Give him a break. There is a level of scrutiny he will come under for being at United that nobody other than the elite can understand.
On the flip side, if I am playing up top for Brighton and Maguire is starting, I am thinking: Get after him early. Target him.
It is not a nice thing to say but they will.
Evan Ferguson, who has recently bagged a hat-trick, now cannot wait to take on Maguire. He knows he is under pressure and will be on him every touch, every jostle.
Fundamentally this is a strange club at the moment. A disjointed club with a squad that doesn’t excite me, and why would it?
Troy Deeney on Man Utd
Brighton will arguably be favourites to take something from Old Trafford today.
We talk about projects and blaming the players but if United were to lose a third game in five, Ten Hag is under serious pressure.
United don’t strike me as a club that is organised and ready to push on.
There is nothing there that suggests this is going to be the season where they get close.
In fact, I really believe this will be a disappointing one, finishing around sixth.
For all his plaudits, what has Ten Hag actually done to change that?
Who are the players he has signed that makes you think: Yup, he is a United player for the next five or ten years?
The whole club constantly looks like a year away from being where it needs to be.
Troy Deeney on Man Utd
They need another two or three windows at least and I don’t see how that gets better any time soon.
The players he has bought, barring a few exceptions, have not hit the ground running.
Even with their best signing, in my opinion, goalkeeper Andre Onana, he scares me.
I don’t look at him as a keeper that will definitely keep clean sheets or be a commanding figure.
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Mount has struggled. Rasmus Hojlund could be the difference but he is still so young.
I see far too many problems for any sort of success this season.
The whole club constantly looks like a year away from being where it needs to be.
We keep comparing them to Arsenal and what they have gone on to become but there is a reason for that. Arsenal transitioned, just like United are now.
How long do United need to suffer before they have their ‘Arsenal moment’? We have to start seeing some more development soon.