Manchester United
Premier League • England
Liverpool and Tottenham blamed for Man Utd sacking Ten Hag, as Ferdinand, Neville deliver damning assessments
Rio Ferdinand has pointed the finger at Liverpool when explaining why Manchester United sacked Erik ten Hag, though Gary Neville believes Tottenham were the catalyst.
Man Utd called time on Ten Hag’s turbulent spell at Old Trafford on Monday morning. Ruud van Nistelrooy has taken charge in an interim capacity, though the search for a permanent manager is underway.
The reaction to Ten Hag losing his job has come thick and fast, including from Man Utd legends Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville.
Speaking on his YouTube channel in the immediate aftermath of the announcement, Ferdinand believes the 3-0 thumping suffered on home soil at the hands of Liverpool in gameweek three all but ended Ten Hag’s tenure.
In Ferdinand’s mind, Man Utd and Ten Hag “never recovered” from that mauling.
“Am I surprised? No,” declared Ferdinand. “They kept the man in charge, season kicks in, I actually thought we were starting to see some new signs in the first two or three games, and then we get beat by Liverpool and never recovered.
“It was like a boxer getting hit and knocked down in the third round and never recovering and getting knocked out, knocked down, every single round on the way to the 12th round.
“And finally, we’re here. The fight’s been called off in the last round for the manager, and I think now we’re going to go for a new direction.”
Tottenham defeat was the “catalyst” – Gary Neville
Gary Neville also weighed in on the bombshell news while speaking to Sky Sports News.
The former right-back instead pointed to Man Utd’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham on September 29 as being the point where Ten Hag’s fate was sealed.
Per the pundit, Man Utd probably decided to dispense with Ten Hag after that defeat and were simply waiting for the next “bad result” before pulling the trigger.
“I thought it was coming,” admitted Neville. “Looking at that Tottenham game a few weeks ago I felt I had seen this before. It was a bad day for Manchester United and a bad day for Erik ten Hag.
“It’s got worse form then, yesterday the missed chances were unacceptable, they should have been two up at halftime.
“Overall, the challenges of the results and performances have meant that the owners have decided to sack Erik ten Hag. I don’t think anybody will be truly shocked this morning.”
Neville added: “I suspect the Tottenham game was probably a catalyst for them to start thinking about a new manager.
“You look at who is available then you try to think of the timing. You are half hoping the manager can turn it around but 99 times out of 100, the tide is against you and continues to go against you.
“They’ve probably chosen a moment that was decided a few weeks ago – that the next bad loss or bad result, we’re probably going to have to act. That has come yesterday [vs West Ham]
“They would have started the process of finding Erik ten Hag’s successor, definitely, because that Tottenham game a few weeks ago did feel like the end.”
Next Man Utd manager and Ten Hag sack latest
Elsewhere, The Daily Mail reported Man Utd’s players were not pre-warned of Ten Hag’s dismissal. Instead, they learned of their manager losing his job at the same time as the club’s official announcement just before midday on Monday morning.
The Mail also claimed the decision to sack Ten Hag was a ‘unanimous’ one among the club’s hierarchy.
Taking to X, reporter Mike Keegan wrote: “Those within Old Trafford say Ten Hag decision a difficult one but unanimous.”
Wheeler also divulged the thinking behind the sacking, adding: “No momentum, no progress. Club took into account poor start in Premier League and Europa League. Could find no excuses. Put simply, they were just not seeing improvement.”
Sky Sports Switzerland have claimed United CEO, Omar Berrada, is pushing for Xavi to take the reins on a permanent basis.
TEAMtalk insider, Fraser Gillan, has been told of four other candidates who are on United’s radar. The quartet in question are Julian Nagelsmann, Graham Potter, Eddie Howe and Thomas Frank.
A shock return for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has also been touted by The Manchester Evening News who suggested the club will stick to targeting managers who are unattached. The logic there is they’ll be cheaper to appoint.
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