Manchester United have been slammed as ‘not worth watching’ under Erik ten Hag as former Netherlands player and pundit Wim Kieft tips the Dutch tactician to be coming towards the end of his time in charge at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag enjoyed a decent first season at Man Utd last term, getting the club back into the Champions League, whilst also beating Newcastle United to win the Carabao Cup final, and reaching the final of the FA Cup, albeit then losing to rivals Manchester City.
Now, however, things really haven’t progressed as many would have hoped for United, with serious questions being asked of Ten Hag as his side finished bottom of their Champions League group and face an uphill struggle to finish in the top four again.
Kieft is clearly not too convinced by Ten Hag, though he also made it clear that the environment isn’t ideal for the former Ajax boss either, as other top managers have also struggled in the job.
Ten Hag tipped to be in his final year at United
Writing in his De Telegraaf column, Kieft said: “Ten Hag did not manage to get his way of playing at United … The football at Manchester United is still not worth watching and that is why I expect Ten Hag to be in his last year. The environment in which he has to work at United is also completely different from that at City.
“You see a certain atmosphere among the neighbours, there is a true football culture and everything at the top resembles a team. Txiki Begiristain is the technical director and, apart from Guardiola, he works with more former Barcelona people.
“United hasn’t had a team like that for a long time. There must be something seriously wrong with that club. Because Mourinho and Van Gaal were not small trainers who died there either.”
This sounds pretty damning for Ten Hag, but it’s hard to argue with it really, and there’ll surely be many fans open to the idea of a change, with the recent purchase of a minority stake in the club from Sir Jim Ratcliffe perhaps representing a chance for a fresh start.