Manchester United are at the centre of football discourse once more, but for the wrong reasons.
On Monday, the club decided to sack manager Erik ten Hag after two years in charge, adding more chaos to what has already been a season to forget.
Ten Hag did bring a Carabao Cup and FA Cup back to Old Trafford during his tenure, but a poor start to the 2024/25 season meant the writing was on the wall for the Dutchman after United lost 2-1 to a struggling West Ham this past weekend.
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Whenever a manager is sacked at a high-profile club, fingers are immediately pointed at numerous aspects of the club in the search to find the main reason behind the decision.
Speaking to Betfair, Premier League winner and former England international Alan Shearer explained why he believes United's players and their performances played a role in Ten Hag's eventual dismissal.
"There’s no doubt that some players have let Erik ten Hag down. If everyone had played to their ability, then perhaps Ten Hag wouldn't have been under such immense pressure," Shearer said.
"Having said that, he's been at Man United for over two years now, and I know he won the League Cup and FA Cup, but the shift we were expecting after that FA Cup final display has not happened.
"That performance vs Man City was supposed to be the benchmark going forward but they have reached nowhere near that level since.
"I haven’t seen what format they want to be playing, what identity they have, and, for some players, that probably caused a level of uncertainty, but there are others that could have done a lot better too.
"Man United have paid a lot of money for a lot of players during his time, and many of those haven't delivered. Whether you look at that as players not being good enough, or bad recruitment, I think it is fair to say it is probably a bit of both."
United will be looking to pause the chaos surrounding the club's managerial position on Wednesday night when they host Leicester City in the Carabao Cup with former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy taking charge on an interim basis.
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