Former Manchester United midfielder Robbie Savage believes that the club under Erik ten Hag are an “average team”.
Savage made his name with Leicester City after failing to make the grade at Old Trafford, and speaking to Planet Sport Bet, he remarked on how far behind Manchester City his former club are.
“I watched the second half of the Manchester Derby and the gulf in class was quite remarkable,” Savage said. “The difference in composure and difference on the ball showed that Manchester City have a plan which is masterminded superbly by a manager who is getting them to play exactly how he wants them to.
“I went on record in saying that Erik ten Hag had done one of the best jobs in the world to get Manchester United to the top-four in the Premier League and two cup finals, but there’s no getting away from the fact that this season they have regressed.
“The recruitment is very confusing. They let David De Gea go and brought in Andre Onana for a big fee, they needed a centre half and brought in 35-year-old Johnny Evans, they got [Sergio] Reguillon from Spurs to cover at left back yet they play a right-footed centre-half in that position against City. Then you look at the likes of Mason Mount who was bought in for over £60million and isn’t in the starting 11, so you have to question the recruitment process and how decisions are being made.
“Add to that the fact that there have to be big question marks over Bruno Fernandes as captain. Is he a proper leader who is setting an example? I’m not sure.”
He then unfavourably compared Ten Hag’s results at United with some of the leading managerial lights in England.
“If you look at the time Erik ten Hag has had and compare it with Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton, Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool or Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, the stark difference is no-one knows how Manchester United play or at least what they are trying to do,” he added.
“It’s a bit of a mess right now and while I still believe they need to give Erik ten Hag until Christmas to get things right, he’s certainly had enough time to make the club challenge and be competitive against the likes of City. They are a million miles away from that and the stat that really struck me was that in 26 years under Sir Alex Ferguson, United only lost 34 league games at home. In the 10 years since he left, they’ve now lost the same number.
“We’ve got to stop saying ‘it’s Manchester United’. The fact of the matter is that Manchester United are turning into an average team.”