Former Manchester United captain and left-back, Gary Neville, believes that the quick impact of Roberto De Zerbi and Ange Postecoglou in their respective clubs has made Erik ten Hag look like a failure.
The Dutchman arrived at Manchester United in the 2022/23 season to much pomp and pageantry after a wildly successful spell at AFC Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie. In that time, he was linked to the managerial jobs at Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and a number of big clubs around Europe.
He started shakily but in the end, brought triumph back to the club by winning the EFL (Carabao) Cup, their first trophy in seven years. He also coached the most clean sheets in the league and took them straight to the UEFA Champions League, a feat they failed to achieve the season before.
However, the problems that persisted at the beginning of his time at the club have surfaced with an even greater efficiency this season. United are now in the worst phase of their modern history after suffering their tenth loss in 21 games across all competitions this season.
The debate as to whether the Dutchman should be sacked is raging on and Neville, who has been vocal about it, has presented another angle to the debate.
He clearly states that ten Hag has not defined the team’s style yet but that it is the speed of adaptation of De Zerbi and Postecoglou that has made his failings a lot more evident.
De Zerbi joined Brighton and Hove Albion in the middle of last season and immediately took them to their first-ever European competition. Postecoglou, on the other hand, joined Spurs at the beginning of this season and has made them into genuine title challengers, even enjoying a spell as league leaders.
Neville believes that both managers have made ten Hag’s time at United look even worse than it has been.
“You can play poorly and win but Manchester United have been doing that now for a long time,” Neville said on his podcast. “I can’t think of a team since Louis van Gaal… Louis van Gaal dominated football matches at Manchester United, there was a style of play.”
“There’s only Louis van Gaal since Sir Alex Ferguson that’s been able to implement a style of play at the club. Since Louis van Gaal I don’t think I’ve seen a pattern of play established, and that’s probably seven or eight years now.”
“I’ve seen the same type of football, irrespective of who the manager is, no manager has been able to settle on a style of play.”
“What really damages the likes of Erik ten Hag and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho – they’ve all spent £300 million, £400m but [Roberto] De Zerbi at Brighton, [Ange] Postecoglou at Spurs, and others like them have come in and in three to four months they’ve got them playing like Real Madrid.”
“That’s the problem they’ve got. It’s been shown that you can come in and have an impact on players, patterns of play, style, in three to four months.”
“We are still sat here eight years after Louis van Gaal leaves and haven’t seen a pattern of play, a combination that you see repeatedly.”
