Gary Neville has defended Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag following his former club’s poor start to the season.
Manchester United hero Gary Neville made a fool of himself by leaping to Erik ten Hag‘s defence on Sunday evening, after his former club had been beaten 3-0 by Manchester City. The former right-back refused to compare Tottenham and Manchester United due to the differences between the two clubs, ignoring the difficult circumstances that Ange Postecoglou inherited over the summer.
United have had a disappointing start to the season, with the team lacking both motivation and ideas. As a result, pressure is mounting on Ten Hag, prompting discussions about whether it is fair to part ways with the ex-Ajax manager with so much uncertainty at Old Trafford surrounding the year-long takeover saga.
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Carragher has been among Ten Hag‘s detractors, questioning why the Glazers are being used as an excuse for Ten Hag when Postecoglou has hit the ground running at Tottenham and Unai Emery has continued to impress at Aston Villa in less time. In response to the comparisons, Neville stated, “Those managers you mention came from stable environments.” They (United) are currently promoting a man (Sir Jim Ratcliffe) who will own 25% of the company.
“Imagine you’re in a business, a football club, and you hear that a guy is going to come in and annihilate the entire football department. Can you imagine what’s going on in that football club right now, around Erik ten Hag?”
Although Neville’s justification for the Ten Hag scenario is reasonable, the 48-year-old overlooked the negatives that Postecoglou had to deal with when he became manager of Tottenham. The Australian has transformed Spurs into an attacking force that fans adore, and there are already whispers that they could challenge for the Premier League title.
Few could have predicted the incredible impact Postecoglou has had on the club, both on and off the pitch, given that Tottenham were in a downward spiral when he arrived. As many on social media pointed out, Spurs came into this season coming off their worst finish in ten years and with no European football to look forward to.
As a result, supporters began to turn against Daniel Levy in droves, with a change of ownership from ENIC seen as the best-case scenario for turning the tide in north London. The departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich and the forced resignation of Fabio Paratici added to Postecoglou’s problems, but the ex-Celtic manager has come out on top.
Ten Hag, on the other hand, has failed to deal with the Old Trafford takeover situation, and thus the scenarios may not be comparable due to Postecoglou having to deal with significantly more issues in a short period of time.
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