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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has laid into the current side, questioning their identity and progress under manager Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils have now gone four games without a win in all competitions since the 7-0 thrashing of Barnsley, drawing three and losing spectacularly to Tottenham Hotspur.
Last night saw United once again score three goals away from home in Europe but just like last season, this didn’t result in a win as they had to settle for a 3-3 draw in Porto.
The pressure continues to ramp up on manager Erik ten Hag, with the match against Aston Villa on Sunday potentially his last in the United dugout, as owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe will reportedly be in attendance to cast an eye over proceedings.
Speaking to The Daily Mail on United’s progress this season, Scholes blasted the current side claiming, “you don’t see where the next good performance or win is coming from. I don’t think the players even understand what the manager wants from them. They look like a poorly coached team. It’s difficult to watch.”
In a damning critique of Ten Hag and his coaches he stated, “it’s two-and-a-bit years now and I feel like there’s no progression when teams like Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal, are progressing all the time.”
“With United, it feels like the opposite – it feels like we’re regressing. We’re going the wrong way as results would suggest. All fans want is a bit of direction but there’s a lack of hope. The team look so far off being anywhere near competitive.”
Despite the interview taking place before United’s match with FC Porto, Scholes’ next criticism could have aligned perfectly with what happened yesterday.
Rashford was in sublime form, scoring and assisting, while cutting the Dragões to pieces, but was bizarrely hooked at half-time with Ten Hag later claiming it was to rest him for Sunday.
The substitution certainly took the wind out of United’s sails as they looked much less of a threat down the left hand side when Alejandro Garnacho came on.
Scholes blasted Ten Hag’s decision to omit Rashford from the match against Crystal Palace last month after his fine showing against Barnsley where he grabbed a brace and an assist.
“I thought he had turned a corner. I thought it was a really strange decision to leave him out of the Palace game.”
“Just when you think he’s back and firing again, his confidence looks low again and you’re back to square one.”
The legendary United midfielder then took aim at the club’s recruitment over the last few years, claiming they should have spent the money on “sure things” like Harry Kane and Declan Rice.
He also insisted that the manager’s lack of identifiable playing style makes it hard to capture the right type of player.
“The manager makes recruitment difficult because we don’t know how they want to play. Recruiting players for a style of play you know nothing about becomes virtually impossible. They had (Rasmus) Hojlund – a very young centre forward who has been injured. It could take another 12 months to get the best out of him.”
Finally Scholes was left exasperated about where United stand in the modern game, claiming they are “still the biggest” in the world but admitted he wasn’t sure “what market” the club was in anymore after years of disappointment and underperformance.
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2024-10-04 09:00:47
