Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit has blamed Manchester United’s struggles this season under Erik ten Hag on the club’s transfer moves for players who are past their prime and no longer have much to offer.
To say United have endured a disappointing season would be a massive understatement. This campaign has been one of the worst in the club’s history.
At the moment, United sit in seventh place in the Premier League with Champions League football already looking like an impossible goal. Even Europa League qualification appears to be an uphill task, with rivals like Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur also battling to get into the competition.
Performances and results have hardly been convincing and it’s unsurprising that pressure is mounting on Erik ten Hag, whose future in the Old Trafford dugout is currently hanging in the balance.
United continue to be strongly linked with several top coaches, all tipped to possibly replace the 54-year-old coach.
Gullit sat down with The Daily Mail and had his say on United’s woes and what could be the reason behind the team’s troubles.
The former AC Milan and Chelsea midfielder was asked about whether he’s surprised his fellow countrymen Louis van Gaal and Ten Hag both failed to restore United to their past glories.
The 61-year-old said, “I’m not disappointed by that. ‘I knew it was going to be a hard job. (Jose) Mourinho didn’t do it. Come on! They had good coaches there, no?”
“But the players they got there are not the players City would take, or Liverpool would take or Arsenal would take. They were players that were already over-seasoned.”
“Casemiro – a little bit over-seasoned. Jonny Evans, over-seasoned. The bad thing for them was that Lisandro Martinez was injured because he was one of the best players.”
When questioned about how United can be sorted out, Gullit replied, “I’m not in charge! It’s a difficult one. A very difficult one because they are in the spotlight all of the time. You have [Paul] Scholes, [Rio] Ferdinand, [Gary] Neville – every day talking about them. Every day! And every time they are in television, everything is quoted.”
“That is hard. And I know you want the best for the club but if you talk about them all the time – always your eyes are on it. Arsenal, less. Liverpool a little bit but not as much. If I see Daily Mail every day – the first five stories are always about Manchester United! Five, six! It’s what it is.”
United return to action on Wednesday when they take on Sheffield United at home.
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