Man United Woeful Performance Blamed on Absence of Three ‘Leaders’

Marcel Sabitzer contends that Man United’s 2023–24 troubles are partially attributable to the forced departure of three “leaders” from the team.

The Austrian international midfielder, who is now under contract with Borussia Dortmund, was on loan at Old Trafford for the second part of the previous campaign. Erik ten Hag witnessed the Red Devils end a six-year trophy drought with a Carabao Cup victory while he was in England, but he hasn’t been able to build on those prize-winning foundations.

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The lack of consistency at United, in Sabitzer’s opinion, is partly due to injuries sustained by three veteran internationals. The 29-year-old told The Athletic, when asked to assess a team that is battling both on and off the pitch: “I feel very positive about my time there and still talk to a couple of people.” You wonder, “What’s going on?” There’s a lot of commotion, poor performance, and home losses that seemed unimaginable the previous season. Furthermore, the ownership dispute remains unsolved. What that does to a team is evident. They’re all wonderful guys with a great desire to succeed, so I feel bad for them.

“Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez – they are leaders that provide structure and stability to the team. Erik ten Hag comes with up very specific match plans and patterns of play. But if you have too many important players missing and too many changes as a result, things get lost between the tactics board and the pitch. The rhythm of players coming isn’t right, processes aren’t right. In the Premier League and Champions League, you need your best players available. Everything feels a little laboured and uncertain now. They need their big guys to show up and change the course of the season, but I believe things can change quickly once they get important players back.”

Furthermore , Sabitzer has thrown his support behind Ten Hag, the coach who is currently under criticism, absolving the Dutchman of any responsibility when his players fall short of expectations. Sabitzer additionally stated: “You can wake him up at 3am, he’d tell you his whole match plan by heart. He’s very knowledgeable about football and tactics, a very hard worker, a perfectionist. And he’s very straight with you. When I had a bad game, he showed me some situations and told me how to do it better next time. I liked that. You knew where you stood with him. He never threw you under the bus. Instead, he told players to go out and do better in the next game. I learned a lot about football working under him. He’s a very good coach.”

Man United, who now sit seventh in the standings after five Premier League losses this season, will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to FC Copenhagen in the Champions League, a match that is vital to their hopes of qualifying for Europe.