Man United Urged To Sack Ten Hag & Bring In Ex-England Coach

Erik ten Hag needs to be fired immediately by Manchester United, according to Michael Owen, or else the team will be “annihilated” by Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

Owen thinks that after United’s humiliating 4-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night, a drastic change on the United bench is required to save the season. The legendary player for Liverpool believes Ten Hag should be fired by the board right away because he cannot lead a team the size of United.

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Speaking to Premier League Productions, Owen said: “I’ve said it for a long time that Ten Hag is not the right man for this job, I’ve been saying it for ages and ages. He cannot, simply cannot, manage the team next season. I almost wonder now, they’ve got a cup final and they’ve got a few important games that could mean European football next year or not. At some point you’ve got to make a decision, they’re going to get absolutely hammered by Manchester City [in the FA Cup final], they’re going to get annihilated, in fact, Arsenal will smash them to bits at Old Trafford, Newcastle will probably beat them and I wouldn’t even fancy them going to Brighton either.

“They might not get anything out of the rest of the season, playing like that. I just wonder, there’s just so much at stake, even if it’s only for four games, I wonder whether the board might just have to try to do something here and now and be quite radical about it. He cannot, simply cannot, manage this team next season. He’s not good enough. I’ve thought it for ages, and he’s just not good enough to manage Manchester United.”

Owen believes that Steve McClaren, Ten Hag’s assistant, would potentially do a better job than the current boss and backed him to take over the reins for the final few games in the season.

“They’ve got to try something different. Anything. Yes,” he said.

“We’ve played under Steve McClaren, he’s coached us, there’s no way that his fingerprints are anywhere near that team,” Owen recounted from his playing days under the guidance of McClaren when the 63-year-old was in charge of the England national team in 2006.”

Paul Scholes, who was also part of that England squad, suggested that Ten Hag does not pay heed to his assistant while drawing up the tactics.

“It suggests to me he’s not touching that team. The manager [Ten Hag] must not be letting him touch that team, I don’t think,” he said.

“Everyone thinks we were a great team that attacked everyone and went at people, sometimes we played against better teams and Steve McClaren put better sessions on to make sure you stopped other teams, getting the distances right, getting your angles right, especially in centre midfield, across all midfield. And he has got no impression on that [Ten Hag] team whatsoever. He’s the best coach I ever had.”

Owen further added: “He’s a brilliant, brilliant coach. There’s no way on earth he’s got anything to do with coaching that team. It’s impossible. Because that team is absolutely clueless, right the way through it. There’s not one thing I think works in that team. I don’t rate anything about it. Steve McClaren is a top operator and I can only think he’s there and there are other people who are coaching the first team and he’s just a bystander.”

Sven-Goran Eriksson was replaced in the England dugout by McClaren in 2006 when Luiz Felipe Scholari declined an FA call. He was fired by the English FA after the Three Lions won nine of his eighteen games during his tenure, although they were unable to qualify for Euro 2008.