Gary Lineker points finger at Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag and feels sorry for Dan Ashworth
Gary Lineker has defended Manchester United's sporting director Dan Ashworth, claiming that the blame for the club's woes should lie with Erik ten Hag
by Abbie Meehan · The MirrorGary Lineker has criticised Erik ten Hag's inconsistent approach at Manchester United, stating that he is to blame for the club's poor form.
United's current campaign has been less than inspiring, managing just two wins in seven Premier League outings and no victories yet in the Europa League. Following another lacklustre draw with Aston Villa, the pressure mounts on Ten Hag and his team, with supporters left waiting for any sign of improvement.
Lineker gave his take during a discussion with Micah Richards and Alan Shearer on the Rest is Football podcast, claiming he knows where the core issues lie for the Red Devils. The ex-England striker firmly believes United's woes stem from Ten Hag's lack of footballing identity, which leaves sporting director Dan Ashworth hard done-by when it comes to recruitment, as he is unable to determine what constitutes a good fit for the Dutchman's ever-changing style of play.
Lineker said: "I think it's very difficult to buy a player for Erik ten Hag because he plays a different system all the time. Sometimes they're counter-attacking, sometimes they'll play a little bit of a high press. Sometimes they won't. We've said it many times on here. What is their style of football? What is their identity?
"I don't think you have that. Now, if you were buying for, let's say, Ange Postecoglou, or Brighton, who do really well, or Brentford, or those kind of clubs, or even Manchester City. They have a way of playing that very rarely varies. They don't go from being a counter-attacking team for three weeks and then being a team on the front foot for three weeks.
"So you can go, if you've got Ange Postecoglou, you know exactly what type of player he would want, but you tell me, what is Erik ten Hag's type of player? Can you answer that? I can't. So I think primarily that is the problem, and I think that's been the case for some time, for previous managers.
"We know they've had problems at the top of the club, and that filters down and all that sort of stuff. And it does, and it's been difficult for any manager, but I think it's exacerbated at the moment by the lack of a style and the lack of identity of the actual playing side of things, and therefore they just seem to buy ad hoc."
Ashworth has splashed out nearly £180million on the United squad in the summer – bringing in Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui. Despite the hefty investment, Lineker wasn't overly impressed with the signings, suggesting that the greater issue lies with Ten Hag for United's poor start to the season.
He continued: "You know, someone like Hojlund, that was obvious. He's a striker, he's got to have a striker. But in other positions, in other areas, if you play a slightly different system every week, how do you know what you're buying for? So I think that's probably what's happened. And the other thing, we'll see what happens with Erik ten Hag, he was left in the lurch wasn't he?
"He was put in a difficult position. I mean, things hadn't gone well for him last season. Obviously, they were starting to talk to other managers. We knew about that. We got lambasted a bit for discussing that on the pitch after he won the FA Cup, but we knew that the club, at the time, was speaking to one or two managers. We had that information. So it's the whole thing is a bit of a mess. And you thought when these new people would come in.
"Now, they've obviously not been there that long yet, but it's certainly not changed for the better. And the way they handled the whole summer operation, I thought was particularly poor."
Meanwhile, United's summer signings are struggling to establish themselves, with De Ligt facing inconsistent form, Yoro sidelined by injury and Zirkzee managing only a single goal in his initial 10 appearances for the squad. However, Lineker believes it's premature for supporters to pass judgment on them, given the squad is navigating through low confidence and poor performances.
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He added: "I don't think you can be too judgmental of the players there at the moment, a little bit like I felt Chelsea last season, because they're all over the shop for most of the season, they rallied towards the end, and that improvement has been continued this season.
"But I don't think you can read too much into that side of things. When confidence is low, they don't really know seem to know their jobs on the pitch a lot of the time."
United's dismal start to the season has put Ten Hag's position under severe scrutiny. The Manchester Evening News reports that the club's hierarchy will convene on Tuesday to discuss the Dutchman's future, with Thomas Tuchel being considered as a potential successor.
If Ten Hag is given the opportunity to steer United post the international break, he will undoubtedly require a win to alleviate the pressure when they welcome Brentford in their first match back on October 19.
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