Erik ten Hag sacked as Jamie Carragher outlines where Man United chiefs have gone wrong

Former Liverpool defender-turned-pundit Jamie Carragher agrees with Erik ten Hag's sacking by Manchester United, but doesn't actually blame the manager for any of their failings this season.

The Dutchman was removed from his managerial post at Old Trafford on Monday, as confirmed in a statement by the club. It read: 'Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager. Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.

'We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future. Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.'

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Carragher fought in battles over many years as a player for bitter rivals Liverpool, but coinciding with Man United's fall from the peak of English football over the past decade or so has covered events as a pundit with Sky Sports. Offering his latest opinion, he says that it is in fact those in charge - Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his new football structure - who are actually to blame for not actually taking this action sooner.

"It should have happened in the summer and that's not on Erik ten Hag, that's on the new ownership model who have come into the club. All they have done is kick the can down the road for what is it, nine league games Manchester United have played in? And they've cost themselves £200m in terms of bringing players in during the summer who the manager would have identified," he blasted.

"It just seems daft, really, the fact that they kept him in the job because it was always inevitable this was going to happen. He had to hit the ground running, he had to almost be top of the league - there or there abouts, really - to stay in the job."

The last time Man United won the Premier League title was 2013 under Sir Alex Ferguson - the year the great manager retired from the sport. Since then David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Erik ten Hag have been handed permanent charge but failed to replicate such success as the club have spiralled further into decline.

Carragher continued: "That shows how special a manager Sir Alex Ferguson was. We all know with the trophies that he won, but I think most people felt when he moved on that Manchester United were the biggest club in the country.

"It [continued success] hasn't happened and there is a lot of talk about the structure behind the club. A lot of managers in the past - and I hope Erik ten Hag doesn't use this excuse - they always talk about the structure of the club.

"We can all agree the structure of the club has not been right for a long time and that's why INEOS have come in. But, the structure at Manchester United is not right for the club - not necessarily for the manager - because normally when there is a strong structure they say 'no' to the manager when they want to do certain things. I think the problem at Manchester United is they've always said yes, no matter what the manager has wanted."

Using Casemiro as an example of a signing who has been ridiculed, he added: "You don't spend £70m on someone whose over 30 who Real Madrid are happy to move on. That's just one example and a strong structure at a football club would say no in those certain situations.

"For far too long, all these managers that Manchester United have had, whoever they've wanted to sign - more often than not going back to their old club wanting to sign players - they just buy exactly who they want no matter what the fee or the age. Now we know it is INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the new structure coming in have got to start saying no to the manager."