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Why Alan Shearer has sympathy for Erik ten Hag despite Man United FA Cup row
Premier League and Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has admitted that the Manchester United players bear some responsibility for Erik ten Hag's departure this week.
Shearer and Ten Hag have found themselves at loggerheads ever since their heated confrontation following the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City. During his interview with the BBC, Ten Hag accused pundits of treating himself and the United squad 'unfairly' to which Shearer retorted that the performance against City was the exception rather than the rule for the Reds last season.
Ten Hag went on to blame injuries for disrupting United's flow, which, in hindsight, would become a running theme heading into this season. Despite this clear difference of opinion on national TV, Shearer told Betfair that the Dutchman was not solely responsible for his demise.
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"There’s no doubt that some players have let Erik ten Hag down," Shearer explained. "If everyone had played to their ability, then perhaps Ten Hag wouldn't have been under such immense pressure.
"Having said that, he's been at Man United for over two years now, and I know he won the League Cup and FA Cup, but the shift we were expecting after that FA Cup final display has not happened. That performance vs Man City was supposed to be the benchmark going forward but they have reached nowhere near that level since.
"I haven’t seen what format they want to be playing, what identity they have, and, for some players, that probably caused a level of uncertainty, but there are others that could have done a lot better too. Man United have paid a lot of money for a lot of players during his time, and many of those haven't delivered.
"Whether you look at that as players not being good enough, or bad recruitment, I think it is fair to say it is probably a bit of both." Ruud van Nistelrooy will be taking temporary charge of United on Wednesday night when they host Leicester City in the Carabao Cup but Ten Hag's successor looks to be on the horizon.
Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is close to being officially confirmed as the new United boss with the Portuguese club confirming that the Reds are willing to pay his £8.3m (€10m) release clause.
