Michael Owen and Paul Scholes slam Manchester United's performance against Crystal Palace Photo: PLP
Manchester Army of self-confident ex-players United are being questioned by some potential candidates to succeed Erik ten Hag as manager.
Telegraph Sport reported on Tuesday that United have no intention of sacking Ten Hag ahead of the FA Cup final. despite calls from the club's former players to make immediate changes.
Monday night's embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace prompted former United striker Michael Owen to say Ten Hag should be sacked immediately. and Paul Scholes agrees that his assistant coach Steve McClaren could have done a better job.
But Telegraph Sport understands United have no plans to sack Ten Hag ahead of the final against Manchester City on May 25 and that a final decision on his future will not be made until after the club's season.
Calls from Owen and Scholes is just the latest example of former United players turned pundits giving their views on the club and, more pertinently, the future and the manager's job.
Telegraph Sport is aware of at least two potential candidates for the post of coach. United's job if they decide to change things, who are worried about the constant noise and debate created by opinionated former players.
Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Scholes and Owen are among a group of prominent former players who have expressed strong opinions about United and the club's managers.
There is no suggestion that any candidate would turn down the position if it was offered due to the views of former players, but it is a matter that will be taken into account and ultimately seen as making the job more difficult.One source said: “No English club has so many ex-players talking about all the great things they have done at the club in the past and creating so many headlines with their opinions of the manager. No one would think it would be useful.»
United's defeat to Palace prompted sharp criticism of Ten Hag from Owen and Scholes, who appeared on Premier League Productions.
Owen said: “At some point you have to make a decision, they will be completely crushed by Manchester City [in the FA Cup final], in fact they will be destroyed.” Arsenal will beat them at Old Trafford, Newcastle will probably beat them and I don't even think they'll go to Brighton. With a performance like this, they may not get anything out of the rest of the season.
«I'm just wondering. There's so much at stake, even if it's just four games, and I wonder if maybe the board will have to just try to do something here and now and be quite radical about it. He can't, he just won't be able to manage this team next season. He's not good enough. I've been thinking about this for ages, but he's simply not good enough to manage Manchester United.
Owen and Scholes question McClaren's influence.
Regarding McClaren's influence, Owen added: «There is no way his fingerprints are anywhere near this team. He's a brilliant coach and this team is not coached at all.»
Scholes, who also played under McClaren, said: «He doesn't touch this team. The coach must not let him touch this team because everyone thinks we (Owen's United) were a great team that attacked everyone, but Steve McClaren has been running sessions to make sure we stop the other teams by getting the spacing right and corners.
“There really aren't that many bad players at United, are there? They don't seem to be coached, although it looks like it's the coach's fault. It looks like their fight is over.»
United's decision not to sack Ten Hag ahead of the FA Cup final may give the Dutchman some hope that he can somehow hang on to his job thanks to an unlikely Wembley win ', but the Palace defeat put him at even greater risk.
< p>With no intention of making changes now, United sources insist their decision at the end of the season will be made after due consideration and full discussion of the situation. New technical director Jason Wilcox will conduct an audit on behalf of the new hierarchy and make a number of recommendations, as well as assessing the manager's relationship with the dressing room.
Ten Hag's communication with his team is said to have caused problems this season, with some sources suggesting that he lacks motivational skills and empathy.
United management rejected the idea that Ten Hag's side were unlikely to qualify for the tournament. Champions League a while ago. That has since become mathematically impossible, but the club risk missing out on European qualification altogether.
With three Premier League games left to play, United have now dropped to eighth and will play title contenders Arsenal on Sunday » and will then host in-form Newcastle United before heading to Brighton on the final day.
This presents United with the daunting task of qualifying for the Europa League or Europa Conference League ahead of Newcastle and Chelsea. Victory in the FA Cup will secure qualification to the Europa League, but they need to beat City as they need penalties to beat Coventry City in the semi-finals.
If United were to skip Europe entirely, the club would effectively be pursuing a sell-to-buy policy this summer. The expected departures of Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane and Brandon Williams will save around £600,000 a week from the wage bill and free up money to be reinvested in signings.
But given that after £555 million spent over the past three seasons, the loss of all European revenue, coupled with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, will place a huge burden on United to perform well in the summer window.
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