Ten Hag crisis: Man Utd 'ignored obvious issues' and need to 'start from scratch'

Tom Weber

• Updated: 14 Dec 2023 13:39 GMT
• 3 min read

Former Man Utd player Javier Hernandez believes that the Red Devils' failure to address their problems in a timely manner is to blame for the current crisis.

Man Utd have been in turmoil all season. Officially out of Europe after their 1-0 Champions League loss to Bayern, a campaign that was supposed to be another step in the right direction has quickly turned into a nightmare.

Having also embarrassingly lost to Bournemouth at the weekend, head coach Erik ten Hag is under serious pressure. Julen Lopetegui has emerged as a legitimate replacement for the Dutchman, though thus far United's hierarchy are still keeping the faith - but whether incoming investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe will do the same is up for debate.

However, this current crisis is, in truth, nothing new. Ten Hag's successful first season in charge papered over many issues that have hamstrung the club for years. According to former player Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, the fact that these issues were never properly addressed is now coming back to bite.

What did Hernandez say?

The Mexican international is currently nursing an ACL injury and also looking for a new club after leaving the LA Galaxy. Speaking to AS about his recovery process and his career, the topic of two of his crisis-stricken former clubs, Sevilla and Man Utd, came up.

After sharing his thoughts on Sevilla, Chicharito weighed in on the Red Devils: "Manchester are also in transition, but this one is lasting a bit longer because it’s been many years. I think at Manchester United, it seems like they attempted to ignore the obvious issues for an extended period."

"Rather than taking a decisive approach to rebuilding, they chose to procrastinate and stretch out the situation. Now, after seven years, the expectations are higher, and winning is demanded without a thorough overhaul or starting from scratch. These are things that big teams sometimes find challenging to understand because as a big team, you always have to stay on top, but sometimes you need to pause."

"I want Manchester to win. I mean, I prefer United to win regardless of whether I’m right or not, or whether things are done the way I want or not. I want them to win."