Manchester United, once again, need to rebuild. With Erik Ten Hag, one of Europe’s brightest coaches who has first-hand experience of doing this at what was another fallen giant in Ajax, taking over at the club there is probably more hope now than at any point in the last decade that we have the right man for the job.
United is a club where even after you leave it will always be a significant part of your life, which is testament to the size of the club.
Because of this, the opinions of the ex-United players will always be prevalent in the media. The previous managers are all more than aware of this, and Erik himself will be too given Ajax’s similarities as a club in terms of size and the strong culture that defines them.
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When he came into Ajax, he was not seen as an ‘Ajax man’ and many people surrounding the club raised eyebrows, but he quickly proved them wrong. He now finds himself in a somewhat similar position at United, coming in as an outsider.
The Athletic spoke to some of the club's ex-players to gauge their views on what needed to be done at the club. First up was Juan Mata, technically not yet an ex-player but about to depart from Old Trafford after eight years with the club.
The Spaniard claims that United 'need a reset in the culture of the club' and that anybody you ask "will say the same".
In no uncertain terms, he made it clear that the standards at the club must be reinforced, asking 'what entitles you' to be a United player and 'whoever doesn’t meet these standards is not up to the task and shouldn’t be here'.
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Ex-winger Quinton Fortune made comments about the club’s model when it comes to signing players, begrudgingly making comparisons with that of bitter rivals Liverpool where he said every time they sign a player he thinks ‘they have done their homework’, citing January signing Luis Díaz as an example.
Leading on from this, he spoke about the importance of United’s players working together as a unit, praising the level of talent within the squad but correctly stating that ‘if they do not work together, it has no purpose’ and to provide an example he even claimed you could place Lionel Messi in the squad but it would be pointless should they be unable to work together.
Fortune also expressed his hope that Erik Ten Hag must ‘find a way for them to work together, to find happy players and get those relationships going again’ and suggested that United’s players did not work together.
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Relationships and togetherness were an important theme to the former United man, and he concluded by saying that to ‘restore the culture, the unity, that relationship between staff, players, togetherness… that feeling with the fans and creating a positive environment’ was the most important of Erik Ten Hag’s duties coming into the club, but did acknowledge the importance of the work he must do in terms of instilling a style of play and called the appointment ‘exciting because things are more clear in the direction the club wants to go’.
Louis Saha spoke about the importance of players bring properly instructed on their roles on the pitch, claiming that there can’t be ‘half a second where you have to think to play left or play right’ and spoke about how if he was in charge he would ‘rebuild these parameters that were strong, that were never moved’, emphasising the importance of a strong foundation within a team.
Ex-player and academy manager Brian McClair echoed similar sentiments to Fortune, Saha and Mata, saying he believes there needs to be a greater level of discipline within the club.
McClair is of the belief that United actually need to appoint a figure aside from Ten Hag to ensure this, someone who will ‘make sure that the players, from the first team to the academy, understand the visions and values of what it means to play for Manchester United’.
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Many fans have hope that Director of Football John Murtough can be this figurehead for Manchester United.
Javier Hernandez, who scored 59 goals for the club in five years with the club, suggested that United need to move on from the past, expressing his gratitude that he was able to play under the great Sir Alex Ferguson but also coined himself a ‘believer in growth’ and added that ‘when you grow, you don’t do the same things, so you need to accept that.’
‘United DNA’ was a term often thrown around in Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s reign as manager, and it is indeed an important part of this club and its history. But whilst McClair hinted that United need to revert to it, Chicharito suggested United must move on, that ‘enough is enough’ and United must ‘start accepting that an evolution is coming’.
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Whilst Chicharito’s stance on looking back at United’s past slightly differed, the players mentioned all seem to be in agreement on the fact that the culture at United must change.
This past season has been a tough watch for fans, and clearly been tough on the players too. But the arrival of Erik Ten Hag provides a fresh start for everyone, as Fortune said, there seems to be an idea of where the club needs to go on and off the pitch.
The transfer market will be particularly crucial in gauging where the club is headed. There was an agreement that there must be a consistent style, which is one of the reasons Murtough was so keen to hire Ten Hag, and that discipline must be instilled, the players must understand the magnitude of the club they play for.
It is certainly a big job, and how Ten Hag and his fellow staff members perform in it will be seen in the coming years.
Topics: Manchester United, Javier Hernandez, Erik Ten Hag, Juan Mata
Yusuf Haq