Alex Crook has expressed his anger at the Glazer family with the way they have run Manchester United to the ground in his latest rant.
The Red Devils began a new era under Erik ten Hag with a gut-wrenching defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion on the opening day of the 2022-23 Premier League season.
This defeat proved that work needs to be done on the transfer front as United have failed to sign their primary targets this summer, yet again.
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talkSPORT’s football correspondent Alex Crook believes the fans were right to protest against the owners when he thought of the real reason behind the club’s failure.
In his passionate rant, Crook started by stating, “Do we blame the manager? I think his team selection was a bit odd.
“I understand that he was trying to make a bit of a statement with Cristiano Ronaldo, somebody who clearly hasn’t been behaving like someone who wants to stay at the football club, and so he’s left him on the bench and brought him on.”
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Talking about the Glazers and why all of this is their fault, Crook said, “The Glazers were there [against Brighton], they’re watching their empire crumble before their eyes and unless they spend significant money, Manchester United have got no chance of finishing in the top four.
“Erik ten Hag, who is a good coach, has no chance of being a success. For me, it’s not on Ten Hag, it’s not on Ronaldo, it’s not even on Fred and McTominay – it’s not Fred’s fault he’s rubbish – it’s on the owners.”
Crook continued, “Ultimately, if you look at the managers who have come in since Sir Alex retired, the main reason why no one has really been able to turn around Man United’s fortunes is because of the ownership.
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“You look at the race for the top six this season: Tottenham have backed their manager, Arsenal have spent big again, Chelsea are trying to spend big, Man City have Erling Haaland who is off the mark already, Liverpool have Darwin Nunez who came in for big money – the only club who haven’t really backed their manager are Manchester United.
“Until that happens and until there are three or four new signings coming through the door, Ten Hag is basically at a loss. He’s asked to polish rough diamonds.”
Speaking about Fred and McTominay, Crook said, “Scott McTominay and Fred in midfield, I didn’t understand that as Donny van de Beek has played every pre-season friendly and so I expected him to start, so that worried me.”
Talking about another Ten Hag decision that didn’t make sense to him, Crook said, “There’s a bit of responsibility on Ten Hag. He waited until five minutes into the second-half (against Brighton) to bring on Ronaldo; why not do it at half-time?
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“He made a triple alteration at the start of stoppage-time that checkered any momentum that Manchester United had and allowed Brighton to manage the game.”
Continuing his rant, Crook added, “You’re not going to get a tune out of Fred and McTominay in central midfield; that is not a partnership that can possibly finish in the top four.
“They don’t really have an alternative to Ronaldo up front. Martial was injured today, Rashford is still devoid of confidence and Jadon Sancho didn’t get involved in the game at all, that’s an £80million player.
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He concluded, “They need more bodies in the building. They need De Jong. Go and get him! Stop messing around with Barcelona. If they want another £17million to pay his deferred wages, you might have to bite the bullet because already on weekend one, Manchester United are falling behind.”
Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Premier League, Brighton And Hove Albion, Cristiano Ronaldo
Mudeet Arora