Michael Owen sees Erik ten Hag as a suitable successor to interim manager Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United. As an analyst a guest at BT Sport the former attacker responded to a Twitter user’s request to appoint Ajax’s current coach from next season at the Red Devils† The succession of Ragnick was discussed again on Wednesday evening after the Champions League match between Atlético Madrid and United (1-1).
“How many times have we discussed this?”, Owen responds when asked to a tweet, which reads ‘Please @Manutd, appoint Erik ten Hag’. “Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson they have always appointed the best man: Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho… They have had so many top trainers. Of course you can say that they have won a League Cup and a Europa League. But let’s face it, none of them really did well, given the resources they had at their disposal.”
“I think he would be fantastic,” Owen continued. “Manchester United need someone who can structure the way they play. Someone who says, ‘This is how we’re going to play.’ I still watch Manchester United a lot now and I have no idea what they want to achieve. I look at it and scratch my head after every game. There is just something missing at Manchester United,” concludes the analyst, who is supplemented by the also present Rio Ferdinand.
“Managers are extremely important. At first I didn’t think so at all, but I only realized it when I stopped playing football. They are responsible for everything. They set the tone, determine the culture and the philosophy. Everything. And that’s what Manchester United lacks at the moment. You also have to be very strong as a manager. Someone who says to his players, ‘Can you do what I want you to do? If not, I’ll find someone else. He must be able to have difficult conversations,” concludes Ferdinand.
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