De Jong has nothing but admiration for his former boss (Image: Getty)
Frenkie de Jong made his thoughts crystal clear on , suggesting his former manager might not be entirely at fault for the issues at . The Dutch boss formed a good friendship with De Jong during their time together at Ajax from 2017 to 2019.
The pair were part of Ajax’s triumphs during the 2018/19 season, that included an Eredivisie league victory and a KNVB Cup win, before Barcelona snapped up the talent of the central midfielder. The 54-year-old coach continued his tenure with the Amsterdam giants until 2022, winning two more league titles, another domestic cup, and a Johan Cryuff Shield, before taking over from Ralf Rangnick at .
His spell in England hasn’t quite matched his illustrious period in the Dutch capital, however, securing a third-placed finish in his first year before slumping to eighth in the 2023/24 season. De Jong previously praised in an ESPN interview, claiming that the Dutchman’s tactics were his biggest strength.
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Speaking about Ten Hag in 2019, De Jong said: “All of the technical staff were really important. You can have quality players, but you need good tactics as well. I think it’s one of the most important things today in football and for me, we had amazing tactics.
“Every game I had the feeling ‘OK we’re going to beat them because we’re going to do this, this and this and we have the quality players’. So I think a big part of the success was also the technical staff. It’s not as simple as ‘go out and enjoy yourself’.
“I think these days, in football, it’s really, really important that you have good tactics, that you know how an opponent is going to press, what you’re going to do against it and I think we were prepared on all those things, so the technical staff did an amazing job last year.”
Ten Hag is under a lot of pressure at United (Image: Getty)
Moving onto the current 2024/25 season, United’s current trajectory has dropped alarmingly to 12th in the table with Ten Hag steering the ship. The Red Devils initially gave fans a glimmer of hope at the beginning of the campaign by securing a slender 1-0 victory over Fulham at Old Trafford, yet the team’s performance has since suffered.
Their next outing resulted in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton, and matters only worsened after a 3-0 defeat by arch-rivals . Though a subsequent 3-0 triumph against Southampton offered a momentary high for the fans, a stalemate against Crystal Palace and then succumbing to a 3-0 defeat by – either side of a 1-1 home draw with FC Twente in the Europa League – highlighted the stark reality of United’s current ambition, or lack thereof.
Critical pundits, including Alan Shearer, haven’t missed the chance to comment on United’s evident slump. Shearer vehemently criticised their performance as “shambolic”. In a recent episode of The Rest Is Football, along with host , the ex- striker said: “Man United were shambolic, awful, and lucky to get away with three.
“What are they? Can anyone tell me, what are Man United? What is their system, what is their plan? Do they sit? Do they attack? Do they press? I haven’t got a clue what they are. They’re a mess.
“They’ve won the Carabao and the FA Cup, but in terms of being a force in the league, they’re miles off. They’re miles away. They’ve got no identity.”
Since 2013, United have not managed to secure a title since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson 11 years ago. From 1986 to 2013, the Scottish manager clinched 13 league titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, 10 Community Shields and two Champions Leagues.
In fact, anyone stepping into his role has had a monumental task in front of them, and none have come close to matching his success. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and have all taken turns at the helm of the Red Devils, but none have been able to replicate Ferguson’s success.
Despite not winning any trophies with Everton, Moyes had an impressive 11-year tenure at Goodison Park, which included fourth and fifth-place finishes. Van Gaal, on the other hand, has won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich.
Mourinho has three titles under his belt with , along with successful stints at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Porto. Solskjaer, meanwhile, did a commendable job with United’s Academy. However, none of the aforementioned managers managed to restore ‘s glory days, prompting the question; Is it solely the manager’s fault, or could there be deeper issues lurking behind the scenes at Old Trafford?
The United squad will look to put things right with an away trip to Porto in the Europa League, before heading to Aston Villa at the weekend for their next match-up.