Erik ten Hag was appointed as a manager for Man United before the start of the 22/23 season and the Dutchman has delivered some impressive results to the Manchester club.
We spoke to the former Man United defender, Paul Parker, who has been very impressed by Erik ten Hag but he also claims that Manchester United could have performed better if the board in some situations had backed the Dutchman a bit more.
He also shared a few thoughts on the transfer window that is happening during the summer and told us how Man United should approach it.
Brilliant work by Erik ten Hag despite huge mistake by the board
Even though Parker is impressed by how Man United has performed this season, he is still pointing at one issue that might be the reason why the club isn’t placed higher up in the table.
“Honestly, right now is just about getting by this season. What Erik ten Hag has done in his first season is incredible but it has not helped him that Casemiro has been out for so many games and that Eriksen has been injured.”
“The major problem has been that Erik ten Hag wasn’t allowed to strengthen this Man United team. The board has not helped him by not signing players in January and the truth is that Man United should have offloaded a lot of players in January and bought some new, hungry players.”
“You can’t go shopping if your wardrobe is full of clothes”
Parker has previously said that he wants to offload at least 10 players and even though he still thinks that is the case, he also warns the Man United fans to be patient.
“I’ve previously said that Man United should get rid of at least 10 players but it’s not easy. A lot of players are worth nothing on the pitch and have absolutely zero value on the market but they earn a huge salary. Because of that it can be very tough to offload them.”
“The club needs to do something. They can’t buy players if they are not selling anyone but they need to give Erik ten Hag the funds now to go out and buy some quality players. The fact is that you can’t go out shopping if your wardrobe is full of clothes. You have to get rid of the clothes.”
Man United has made a lot of mistakes in the past years
According to Parker, Man United has been way too generous in the past years when it comes to extending the players contracts.
“Man United has made a lot of wrong decisions in the past years. First of all, they have been giving contracts and contract extensions to players who didn’t deserve it, and secondly they have been giving the players too much of a salary, which leads to them not wanting to leave.”
“And a lot of players have stuck around for that many years now at Old Trafford.. So, other clubs are going to see them as unambitious because they stayed there for that long. It is an extremely tough situation for Erik ten Hag because football isn’t what it used to be.”
