ESPN FC reacts to Erik ten Hag calling out Manchester United’s ‘toxic culture’ 👀
ESPN FC panel debates Erik ten Hag’s claims about Manchester United’s “toxic culture” and transfer regrets
The show unpacks Ten Hag’s interview with The Athletic, focusing on his criticism of United’s culture, Cristiano Ronaldo and the Kane and Rice transfers. Most panelists see his remarks as blame-shifting and self-serving, though some acknowledge there were real problems at the club and say such old grievances are better kept private.
- Ten Hag should never have been given a new contract, so his sacking was not strange. — Winning the FA Cup against the odds blinded the football people and some fans, and the club made a foolish decision under pressure.
- United do have problems, but some of them were caused by Ten Hag himself. — He points to the big-money signings Ten Hag brought in from Ajax and the Netherlands and says the manager cannot shift all the blame onto the club.
- Ten Hag has no right to complain about missing out on Harry Kane and Declan Rice. — United spent huge money on Antony and wasted funds on other players, while Kane and Rice had other options and may not have chosen that United side.
- It is surprising and pretty damning that Ten Hag portrayed Cristiano Ronaldo as someone who did not push himself in training and influenced teammates negatively. — The guest had always understood Ronaldo’s professionalism, physical preparation and hunger to be unquestioned, so he finds Ten Hag’s account at odds with that.
- Ten Hag should not be bringing this up now, especially by painting Ronaldo as lazy; it looks like excuse-making, and Ronaldo has always been known for hard work and physical preparation. — He accepts that Ronaldo never liked tracking back, but says that does not make him lazy, and calls Ten Hag’s interview pitiful because it is an attempt to excuse his own failure.
- Some things are better left unsaid. — Drawing on his experience coaching teams like Bayern Munich, he says a manager should reflect on how he adapted to the club, players, fans and media rather than blaming the environment; some reflections are understandable, but they are wiser kept private.
- No manager gets everything he wants, and Ten Hag is trying to paint himself in a better light; it does not look good. — He notes that boards promise signings when they hire a manager but things change because players may not want to come or may cost too much, so Ten Hag’s blame-shifting is unconvincing.
ESPN FC’s Kay Murray, Ale Moreno, Craig Burley, Frank Leboeuf and Jurgen Klinsmann react to Erik ten Hag’s comments about Manchester United having a “toxic culture” and his desire to sign Harry Kane and Declan Rice while with the club. ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC
Transcript
Now, Eric Tenhag has been speaking to The Athletic in an interview. So, here are some of the highlights. Uh, Manchester United has toxic culture. They give power to their players. He said this on Cristiano Ronaldo. He let the team down and he let me down. On his sacking, he said it was weird to separate ways in that moment. He says he did not want to sell Scott Mctomin and he wanted to sign Harry Kane and Declan Rice. All right, Craig, I'm going to start with you here on His sacking wasn't weird. He should never have been given the new contract. Uh if I'm being frank with you, he uh was stupidly given it after somehow managing to win the FA Cup against all the odds and that sort of blindfolded the the the footballing people because they listened to some of the fans and they got felt a bit pressured. Uh what if he's saying that about Man United? Was he saying about Leverkusen >> after three games and then leaving? >> Toxic culture. He was I've spent longer in the shower and he spent it by a lever cous and so it's you know there's who do you believe here that that's you know it's just worlds a manager comes out blames everybody and I'm not suggesting he's right or wrong and we know there are problems at Man United we know that but some of them were were his doing some of the players that came in from Ajax in particular and from Holland were were his players for by the way for big money and Yeah, but you can't get Harry Kane when you're spending 100 million on Anthony. And when you're wasting money on other players as he and they did, then you cannot go out and say, "Well, get I tell you what, get me Declan Rice as well then and get because everybody wanted those players. Everybody most teams wanted Declan Rice. He had the he had the choice of players. Harry Kane was, you know, could have could have gone pretty much anywhere. So, you know, why would they have gone to Man United and and and the, you know, the the position they were in anyway? So, look, it what what do you want me to say about it? A manager comes out, he gives his side of the story, and I'm sure there are there is another side to that story also. At the end of the day, he couldn't get the tune out of the team that he needed. He got the lever cousin job. They looked at him and thought, "Sorry, now going to make a quick decision." and they made a change. So maybe there's another side to this. I don't know. >> And if you read a lot of this article and a lot of the interview, you get the sense that he feels at least he sounded as if he had discovered Harry Kane and Declan Rice, as if nobody else in the world knew that these players were good players, difference makers. Beyond that, what I was most surprised about in in regards to this article is something that perhaps I've overlooked over the years, and that is that Cristiano Ronaldo is not as hard a worker as we thought he was. >> Yeah. >> Because according to Tenhag, he would not get his heart rate up in training sessions >> and tell the other players not to bother too. >> Correct. And he would influence other players. And because of that attitude, he made it sound in the interview as if Cristiano Ronaldo, not only was he letting Tenhack down and letting himself down, but he was influencing the rest of the team and taking the rest of the team in in a direction that was harming Manchester United and harming individual Manchester United players. For all I knew about Cristiano Ronaldo is that work rate has never been a problem in terms of his preparation and and drive and hunger. Tenhack is telling a different story and one that is pretty damning of the player. >> Are you surprised at how open and candid he's been in this interview, Frank? >> Yes. And I don't know why that story comes out now, you know, where Manchester City hasn't got enough issues, enough problems, you know, to resol to solve. And uh and I don't know that. And I go I go with Ali on Ronaldo. We all know that if there is something we cannot say about Ronaldo that he's a lazy man. He works hard. He always worked hard. It's why at 41 42 sorry he still works hard and he's still a football player. Even of course like with the eight like everybody else is he hasn't got the same performances. But I'm pretty sure that physically he was ready. Of course doesn't like to track back. That's never been his game. but he loves working hard to make sure that he's ready to and has been like that for like 20 years. So I I didn't like that because yeah, it's like well I'm sorry I have excuses for everything and didn't do anything bad. Um yeah, maybe he has some maybe he couldn't get the player that uh he wanted but Manchester United again and I say that it's not the Manchester United that we used to know. It's we don't talk about history. you have to talk about facts and players they see facts. If you are one of the best in the world club in the world, they're going to come to you. But if you're not, they're going to go elsewhere. So, um I I don't know why he comes out with that story. That's that's pitiful for me. >> Jurgen, do you think some things are better left unsaid? >> Yeah, I I think so. I mean, obviously you you have your experiences, you have your moments when when you get a chance to to uh coach uh a huge team like Man United or I had the opportunity with Bayern Munich for example and and uh and things are not going perfectly your way. Um years later, you look back at these moments and you think, you know, quietly, okay, what should I have done differently? Should I what I should I have done better? Where, you know, where were the areas of of problems? you know, how did the locker room function? What was the leadership about from the team? You know, what was the hierarchy of the team? You know, how did you match that environment as a as a manager, as a as a as a person, how did you match that club? You know, over the years when you obviously you played your career for a couple of clubs and you coached for different environments, you realize that you match one environment better than the other, you know, and I think when Eric now looks back at Man United, his time, he says, you know, this and this and this, I felt it was maybe a bit toxic. It was not me, my personality didn't match maybe the personality of some of the people at in Manchester. Um, so, um, yeah, you look back and you say, "What? It should have gone gone a little bit differently. It should have it should have gone, yeah, a bit more my way." I I understand those reflections. I understand those thoughts. But, uh, I think most importantly, um, for me at least personally, I I'm just grateful. I'm just thankful that I got the opportunity to coach certain teams and be in certain environments and I learned a lot from the people there. Are the people exactly how I want them to be? H probably not, you know, but then you realize that you cannot go anywhere in the world and and change people. The only person that can change is is yourself. So if you go into an environment where things run completely different to what we were used to, um then you have to adjust. You have to make the best out of it. You have to adjust to your players that you have at your disposal. Um obviously you have a wish list. Maybe you can get a couple of players and maybe maybe not. Um and then you have to adjust to your the fan base to the the media people there, the city, the the culture of that environment basically, which is in his case Manchester. So some some comments I totally understand where he's coming from and some comments when you look back then a couple of years later, I think it's better just keep them for yourself. When you when have you ever heard a manager and Jurgen's been a manager at club for club and country, but when have you ever heard a manager who's lost his job come out and say, "Do you know what? The club gave me everything I needed and I just couldn't do it. I failed." When you've ever heard that? You ever heard it? No. Cuz no man, no manager, no coach, pretty much none of them gets everything they want. Some of them get more, some of them get less, but they rarely get what they want. And that's something that when you go into the job, uh, you have to understand that. Now, you talk with boards and directors and they'll they they'll they'll sell you the the crown jewels. Yeah. Take this job, we'll get you Harry Kane, we'll get you this, we'll get you that. And guess what? Things change. Things change for various reasons. Some players don't want to go. Some players are too much money. There are there are various things. So, you know, nobody gets everything they want. And I think he's now, and looking from where I'm sitting, he's trying to paint this in a much better picture, in a much better light for himself. Uh, and to be honest with you, I don't I don't really think it's a good look.