Image Credits: Getty Images
Erik ten Hag found himself without a club after Manchester United sacked the Dutchman back in October.
Ten Hag had led the club to an eighth-place finish in last season’s Premier League. The club only narrowly secured European football by winning the FA Cup against bitter rivals Manchester City.
However, things had gone from bad to worse. United were 14th in the Premier League and sat in the bottom half of the table when they sacked the Dutchman. The Red Devils were also experiencing their worst-ever European run on the back of six games without a win.
Ultimately the United executives decided it was time for a new face in charge of the squad, sacking ten Hag and hiring Ruben Amorim who is already finding his feet at the club.
However, now one of ten Hag’s former players has spoken out about why the Dutchman was sacked.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CENTRE DEVILS WHATSAPP GROUP CHAT NOW!
Ryan Babel explains the sacking of Erik ten Hag
Ryan Babel played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax whilst on a sixth-month loan spell from Galatasaray in the 2019/20 season.
The left-winger made nine appearances for ten Hag’s side, scoring a goal and grabbing an assist.
Now, Babel has spoken out about his former manager and the reasons for him being let go by United.
Babel told Instant Casino, as reported by Football365: “I experienced Ten Hag at Ajax, and he was very clear on his vision and on how he wanted to play.
“Over the years I’ve seen managers succeed and managers fail and that’s not because they are bad managers all of a sudden.
“You have the arguments as to why it didn’t work out for him at United. Did he spend money? Yes, he did, but I also think that he missed out on some of the players that he really, really wanted while he was at Manchester United.
“There were occasions where he couldn’t get his top targets and he had to divert to plan B, plan C. Maybe the players he was presented with couldn’t execute the type of football he wanted to play.”
Babel added: “I do know that he is a great coach, he has a great vision, he has a great eye for football but, again, the Premier League is a different ball game to the Dutch way of playing.
“It is not always suitable in the Premier League to play with those principles. In the Premier League, you need to be able to adapt. You need to have a plan B for strategy. I’m not sure if he had that.
“I think he was too wedded to his plan and tried to make it work even when it was turning against him.
“That’s what I believe happened. It’s sad of course to see a fellow Dutchman go down like that, but I’m sure he will bounce back.”
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CENTRE DEVILS WHATSAPP GROUP CHAT NOW!