Erik ten Hag makes bizarre comparison to great Man United sides under Sir Alex Ferguson… but has he got his facts straight?
Erik ten Hag praised his Manchester United team after they reached the FA Cup final and made a bizarre comparison to the great Red Devils of the past under Sir Alex Ferguson.
United defeated Championship opponents Coventry City at Wembley in the semi-final on Sunday, but their victory was not without drama after they squandered a three-goal lead before triumphing 4-2 on penalties.
Coventry also had a goal disallowed by VAR in extra time when American striker Haji Wright was marginally offside before passing for Victor Torp to play inside.
The chaotic clash capped the Red Devils’ latest disappointing performance and dismal collapse in a season marred by problems both on and off the pitch.
United were heavily criticized despite their victory, but Ten Hag remained optimistic after the match.
Erik ten Hag cheered on his Manchester United team after they reached the FA Cup final on Sunday
United won on penalties against Championship opponents Coventry, but it was a poor performance
Ten Hag apparently made a bizarre comparison with Sir Alex Ferguson’s great United team
“It’s no shame, it’s a great achievement,” he told Dutch Outlet Ziggosport. ‘We’ve reached the FA Cup final twice in a row, which is incredible.
‘Even the great Manchester United team of ten years ago only managed to reach the final three times in ten years. We’ve done it twice in two years.’
Ten Hag’s bizarre comparison came despite United reaching three consecutive cup finals in the 1990s, while they won the league three times in six seasons between 1993 and 1999.
Meanwhile, in the 2000s, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side played in the showpiece in successive seasons in 2003-04 and 2004-05, before finishing runners-up again in 2006-07.
United failed to reach the final between 2007 and 2016, but they did win the Premier League four times in that period, so comparing Ten Hag’s current squad to that iteration seems like a stretch.
In reality, it has been a torrid season for the Red Devils, with the club failing to build on their achievements of winning the Carabao Cup and finishing third in Ten Hag’s first year at the club.
After dropping out of the Champions League in the group stage, they were also eliminated from the Carabao Cup in the fourth round.
Meanwhile, they will almost certainly miss out on the top four, 16 points behind the Champions League places, while Ten Hag’s men have won 15 league games and lost 12 this season, demonstrating their struggles and inconsistency.
Their goal difference of minus one only adds to the storyline of a difficult campaign and United are in a battle to even qualify for the Europa Conference League.
This has put Ten Hag under significant pressure, with speculation that new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – who watched alongside Avram Glazer at Wembley – could look to replace him this summer.
During his press conference after the match, Ten Hag admitted that his team needs to do better every now and then.
He added: “I see the mistakes we make. You can’t avoid them. We can play at a very high level, but in the same match we can go to a very low level and that is inexplicable.
‘It’s about game management, responsibility and decision-making. In these cases we need to do better. On several occasions like this we let the result pass us by, but today we got away with it.
New co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe watched and Ten Hag came under heavy scrutiny
The great team Ten Hag was seemingly referring to reached three FA Cup finals in four years, while winning the showpiece in 2004
‘I don’t think heads fell, but we have had a lot of setbacks and perhaps our response is human, but not acceptable. If you are in control, you should win easily.
‘We have to do better in these cases. On several occasions like this we let the result pass us by, but today we got away with it.
‘I don’t think heads fell, but we have had a lot of setbacks and perhaps our response is human, but not acceptable. If you’re in control, you should win easily.”
United are back in action on Wednesday when they take on Sheffield United, with the Ten Hag side hoping to pick up just their second win in their last eight league games.