Paul Scholes slammed many of the current Manchester United players in a remarkable rant, including their strikers and new signings.
Manchester United may have had a decent enough performance in the wake of their disastrous game against Tottenham a week ago and the capitulation away at Porto, which they still drew. Erik ten Hag came to Villa Park with suggestions that his job depended on this game, and he did manage to get a goalless draw.
As Paul Scholes mentioned in his comments on The Mirror, Villa were probably suffering from a Champions League hangover following their stellar win over Bayern Munich a few days prior. However, the Manchester United legend used the media as a platform to slam his former club, including a host of players.
He stressed the idea of having two talented strikers but could not see where the goals might come from. Manchester United have scored just five times in seven games, with three of those coming in one game against Southampton.
Scholes also pointed at the money spent on some of the new signings and questioned why some of those did not start against Villa. Overall, he slammed the idea of Ten Hag’s decisions on his selection, which the manager insisted was rotational, which is even more baffling considering this was the last game before an international break.
Scholes said, “In forward areas especially, I just don’t think the quality is there. We go back to the most successful teams, they’re capable of scoring goals. What have we scored? Five goals in seven games,” Scholes told SuperSport.
“Now we had three or four forwards who could get you 20 goals, so you’re looking at 80 goals a season there, and I just don’t see that in the forward line at Manchester United. Look, Hojlund does alright, but is he going to score you 20 goals? I don’t think so.
“Zirkzee… what is he? Is he a No.9 or a No.10? Is he going to get you 20 goals? I don’t think so. I believe they are relying more on hope than actual proven quality, and they spend so much money on it as well.
“It’s a ridiculous amount of money, and some of them can’t get in the team! You think of Ugarte coming into the club who was supposed to change the way the midfield was… he didn’t play him.
“De Ligt, £50m and he didn’t play him. Jonny Evans has come in at 36 years old instead of him. Martinez, Ten Hag brought him into the club. What’s he thinking today? Jonny Evans is playing, Maguire started, [Victor] Lindelof comes on before him. It’s just a recruitment mess really.”
Erik ten Hag’s ‘rotational‘ comments have ap[appeared in two games in a row, as he also used the same justification following Marcus Rashford’s half-time substitution against Porto. He used the same excuse when asked why players like Matthijs de Ligt were benched.
Scholes has a point when he questions why these players were brought for big money and why they failed to start such an important game. In a remarkable rant, Manchester United also said other things about the team.
In hindsight, Manchester United needs to improve its results, especially Ten Hag, who is still upbeat about the future. On the other hand, some criticisms of Manchester United have been over the top, although that will only change when the team starts performing and winning regularly.
