Presenter Mark Goldbridge has urged Manchester United against appointing Thomas Tuchel as their next manager, claiming the club’s problems are not completely the fault of under-fire Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils advanced to the FA Cup final on Sunday, defeating Championship side Coventry City 4-2 on penalties after blowing a three-goal lead in regular time.
Following the triumph, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said that the way in which United collapsed at Wembley is likely to mark the end of Ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford.
He told Sky Sports: “We were watching at the end there, and (Coventry manager) Mark Robins famously kept a Manchester United manager in his job; I believe today’s result has just cost a Manchester United manager his job.” I don’t understand how he remains.”
Indeed, Manchester United seem to be regressing, particularly in comparison to last season, when they qualified for the Champions League with a third-place finish, won the Carabao Cup, and advanced to the FA Cup final before losing to eventual champions Manchester City.
This season, the 54-year-old’s team finished last in their Champions League group, were eliminated early from their Carabao Cup defence, are seventh in the Premier League, and after almost two years in command, there seems to be no effective style of play under the former Ajax manager.
Tuchel emerges as the Manchester United contender
Ten Hag is expected to be replaced this summer, and potential successors include England manager Gareth Southgate, former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter, and now-outgoing Bayern Munich manager Tuchel.
The German won six championships in two and a half years with Paris Saint-Germain (2018-20), including the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and the Bundesliga with Bayern last season.
However, the former Borussia Dortmund manager, who won the DFB-Pokal cup with the German giants in 2017, will be a free agent this summer after stating that he would leave Bayern at the end of the season owing to “not being able to consistently bring the team to a higher level.”
According to Bild writer Christian Falk, United are interested in the 50-year-old and believe he is ready for a new challenge, such as one at Old Trafford.
However, online personalities Goldbridge argues that Tuchel’s clashes with figureheads above him at specific teams make this an unsuitable choice under new minority owners INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Tuchel labelled a ‘terrible fit’ for Manchester United
On Monday morning, he tweeted, “If you’re going to champion Tuchel all day, do your homework.” Arguably the most destructive and domineering coach in contemporary sport. He fell out with the sporting directors of [Borussia] Dortmund, PSG, and Chelsea because he believed he knew better. He did not. “Awful match for what INEOS wants.”
Goldbridge also pointed out that, while United’s players have been repeatedly chastised for their performances over the years, they have not been fired from the club – but the Red Devils have gone through Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick, and Ten Hag could be next.
He remarked on talkSPORT on Monday: “This occurred two years ago, and half of [Ralf] Rangnick’s staff is still here. It surprises me that Manchester United supporters want to repeat the same cycle. In my perspective, you have to look at those players and say, ‘Yeah, they need to go before the manager’ at some time.”
Goldbridge continued: “It’s been going on for years. It is not unique to Ten Hag; it has occurred to Mourinho, Ole, and Rangnick. I understand it’s easy to blame the management, but I believe… The Glazers have been doing this for ten years; it’s a cycle of dismissing managers.”
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