Alan Shearer Exclusive: Erik ten Hag sacking was inevitable but some players have failed him | OneFootball

Erik ten Hag has been sacked as Manchester United manager, and it's not a huge surprise, is it?

Unfortunately, he was up against it with the new ownership right from the off in the summer, when we all found out they had spoken to several other managers about the job.

They then gave him a new contract, and you look at how that decision now looks just three months later. Man United also spent another near-£200 million on new players, and now, finally and inevitably, they've sacked him.

They haven't won in Europe for a year, they're 14th in the Premier League after nine games and it's a huge football club, and unfortunately for Ten Hag, there has been no improvement so it's no surprise to see him leave.

INEOS ownership not off to a good start

INEOS are supposed to be the best in the business, but I don't think they've had a very good start to their time at Man United.

When you consider that the ownership group were looked upon as the very best from all their different fields, but then with what went on in the summer, to then backing Ten Hag, giving him that new deal and signing new players, to where we are today, they've not had a good start at all.

Having said that, they took over a club that was in a bit of a mess and it'll take time to get Man United to how they want it to be ran.

The sacking, though, was inevitable because every single week no matter the result, it was always about whether Erik ten Hag will lose his job or when, he will lose it. It didn't help anyone.

Everyone who watched the game at the weekend vs West Ham knows they could have been at least five or six up with the number of chances they missed. But, we all knew West Ham would come out in the second half and get chances.

The winning goal was never a penalty, but Ten Hag has lost his job off the back of their inability to score.

Some players have failed Erik ten Hag

There's no doubt that some players have let Erik ten Hag down. If everyone had played to their ability, then perhaps Ten Hag wouldn't have been under such immense pressure.

Having said that, he's been at Man United for over two years now, and I know he won the League Cup and FA Cup, but the shift we were expecting after that FA Cup final display has not happened.

That performance vs Man City was supposed to be the benchmark going forward but they have reached nowhere near that level since.

I haven't seen what format they want to be playing, what identity they have, and, for some players, that probably caused a level of uncertainty, but there are others that could have done a lot better too.

Man United have paid a lot of money for a lot of players during his time, and many of those haven't delivered. Whether you look at that as players not being good enough, or bad recruitment, I think it is fair to say it is probably a bit of both.

Antony failure sums up Ten Hag tenure

Erik ten Hag will rightly point to the two cup competitions he has won, but Man United finished eighth last season, they're currently 14th and a club of that size will always be judged on where they finish in the Premier League.

Those league positions, for a while now, haven't been good enough.

When you look at other new managers coming into the Premier League, you can already tell what identity they have, how they're trying to play, and we still hadn't seen that at Man United after a long time under Ten Hag.

A lot of the players who have come in are players he worked with before, and he really wanted to sign those players because he pushed the board for them.

When you're spending close to £90million on Antony, that signing must be a success, and he certainly hasn't been.

Erik Ten Hag will probably now have some time out to look back and reflect, but I'm sure he'll get back into management, whether that's in the Premier League or in another league.

He has a track record, he's won two trophies at Man United, and got the job from what he had achieved previously, so I'm pretty sure he'll want to get back into management.

Sir Alex Ferguson deserved more respect

One of the other parts of the new ownership's poor start is the news around Sir Alex Ferguson.

I've no problem with them phasing Sir Alex Ferguson out if that's what they want to do, but it was just the way it came out. He deserved more respect because of who he is and what he is to Manchester United.

That is another part of the bigger picture; they certainly can do better going forward and they're going to have to.

Ruud van Nistelrooy may take this opportunity to become new manager

Given the circumstances, the talk and constant rumours about Erik ten Hag not being safe in his job, I'd assume Man Utd have spoken to managers already, or at least sounded out managers in the last week or two.

They have given the job to Ruud van Nistelrooy for now, but we know what can happen in football. They have a match on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, and it could be a great opportunity for Ruud to stake a claim.

He's started off his managerial career and since gone into coaching at Man United, so if they get a result or two then he could be the frontrunner for the permanent job.

Man United are one of, if not the biggest club in the world. You can tell by their fanbase, the pressure they're under, the demand to get results, the need for success and to play top level football every single week.

Whoever goes in there will know that they must deliver from minute one and for their season to ultimately now end as a success, they need to try and get into the top four and win a trophy.

That's what you must do at a club like Man United.