On The Premier League
What would be your takeaway from United so far this season?
Towards the end of last season, I know we’d won the FA Cup, which is great for the club, but in terms of where we were in the Premier League, [I was worried] where we finished, the number of goals we’d scored, and the number of goals we’d conceded.
Being a manager myself, you’d think that winning two cups in two years, and he’d deserved the chance to show what he could do, I didn’t have a problem with him staying on this season. But since the start of the season, you think he can’t just repeat what he’s done. He can’t get away with it by just winning the FA Cup again.
The kind of stuff that is concerning for us as football people - not scoring enough, conceding, getting knocked out of the Champions League, losing games we shouldn't - to start the way we have this season. Six games in, seven points on the board. Conceded three against Liverpool, Bournemouth and now Spurs at home. We’ve only scored one goal at home.
You’re running out of excuses to defend the way we are. The biggest concern is that we’re not earning the right to play. Teams are working harder than us. They’re doing more in every department and we’re not matching that. One of the things under Sir Alex was [we had to match them for effort].
We’re not seeing people really running with desire. From a manager’s perspective, that is something that should never have been questioned about United, how hard they work.
You look at City. They’re the best team in the league, and the one thing that always stands out with the best teams is how hard they work. They don’t just work well with the ball, they work really hard without it.
Are you expecting a three-horse title race this season? Who is in the running for fourth?
I think that Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are the top three teams in the league. They’re all capable of winning the league this year. I know Liverpool is not a lot of people’s choices. I’m not biased because I played for Manchester United. I’m not that type of person.
I think Liverpool have got an outside chance of winning the league this year, simply because their attacking ability is up there with the very best. I think they have players who can win you games defensively, such as Virgil van Dijk and the rest of their backline. They keep the ball well, and they can come very close.
Arsenal, they’ve been pushing. I think that with Arsenal, when it comes to the nitty gritty, they just come up short. I think with all the hype and talk about them, when it comes to the business end they just seem to come up short. I feel there’s something they can’t get over and City will always be City. It’s simple - if you finish above City you’re going to win the league.
Fourth place is anybody’s guess. I would think that Tottenham are in their equation now after their performance, and that wasn’t the case two weeks ago. Aston Villa will be there, and Chelsea look like they’re getting an identity under Enzo Maresca, they’re free-flowing.
I expect those three to do well, but I can’t pick out one in particular for fourth.
Was there a signing that stood out for you in the summer transfer window?
I don’t think there’s that many superstars in the game where you go, ‘Wow, he’s amazing.’ There’s a few out there, but not like it used to be. People say ‘You’re a bit old-fashioned,’ but even Victor Osimhen - we were talking about him coming [to the Premier League - but is he a genuine superstar?
A big name, of course, because of what he’d done at Napoli, but outside that, not really. The transfer market is different at the moment. It’s not like they’re all going crazy and paying £70-80 million for players. I think people are taking a step back, because even my old team [Manchester United] is spending over the odds on some players.
I think clubs have become a bit more cunning in their approach and how they value players, because the players commanding ridiculous sums of money are not anywhere close to living up to expectation.
I see there’s a dip in the market, and that’s because the quality of players is not there.
Who are the best three strikers in the PL right now?
I think Erling Haaland, he’s the No. 1 for sure. I think Ollie Watkins will get a mention, because he’s consistent. And the third one, I like another boy at Villa - Jhon Duran. he looks a real handful and a bit different from the rest. He’s got that good presence about him.
I would take a chance on him, he looks like the real deal. What I look for is people who are hungry, and he’s got that. In terms of the big boys, Arsenal haven’t got an outstanding No. 9.
At Liverpool, I like Darwin Nunez and people go on about him missing chances, but I like his presence and what he brings. He needs to get a bit more confident in front of goal. He’s got all the attributes. He’s still relatively young and can only get better.
I also like Alexander Isak.
There’s the guy at Ipswich, Liam Delap, he’s a real surprise player. Watching him yesterday against Villa, I thought, ‘Bloody hell, he looks a handful.’ You can just go by one game, but he looks a threat.
Which PL manager is most under threat?
It changes all the time, even after this weekend. You would have said Sean Dyche, but he’s gone and got a fantastic result at the weekend. Now Erik ten Hag has come into the equation. I would think that Ten Hag right now is the one, because he has a high-profile job and everyone will be talking about it. For him, there’s the pure magnitude of being Manchester United manager that puts him under so much pressure.
On His United Career
Who did you prefer playing with the most out of Sheringham and Solskjaer?
I never had a problem with either of them, my game was adaptable to anyone. When Teddy and I were playing together, I would have been more of a No. 9. I had to stay high because I knew Teddy wanted to come and link the play, like I would with Coley or Ole.
I was capable of being No. 9, so if Ole comes in he plays at No, 9 because he was not as good as I was at linking the play. My game complimented them either way, so it’s an easy fix to play with these guys. With Teddy, we had the same attributes in some respects, but I could play high.
How would you have managed Roy Keane if the roles were reversed at Sunderland?
At Sunderland he was more experienced, more calm at Sunderland. He wasn’t ranting and raving like he was at the peak of his career at Manchester United. He was still one of the boys, going out and getting stuck-in to the usual benders, he’d be part of that.
In the latter stage of his career, he changed his whole approach to football, with his injuries and the drinking culture. He still had fire in his belly, but you didn’t need to do too much with him.
You just had to make sure you kept a rein on him, that there's a certain protocol he could not cross, or challenge you. He likes to challenge people and see how strong or weak you are as a manager and he treated his players the same way. Once you know how to manage that side of him, from the football side of things there’s never a problem with him.
Would you have fancied a chance against this United defence?
I think everybody in the Premier League fancies their chances, including me. You’re looking at Tottenham running riot at the weekend. Lisandro Martinez, he’s such a smaller character. Harry Maguire, not the most mobile. If I was playing against them, I’d move them around a little bit more and shift them. It’s really to work out those two centre-backs. The presence we once had is no longer there, the fear factor is no longer there. You don’t even have to put me in the equation. Bournemouth and Tottenham are coming there and wiping the floor with our defence.
What does the future hold for you as a manager?
I’ve committed to management, there’s no two ways about it. I’ve walked away from a great opportunity, being a global ambassador for Manchester United, but my passion and desire, I had to commit to management. It takes four years to get my licence, complete that, study the game.
You know, understanding leadership qualities, all those things and taking courses on these scenarios. Going into your first job and winning a trophy (with Macarthur FC in Australia) and leaving the team in fourth place, that’s a good start to your managerial career.
I just had the court matter that has just been resolved with Macarthur. It took me 16 months to get vindicated, so I won at the court of arbitration and then we’re in the courts of CAS, the independent thing. Those are the two vindications, I’ve won those cases so I can move forward into management.
I’ve applied for a couple of jobs, but I didn’t really like that, dangling in the background. I’m eager to get back into management and I can’t wait to do so, but the challenge is there’s a lot of managers competing for the same positions. I do believe that I’m very much capable, it's just about getting that opportunity.
On Manchester United's Season
Gary Neville called the loss to Tottenham the worst performance of Erik ten Hag at United. Do you agree?
It was hard to watch, hard to take. You know you’re going to win and lose in football - and not every often would we lose at Old Trafford - but the problem is the manner of the defeat. Three goals against Liverpool, three against Bournemouth at home, and now three against Spurs.
These are teams that would find it very difficult to come to United and get a point, let alone three. It’s hard to get your head around it. The biggest thing is the lack of conviction, the lack of work ethic. People talk about identity, and you can go into more detail, about your methodology and all those fancy words, but you have to show desire and earn the right to win football matches. That’s what always stuck with me from my time at United.
So yeah, it is very hard to comprehend and to get your head around it. And for me, the biggest thing, like I said, you know, we win and we lose football games at times.
But the lack of conviction, the lack of work ethic, You know, people talk about your identity or whatever and you can go into more details and your methodology and all of these kind fancy words.
When I joined, you had to match the opposition for effort because we knew then our talent would shine through. If we’re not matching them for desire, effort, work ethic, you’re never going to win. It was clear on Sunday we were lacking in those departments. We didn’t look fit. We didn’t press. There was no energy whatsoever. It looked like we were playing with no idea about what we were supposed to do when we were in or out of position. Those are two fundamental things I find disturbing.
Do the players or manager need to take responsibility for problems at United?
Both have to take responsibility. The manager sets his stall out and tells the players what he’s expecting. All that has been briefed at the team talk. Now, when you deliver that team talk, the ideas and what the club is about, and how to win the match, the players have to engage and buy into what he’s saying.
Ten Hag has to transfer that energy so that the players can go out and express themselves in the way the manager has described. Both players and manager are responsible for that. The manager can only put across a certain amount of ideas, and then it’s down to the players. That’s how it works.
And who's got to take the responsibility for that? Were you ever at the club during a similar time of discontent?
I think it happened in my first season, when we lost 5-0 to Chelsea. I think that was a particular day when we really came together. The good old days were like, ‘Let’s go out for a drink, a dinner, and thrash it out amongst ourselves. So let’s figure this out - this won’t happen on our watch again.’
I’m not sure if these guys communicate now, because social media now is probably driving them. They text, rather than integrating with each other. Any team sport, if you’ve not got a camaraderie among your team-mates, yes, you see each other everyday, but you need to know people outside the game too. I’m not saying go out on a bender every day or every week! But you have to have a connection with your team-mates.
We only had the conversation once, and that was to say it was never going to happen again. I’m not sure the way football is these days, if that sort of thing happens as much.
Who is the player who can spark Man Utd back into life?
I don’t think there is a character like that at United right now. I don’t think anyone is brave enough to call people out. I think everyone is too pally and friendly, treating it as just another game. I don’t think there’s any aggression in that dressing room.
I think Harry Maguire would have had something like that in the past, but he’s had the captaincy taken away and isn’t a guaranteed starter. To have that leadership quality means that you have to play, you have to roll your sleeves up. He’s not that personality anymore. He’s lost there.
Bruno Fernandes is the captain, and I think if things are good, then everybody wants to be the leader. But we find out people’s character when things are tough. You see the real characters, the real fighters and winners, who are leaders in the dressing room. That’s when you see another side to people, when it’s challenging.
It happens so much at United to really identify who is the leader. That’s why the manager is being questioned, because is he trusting the players to go out and lead in the way he expects? You talk about building a culture, an environment of performance. I’m not sure that’s the case at United anymore. I can’t see us getting out of this hole. I really want us to, and I would love us to, but you can’t help but think this is just going to get worse. We thought this manager was supposed to take us forward, but we’re heading in the wrong direction, very quickly.
Do you think Erik ten Hag has got the right to ask for more time?
Whether he gets it or not, it’s a different story. £600 million is a lot of money, but we’ve seen the players, and I think we’re just buying the players to help us finish fourth. I don’t think we’re buying players to win the league. You’ve got to walk before you can run, but United are so far gone that the players they're bringing in are not even starters for their national sides.
We’re not playing to win the league, that’s gone out of our head. Investing in that type of player, you’re likely to finish fourth. There’s no aspiration at the club, because I haven’t heard United say in the last few years that they are aiming to win the league. If you’re not sending out that message, how would I think we’re going to win? When the top four is all I hear coming out of the club, as a player, that’s what I’m thinking is the target.
It’s where we are as a club, and it’s baffling just how far we’ve fallen, but the players are simply nowhere near as good as they’re making out. We’re behind the tier of the highest standard. We’re not going for the very best players. When you’re bringing them in, what are you expecting, to win the league? Because you won’t. Ten Hag only seems to buy players that only he knows, not bought anyone surprising.
Players like Alexander Isak at Newcastle and Michael Olise at Bayern Munich. You can’t tell me that they wouldn’t have come to Manchester United.
You want hungry players to come in at United and take the club forward. These current signings, we don’t know them until they actually come to the club. They say, ‘Yeah, he played in the Dutch league, or Bologna,’ and I ‘m not saying they’re bad players, but are they United players?
They’ve got away from bringing in players the traditional way. The manager’s job should be to sign players that actually improve your team, and to improve the players.
If Erik ten Hag does not see out the season, is Van Nistelrooy the man to turn things around?
It’s about 10 times that he seems to have survived when under pressure. I think this week if he loses against Porto and Villa, that’s as bad as it could get. He’ll be sacked if he loses those two. I dread to think that he would survive. The problem with United is that they've been elite and the biggest name in British football for years, but we haven’t had an elite manager since Jose Mourinho.
We can’t bring in average managers, or just good managers. You need an elite manager to manage an elite club. Who are the elite managers? Zidane, Ancelotti, Jurgen Klopp. Outside of that, there aren’t too many.
So the appointment of Ruud… Ruud is a manager. He was a manager, he wants to be a manager, and he’s had success. He won a cup. When I saw he went to Manchester United in that fashion, I thought, ‘There’s something not right with that.’
I give him the benefit of the doubt because I know him. Everyone loves United, so why would he turn it down? But when you have a name like Ruud in the background, there’s something not quite right. Like when Roy Keane was at Villa under Paul Lambert and Martin O’Neill. I won’t say ‘suspicious’, but there is something not right. I’d be interested if Ten Hag was sacked, will they give Ruud the interim job, or will he walk away from the job? That’s when I will really figure out what this is all about.
I’m sure Ruud is professional, does his job. He will follow the manager, but you can’t help wondering if he would be in position to take over if Ten Hag goes, with the intention of taking it full-time. I don’t like to work under those circumstances because I feel like there is something in it. I am not going to speculate, but I find it a bit bizarre.
What do you think of United’s firepower?
It’s not there, is it? It’s not there. We’ve played seven games, did our strikers even score? That tells you. Haaland has scored more goals than our strike force put together, that tells you what you need to know. We’ve asked these young boys to come in and do a man’s job at United. The expectation is really high. Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee, these guys are unknown.
At United you always had someone you could learn from. When I came in, Teddy and Cole, they’d already set the standards. There’s nobody with those standards at United right now.
These players are coming in with nobody around them to learn from. Unless you bring in an established player, you’re bringing in kids to do a man’s job. They’re still in that learning process until you get to 25 or 26. Then you’ve done your apprenticeship.
Of course, there are exceptions like Haaland, but we’ve got guys still trying to find their feet at the club, let alone the Premier League. We don’t have that kind of presence up top, to threaten defenders.
When we used to play, there was always a name like Van Nistelrooy, me, and Wayne Rooney. Defenders don’t look forward to that. Now we’ve got Hojlund and Zirkzee, not household names to give you sleepless nights. That’s why United are easy to play against, they don’t pose a threat like they used to. Yes, they’ve got good players. Rashford on his day is as good as anyone else.
Amad, who’s a young kid coming in, has looked promising when he’s played. Antony is not producing. We’ve got a mixture of everything. We’re all hoping that these guys are going to come to the forefront, but they’re young boys, still learning.
We are so far off. We’re in a bad spot. But even with all that is happening, if I was Ten Hag, all you have to do is win the games that are winnable. You don’t have to beat Liverpool - although we’d like to - but you can’t have Bournemouth, Southampton and Tottenham running riot. If you win those games, I think everyone will say you’re making progress and getting closer.
But when you lose to the top boys and the bottom teams, you’ve not got a leg to stand on. The trick in management is to beat the teams around you and buy yourself time. Beat Tottenham, Palace and Brighton, you’re in a position where you don’t need to ask for time. But he’s not done that. That’s his solution - beat those
teams. Don’t ask him to do miracles, just beat the teams around you.
On Aston Villa
Did you think Unai Emery would be such a success?
To get into the Champions League in such a short space of time, it’s brilliant. He could be an elite manager. He brings passion, fire, and has got a clear idea of how he wants his team to play.
Most importantly, he’s getting his message through to the players, because that’s the most important thing in management. The players have to buy into your ideas. Obviously they’ve done that at Villa. Now, I would say perhaps the success has come a year early. Because I met Wes Edens, one of the owners, and I know the ambition of these owners and what they wanted in their vision for the future.
They want to get the club back into the top four because when I was there, we were in the top four. They brought in a highly respected manager. Alright, he failed at Arsenal, and with that he was considered a failure in the Premier League. I think now he understands what it takes in England, and he has the right backing to show what a quality manager he is. I think he is one of the top managers in the league, without a doubt. What he’s doing at Villa, qualifying for the Champions League and playing such exciting football for a period last season that we even wondered if they could be champions last season. If things had gone better against Ipswich, they could have gone joint top again.
They’re not going to do what Newcastle did. Finish in the top four once, then finish outside and get in trouble. I think Villa have bought some really good, exciting players. Duran, obviously Ollie Watkins has been consistent in the last year. Leon Bailey, the set up is really suited, they’ve got a very good goalkeeper in Emi Martinez. He’s got them fired up and it’s a club on the rise.
Could Emery win a trophy at Villa this season?
Yeah, I think they can. I think he has to show he can maintain being at the top. I think that would be his goal, to maintain fourth. I think he could win a trophy, because they haven’t won one since I left. I think that’s the last time. The trophy cabinet has been in decline for a good few years now.
Get that experience in Europe, try to finish as high as possible, in the top four, and win a domestic trophy. I think that would be an outstanding season and what he will try to accomplish.
On European Football
What do you think of the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich?
I don’t think Bayern Munich will be taking this game lightly. They’re up against a team playing consistently, particularly at Villa Park. It’s a fantastic stadium, back in a huge competition, and it’ll be a huge night for Villa.
Villa fans will have longed to see something like this for years. This will be a historic moment for the club in terms of getting back into the Champions League. It’s huge. It’s huge in every aspect and I hope the players don’t freeze because it’s Bayern. That’s what top players look forward to, and they’ve got international players, and some experience in that team.
I don’t think Bayern will be really looking forward to the game, coming here. It’s not going to be easy. I would not be surprised if Villa were to turn them over. Bayern are off to a very good start this season, but we’ll see where Villa are.
What do you think of United’s week ahead, first against Porto, and then Villa?
The record shows that United always get the better of Villa at Villa Park, but I think the shoe is now on the other foot. I think that Villa will be very, very confident. This could be the deciding factor for Erik ten Hag, too.
I think it’s at that stage where ten Hag cannot afford to lose. The distraction would be that we play Porto in the Europa League, and then the attention is quickly back on the Premier League, and with that comes enormous scrutiny on the back of such a heavy defeat against Tottenham.
Villa Park is not the easiest place to go and get a result, and I’m not sure he’ll be looking forward to this, It could end really badly for him this week if he does not get the players back to doing what they should, in terms of digging the club out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves.
This is enormous. I think this could make or break him at United to be honest
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