Man Utd legend Ferdinand slams Ten Hag for his ‘kamikaze chaos football’ amid new sack stance
Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand thinks Erik ten Hag “has it nailed on” if he’s trying to get the Red Devils to play “kamikaze chaos football”.
The Red Devils had a positive first season under Ten Hag with the Dutchman guiding them to an FA Cup final, League Cup silverware and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Rio Ferdinand: I give Ten Hag the benefit of the doubt every time
However, things have not gone to plan this campaign with the Red Devils finishing bottom of their Champions League group to crash out of Europe, while they are struggling for consistency in the Premier League.
Since beating Liverpool 4-3 in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Man Utd have drawn against Brentford and the Reds in the Premier League and lost to Chelsea as they remain in sixth place in the table.
Ten Hag achieved some good results last term but his side’s inconsistency this term means there has been a spotlight on his style of play and tactics.
Man Utd are now 11 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham and Ferdinand is concerned by Ten Hag’s apparent style of “kamikaze chaos football”.
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Ferdinand said on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube channel: “The manager came out before and was saying ‘if anyone can’t see the style of play then I don’t know what you’re looking at’ and basically ‘we have got a style of play’.
“For the life of me, I give him the benefit of the doubt every time and am looking at him thinking every time ‘what is it’? I said after the game if kamikaze, open sesame, no control of the game football is what we’re looking for, he has it nailed on and is doing a great job at it because that’s what we’re playing.
“You can put that down to injuries, we have a load of injuries but a lot of teams have injuries and they still play a style of football they are trying to achieve. I don’t think Ten Hag’s style is this kamikaze chaos football.”
Rio Ferdinand: Ten Hag is exposing Casemiro’s ‘worst traits’
Ferdinand added: “That type of football leads to seeing players at their worst at times, for instance Casemiro for all he has won and the great player he has been he will look a worse player when the tactics are the way they are.
“Open transition football with big spaces around him, in that midfield at times another midfielder is 20 yards away. That never happened at Real Madrid so you don’t see his worst traits which is his mobility, same with Kobbie Mainoo, so you do things with a structure so you don’t see that.
“We are doing things where you are going to see exactly their worst trait so it makes them look worse at times.”
Ferdinand’s comments come after Football Insider revealed yesterday Man Utd’s ‘new Ten Hag sack stance’ with the Red Devils board ‘wary’ of letting him go ‘as multiple elite clubs search for new bosses’.
