Sky Sports duo Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher argued over whether or not INEOS "bottled it" by keeping Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
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Man Utd beaten 3-0 by LiverpoolNeville and Carragher in heated exchangeLatter says INEOS 'bottled it' over Ten HagWHAT HAPPENED?
Following Liverpool's 3-0 win over United at Old Trafford on Sunday, Neville and Carragher had a tense back and forth about the Red Devils' decision to extend Ten Hag's contract at Old Trafford after initially searching for his replacement. Carragher said the fact that they considered replacing him shows minority owners INEOS "don't want this manager", while Neville said they were "open" about the fact they were looking at other coaches but deemed sticking with the Dutchman was the best call.
AdvertisementWATCH THE CLIPWHAT GARY NEVILLE & JAMIE CARRAGHER SAID
When asked if Ten Hag needed more time to deliver or if he was an obstacle to progress, Carragher said on Sky Sports: "I would say the latter. I don't think anything is really going to change in terms of the football that they play. What we saw there we saw a lot of last season, with teams just running at Manchester United's back four. (United technical director) Jason Wilcox made a statement last season about a philosophy of play. There isn't one! We can see it with Slot in the first three games. You can already see something. The profile of players they are looking for. With Man United they just look a mess. If I am being totally honest, the ownership didn't want to keep him. He won the FA Cup final and it put them in a position where they weren't sure what to do. So then they were scurrying around Europe speaking to agents and other managers, seeing if they could find someone better than Ten Hag. They didn't feel that they could so they stuck with the manager, they didn't have the nerve to make the change that they felt they needed to. It's probably delaying the inevitable."
Neville then responded: "I don't agree with the nerve bit at the end, he [Carragher] used the 'bottle' up on the gantry and that is why we were arguing for 20 minutes. He said that the ownership bottled it in not getting rid of him."
Carragher interjected: "They did… you know they did!"
Neville hit back: "Oh my god! How can you say they bottled it? They were really open about the fact that they went and looked for a manager to try and replace Erik ten Hag, they couldn't find one. Bayern Munich had a few months to replace [Thomas] Tuchel, found it difficult and ended up employing someone that was third and fourth choice (Vincent Kompany). Liverpool had six months to replace Klopp and Arne Slot was third choice… it wasn't easy to get a manager in at the end of last season for Manchester United or any club in Europe."
Carragher cut in: "So you are openly admitting that they were looking for another manager."
Neville angrily retorted: "You just said it! They admitted it. What are you on about?"
An exasperated Carragher replied: "So they are looking for someone else, so they don't want this manager. If you are happy with your manager, you don't start speaking to other managers. Bayern Munich and Liverpool knew their managers were going six months before."
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
United have won one and lost two of the Premier League games this season. After spending around £180 million ($236m) on transfers this summer, Ten Hag will be expected to get results quickly – or else he could be out the door at Old Trafford in the not too distant future.
