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Carragher Points Out Major Flaw From In-Depth Erik Ten Hag Interview

Carragher Points Out Major Flaw From In-Depth Erik Ten Hag Interview
Eoin Harrington
By Eoin Harrington
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The pressure is on Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, as a hugely underwhelming second campaign in charge comes to an end.

Ten Hag's first season in charge saw United win the EFL Cup and finish third in the Premier League, but things have been much more difficult this season.

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Disastrous early exits from the Champions League and EFL Cup came in the midst of a chaotic Premier League campaign which has seen them struggle for any form of consistency and regularly being outplayed by teams operating far below them in the table.

With a change in ownership shaking things up at Old Trafford ahead of the summer, questions have been asked in recent weeks as to whether the Dutchman is still the right man to return the club to competing for major honours.

This week, Manchester United legend Gary Neville sat down for a fascinating long-form interview with ten Hag about the difficult season his team has endured.

Though ten Hag did raise some legitimate reasoning for why his side have struggled, one particular defence of his style of play did not land with Jamie Carragher.

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Jamie Carragher questions Erik ten Hag take from in-depth interview

Ahead of Luton's Premier League clash with Everton on Friday, Carragher and Neville assessed the latter's in-depth interview with Erik ten Hag.

Neville discussed one of the points that ten Hag had raised in his own defence. The Manchester United coach had pointed out that the injuries to key men Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez had stunted the effectiveness of his defensive setup, leading to the questionable displays which have become commonplace this season:

There's no doubt that Shaw and Martinez are vital to him. One, they can step into midfield with Casemiro when Manchester United are attacking and provide that extra bit of pace and aggression - and they're braver.

The one thing he said when I pushed him on style was that Manchester United last season had the most clean sheets in the Premier League playing the same way. Scoring goals was the problem.

He said, 'that's proof that my style can provide can provide good defensive stats.

However, Jamie Carragher was quick to point out that the defensive frailties that have become prevalent this season were already evident during ten Hag's first campaign.

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But when it went badly, it went badly wrong. You're talking about clean sheets but in terms of conceding goals you're thinking of six at City, seven at Liverpool, three at Aston Villa, four at Brentford.

Though de Gea was indeed the golden glove winner in last year's Premier League, he was culpable in several heavy defeats, none more notable than the 7-0 capitulation at Anfield. That inconsistency was a hint of things to come this season.

Gary Neville was honest in agreeing that there were justifiable question marks about United's defensive setup, despite ten Hag's insistence on sticking to his guns.

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He also noted the astonishing injury crisis the club have suffered this season, but said that even this did not excuse the shocking performances against the likes of Coventry and Sheffield United.

Oh yeah. The away record against big teams...they'd concede six or seven goals. But David de Gea won the golden glove and had the most clean sheets.

It was a case of, 'this style can work, it's the personnel that are in the style.'

He showed me that they've had 30 different combinations of back four - of course that's going to cause a problem. But I still think there are games where they should be doing a lot better. To be fair, I think he thinks that as well.

Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez are both expected to return before the end of the season, in what will be a major boost as Manchester United look to finish the campaign on a high.

Nonetheless, questions must be asked of the coach's style if it is so heavily dependent on only two players.

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