Erik ten Hag had a bad day at the office on Saturday against Fulham (Picture: Getty Images)
Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United need to immediately address the issue of conceding so many shots, while he also questions whether Erik ten Hag has implemented any kind of style of play on his team.
The Red Devils were beaten 2-1 by Fulham at Old Trafford on Saturday in what Ferdinand described as a ‘terrible result’ and which left them eight points off the top four.
Fulham managed to have 17 shots during their victory in Manchester, a figure which has not been uncommon this season for Erik ten Hag’s team to concede.
Doing so at home against a team in the bottom half of the table is cause for concern and Ferdinand feels the hierarchy need to address the problem immediately.
‘They need a meeting about them things,’ Ferdinand said on Vibe with FIVE. ‘There’s got to be an immediate meeting to sort that out.’
The former Red Devils centre-back believes there is more than one reason for Ten Hag’s team being so open and vulnerable to counter-attacks.
Partly it is a fragility in midfield, while he also feels it is an inability to keep the ball up front for any length of time.
‘We are like a basketball team. It’s up, back, up, back. I don’t see us controlling games,’ he said.
Alex Iwobi scored the late winner for Fulham on Saturday (Picture: Getty Images)
‘You know one of the reasons why [United are so open]? We don’t set up to protect ourselves on the counter.
‘I think a lot of teams are now playing the full-back into midfield to stop the counters and get more bodies in there. That’s one of the main reasons Pep does it.
‘But also, we never have a sustained period of attack. Say we go up and win the ball, say at the weekend, very rarely do you see it go out to one winger, [Alejandro] Garnacho, come back out, recycle it, go back out the other side, and then just keep probing, having a look.
‘Pull it in, pull it out, draw people out of positions. I do not see Man United do that.
‘It goes to one of the wide men and they’re like, “I’ve got to get a cross in” or “I’ve got to get a shot off” or “I’ve got to do a madness to get us out of this s**t”. I don’t know. This is why we’re going up and back.’
The 45-year-old feels these problems are part of a wider concern that Ten Hag has not been able to impress a style of play on the team since arriving at the club in 2022.
Injuries have not helped but Ferdinand is not convinced that is an excuse for the Dutchman not having a clear philosophy in his team by now.
‘That’s my one concern: what are we? I’ve been saying that all season, I don’t know what we are,’ said Ferdinand.
Erik ten Hag’s future beyond this season has been brought into question (Picture: Getty Images)
‘When I spoke to the manager, around Galatasaray [November], he said they’d had a lot of injuries so it was difficult to implement the tactical side of things and have a regular way of playing.
‘But I just think if you coach your team, you’re not just coaching 11 players, you’re coaching everyone in the squad so when they come in they should all know their roles and responsibilities to be able to implement a certain way of playing.
‘But Man United just don’t have a style of play at the moment where you go, “That is them”.
‘You look at all the best teams, you know how they play. City, Pep’s been there a long time I know that. But [Ange] Postecoglou, he comes in, you know how his team is going to play. [Mikel] Arteta, you know how his team is going to play now.’
MORE : Rio Ferdinand sends INEOS warning to Erik ten Hag and makes Manchester derby prediction
MORE : Omari Forson undecided on Manchester United future with contract set to expire
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Manchester United news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.