Man United should stick with Erik ten Hag like Arsenal did with Mikel Arteta, but they won't win titles with Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.

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In an exclusive column for talkSPORT.com, Mark Goldbridge gives his verdict on Manchester United's latest exit.

Is Erik ten Hag the right man for the club's long-term future, should the Red Devils cut their losses on Antony and Jadon Sancho, and what is happening with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes?

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Goldbridge has backed Ten Hag on the Manchester United benchCredit: talkSPORT

Supporting Ten Hag

Yeah manchester united changing coaches would be the sixth in ten years: it is instability and would mean another accumulation of players that the fired coaches have bought.

I think, like many fans, that we are not in a good moment at the moment and that, naturally, pressure the managerbut my position is clear: we must continue with this manager.

Anyone who has watched Man United over the last few years knows that the manager is not the problem. There is a collection of players who don't suit the way we need to play, there is a new vision from Sir Jim Ratcliffe that needs to be followed and patience is required.

If you change managers, whoever comes in will want to buy their own players and will probably say to everyone present: “Let's have another chance”, but we can't afford to do that anymore, we need liquidation and we need stability. .

Whether Ten Hag is the right guy or not, I think for next year the right thing to do is to go ahead with cutting some players and get on with this. So let's not fire the coach for once, let's rebuild and see what happens next year.

The problems at Manchester United are not the coach's and it is easy to point the finger at him. We've done this so many times, it's a cycle: we've done it with David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose MourinhoOle Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and we will do it with Ten Hag.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, INEOS is a new thing, so if they are going to fire a manager, it again feels like Glazer's decision, and they don't want to do it. be associated with it.

I think most Manchester United fans know deep down that the best way forward is to get on with it, like Arsenal I did with Mikel Arteta, and let's see what next season has in store for us.

Goldbridge insists Man United's problems are not Ten Hag's fault

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Goldbridge insists Man United's problems are not Ten Hag's faultCredit: Getty

Rashford and Fernandes will not win you a title

There is no doubt at the moment that Manchester United fans are very frustrated – it has been really disappointing all season since Rashford and Bruno Fernandes has also fallen off a cliff.

The difference between them is that, although he is not playing well, Bruno never stops running, while Rashford does not enter a 50-50 very often, he does not retreat and body language is really bad. It's a big problem because at the beginning of the season they were our two most important players and neither of them are improving.

Mark Goldbridge criticizes Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand for his 'nonsensical' claims regarding Mikel Arteta's departure from Arsenal

Both can play better and I wouldn't make the decision to sell them at this time because we still have a lot of season left and we need them. If they regain their form in the next three months, things will change.

But what you would see in the summer is that they are now light change players, you never know if they will be on or off, and if you want to close the gap on Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal, those teams don't have these players. Bukayo Saka, Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, they are ridiculously consistent and that is something Rashford and Bruno struggle with.

If they want to stay, they have to be absorbed with better and more consistent players. Are they willing to be the second best players because they have been the star players? I don't know.

Goldbridge has called for Fernandes and Rashford to improve quickly or risk being sold in the summer.

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Goldbridge has called for Fernandes and Rashford to improve quickly or risk being sold in the summer.Credit: Getty

I think there is still a decision to be made in the summer because I don't think you can win a Premier League title with Bruno and Rashford as key players.

I think they can become supporting players and be part of the team, but that's not what they have been at Manchester United, so you have to have an honest conversation with them in the summer and say: 'Look, if you hold back, You will probably have a reduced role in terms of star status on the team. Can you deal with that or is it time to split up for all of us?'”

Is everything over for Antonio?

Antony is really interesting, I think most people have decided on him and the fact that Ten Hag, the manager who insisted on signing him, has abandoned him is quite damning for the player.

Is there a way back? I still think there is a good player there, but the problem we have is: is he a good player in the Eredivisie and not a good player in the Premier League? If that is the case then we have to cut our losses.

He has time, like Rashford and Bruno, but if we get to the end of the season and we are where we are now, where he is still a secondary player who does nothing, then after two years we would have to say it's over. .

Antony's Premier League stats this season aren't what you'd expect from an £88m player

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Antony's Premier League stats this season aren't what you'd expect from an £88m player

But we are not going to be able to sell him, he will have to be loaned with an option to buy the following summer, because he cannot have another year like this with kids like Garnacho in front of him. or even Omari Forson on the weekend, and he's probably on his way to being a bust.

The next three months are key and if it doesn't work out, I would expect a loan deal somewhere and then a slow exit from the club.

We should never have paid that fee for him in the first place, we paid £80m for a £50m player, it's a ridiculous amount of money. He has never looked like a £40m player in a Manchester United shirt, let alone £80m.

Sancho is a busted color, that's it.

Once again, the next three months look to be key for many Man United players, and that is also the case for Jadon Sancho.

I really hoped that when he went to Dortmund he would regain form in a league that is not as strong as the Premier League. Let's be honest, there is a lot of cannon fodder in the Bundesliga, where you can get a lot of assists and goals, and I thought that's what he would do.

But this is the worst case scenario because he's a failed colour, he's not the player he thinks he is and it's a bit of an 'I told you so' moment for Ten Hag, because the manager was right, he's not reliable or consistent.

Sancho has two assists in seven games since returning to Dortmund on loan in January.

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Sancho has two assists in seven games since returning to Dortmund on loan in January.Credit: Getty

It's worrying because he's not playing well for Dortmund at the moment and therefore there won't be a list of clubs that want him, which means he's another big hit.

I just hope it turns around, I hope it's just a slow process and by March or April it shows some form, because it needs to move. He can't return to Manchester United, I think he has burned his bridges. He has been given a very good second chance at Dortmund and I really hoped he would recover; It has to be proven: in a similar environment, we heard all the hype at the beginning.

There is no doubt that Sancho is a good player, but he is not the player we thought we were buying and he has to look at himself for that. He has made big mistakes during his time at United. Whatever your issues with Ten Hag are, that's up to you, but fans see it as a refusal to put on the jersey and that's never a good look.

Nobody wants to see those photos of Sancho and Donny van der Beek preparing for the first day of pre-season training because nobody else wants to buy them.

A Glazer signing

If Manchester United signs Ross Barkley I don't think Sir Jim Ratcliffe is really running the football club, I think it's still the Glazers, because that's exactly the sort of thing Man United would do in the last ten years.

Ross Barkley has been fantastic this season for Luton, but Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal aren't looking at him. If he leaves Luton, West Ham? That's the kind of mid-table club he should go to.

Barkley is proving to be a big hit at Kenilworth Road since joining in the summer, but Goldbridge insists Man United should not look at him.

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Barkley is proving to be a big hit at Kenilworth Road since joining in the summer, but Goldbridge insists Man United should not look at him.Credit: Getty

But Manchester United? We have done this many times before. There is a long list, but the one that comes to mind is Christian Eriksen. You bring in a player who has had a good career in the Premier League and he is 30 years old, he may have a good year, but you have given him a three-year contract and he is running out at 31 or 32.

I'm not against those types of signings and that suits certain clubs, but Manchester United have been inundated with these types of deals over the last decade and we need to look for a different profile of player: hungry players aged between 10 and 15 years. 20 and 25 year olds who want to take the next step and become better players.

Ross Barkley is having a great renaissance and I always liked him in his early days at Everton, but he is not a player Man United should be paying attention to.



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