Manchester United fans are certainly worried after Ajax were beaten 2-1 in the KNBV Cup final by PSV Eindhoven on Sunday. The club’s manager Erik ten Hag, soon to be of the Red Devils, made several big changes that go against the rule of Sir Alex Ferguson.
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired in November, United’s higher-ups decided to go slow and steady in their search for a replacement. Ralf Rangnick was merely a stopgap until a permanent replacement could be found.
With such a long wait, the club is counting on Ten Hag to restore Old Trafford’s glory days. However, in Ajax’s cup final, he went against Ferguson’s guidelines by benching talents Sebastien Haller and Andre Onana.
Earlier this season after Solskjaer dropped Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferguson was captured saying ‘you should always start with your best players,’ in conversation with former UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov – who supports United. Onana and Haller most definitely fall into that bracket at Ajax.
Since arriving in the Eredivisie from West Ham, Haller has been in flying form and scored 20 and assisted seven in 26 league appearances. So Ten Hag’s decision to play loanee Brian Bobbey – who has made six appearances so far this season – certainly raised eyebrows, especially as Haller was then called upon in the 72nd minute to try and rescue the result.
Onana was cut from the entire squad completely, with former Everton shot-stopper Maarten Stekelenburg the preferred option. The 39-year-old has made three Eredivisie appearances this season but has hardly even made the matchday squad for the club when he hasn’t started, making his inclusion equally as astounding.
Ten Hag didn’t comment on his decision to drop Onana and Haller for the crucial match, but it will certainly send alarm bells to the Theatre of Dreams. The 52-year-old is set to inherit a star-studded squad in the summer, but morale and tactics have let the team down as a collective.
With a dressing room full of big personalities – who reportedly haven’t been afraid of sharing their views previously – it will be a big ask for Ten Hag to manage those characters. Taking the decision to drop some of the better players at United, arguably, like Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, etc, will certainly cause an uproar.