Former Manchester United player Clayton Blackmore has been speaking about the state of the current Red Devils side and has also offered some transfer advice to Erik ten Hag.
Blackmore was a part of Manchester United’s 1992/93 Premier League-winning side, featuring 12 times in the league that season.
The glory days of Manchester United are long gone, though, with 2021/22 seeing United secure their lowest-ever points total in the history of the Premier League.
Now, speaking exclusively to 101GreatGoals, Blackmore had this to say on Manchester United’s 2021/22 campaign:
“It’s been a really bad season and for me, Ole did well,” he said. “We finished second in the Premier League last season and in the final of the Europa League. Then we brought in Ronaldo, Sancho, and Varane for this season and it didn’t work. It didn’t work for me because the managers failed.
“He’s got the same players, why are we looking like we don’t know what we’re doing?
“Obviously, there’s always a change when a manager goes and another comes in – for me it got worse, Ole was doing ok, for me he wasn’t the right man I don’t know why but he was too defensive he was a forward himself!
“Then Ralf’s come in and took us down to a new level, you can look at people like Marcus Rashford and blame him because he didn’t do well but I’m watching him on the pitch and Ralf is saying nothing.”
But whilst the former full-back was not exactly enamoured by how United performed last term, he does have higher hopes now Erik ten Hag is in charge:
“I think now with the new lad, Ten Hag, he looks like he will be in control, he’s going to get them playing as a team as it’s a team game no matter how many stars you’ve got,” Blackmore stated.
Ten Hag has a pretty massive rebuilding job in front of him, though, with a busy summer window expected at Old Trafford.
And, in his interview with 101, Blackmore has outlined what Manchester United should do in the upcoming window:
“First of all, they’ve lost Cavani so they need a good centre forward to support Ronaldo, you can’t just rely on him next season,” he stated.
“You need somebody up there to play in the Number 9, Ronaldo would be in the 10 spot like Cantona, shooting from outside the box and picking up the ball deep. If Lewandowski is available I think he would be perfect with Ronaldo playing off him.”
On players he thinks Ten Hag will look to sell this summer, Blackmore added: “There’s no such thing as a toxic player. The papers always go on about Pogba. I know him, he’s a fantastic lad, watched him grow up when he was 16/17.
“I’m reading papers thinking ‘oh he must have changed’. But there are 4 or 5 players that just aren’t good enough and they need to go. Maybe 8/9 players even.
“The key ones are Matic who’s gone to Roma, Pogba is probably waiting for the highest bidders, he’ll probably end up at Madrid or something.
“Every year in the league he’s our best for creating chances. He does the most assists, even though he misses 3/4 months through injury. But the media talk has worked because the fans have believed it and now, he’s gone. People say he doesn’t close down but I think he does. All the older players do, because they are winners.”
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