Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney criticizes Erik ten Hag's 'crazy' decisions

Wayne Rooney is the latest Manchester United legend to speak out against Erik ten Hag amid the club's ongoing woes.

Manchester United's poor start to the 2024-25 season has become the main topic of conversation for pundits, former players and even casual fans around the world. The club only picked up eight points from their first seven Premier League games and have yet to secure a win in the Europa League.

Rooney sat down with Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott on an episode of Stick to Football and shared his feelings about the Red Devils' performances under Ten Hag, including an embarrassing 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. don't hide.

“I went to the Tottenham game and it’s the worst I’ve seen at Old Trafford in a long, long time,” Rooney said. “Something has to change. I’m not saying it’s just the manager, but the performances and lack of desire when you watch (United) play is crazy.”

The group discussed Ten Hag's decision to leave Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez on the bench against Aston Villa, which prompted Rooney to give his general thoughts on the manager's decision-making.

“Some of the changes he makes… You never see top teams change centre-backs or the back four during a game. This happens regularly,” he said.

The club's all-time leading goalscorer then brought up Ten Hag's baffling decision to take Marcus Rashford off at half-time against FC Porto. The England international was the team's best player in the Europa League game and could only watch as his team were eliminated in a 3-3 draw.

“It’s the best game I’ve seen Rashford play in a long time,” Rooney said. “To take him off and say at halftime, 'We've got another game at the weekend,' is absolutely crazy.”

United's disappointing result against Porto is just one of four recent draws for the Red Devils. Ten Hag's team also only got one point against Crystal Palace, FC Twente and Aston Villa. In fact, the last time United got a win was against Barnsley in the EFL Cup on September 17th.

With Ten Hag's job on the line, criticism from club bigwigs only worsens his precarious situation aboard a sinking ship.

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