Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has called on the club’s owners, the Glazer family, to front up to fans and shoulder the blame for the current crisis at Old Trafford.
It’s the first time since the inaugural Premier League season of 1992/93 that United have started a campaign with two defeats, while it marked a seventh consecutive away league defeat.
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Ferdinand, who won six league titles and the Champions League at United during his playing career, was left furious at the lack of communication from the Glazers after a shambolic transfer window.
“Where the hell are they?! Get here! Get over here,” Ferdinand said on the FIVE podcast.
He continued: “This isn’t like a normal business, this is a football club with heritage, with history, with character, with personality, real people involved. So, treat it like that.
“They need to come here and communicate. Communication is one of the key components to being successful, from the top down.
“They’re not communicating with the fans, they’re not communicating with the people, no one knows where they are, they can’t put a face to it. I think that’s disrespectful, and I think it’s out of order.
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“They need to come here and put themselves right at the front and start shouldering some of this blame.
“Because they are allowing other people to take the blame and they are intrinsic in what goes on at this football club – good or bad.”
One person Ferdinand believes shouldn’t be blamed for the state of the club is new manager Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman, who joined from Ajax this summer, is the first United manager since John Chapman in 1921 to lose his opening two games in charge.
However, Ferdinand believes a poor transfer window has left Ten Hag hung out to dry, with Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez being the only new arrivals so far.
“I don’t feel sorry for the players, I feel sorry for Ten Hag. He’s come in under false pretences. He’s come in expecting new signings,” Ferdinand said.
“He’s probably sitting there thinking: ‘I’ve been sold a dummy here. I didn’t know I was coming into this’.
“Confidence, I know, was going to be low. He knew that, but he thought ‘I’ll be able to rebuild that’. But obviously, the players are not at the standard required. Simple as that.
“Some of the players will sit there and go ‘that’s out of order, you can’t talk’ – it’s a fact!
“The results tell you that. This isn’t a result over a month or two, this is a result over a long, sustained amount of time.
“You’ve had ample time to kind of lose form and build it back up again and come back and show us your true selves. It’s not happening.”
He added: “I wouldn’t blame Ten Hag right now. You can pick at his team selection or whatever, but this is a bigger problem, a wider problem than that.”
United’s major target throughout the summer has been Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, but the Netherlands international is no closer to making an Old Trafford switch and Ferdinand was critical of the club’s approach.
“They’ve walked around behind him, begging him – ‘please turn round and notice us’,” Ferdinand said.
“And he’s looking around and saying, ‘not for me’. And we’re still there, ‘please give us one chance’. How are we allowing ourselves to be put in a position like that?
“Do you think Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex or Jose Mourinho would be following around a player like this? They wouldn’t be doing that!”
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