‘It’s got to be the players’; Hoddle namechecks England legends in scathing Man Utd swipe
Former England manager Glenn Hoddle has absolved manager Ralf Rangnick of any blame after Manchester United drew 1-1 with Southampton on Saturday.
Jadon Sancho gave the hosts a 21st-minute lead. But Che Adams earned Saints a point with a goal early in the second half. It was no more than the south-coast outfit deserved after weathering the storm during the first 45 minutes.
They hit back to more than match the Red Devils during the second period. The result means the north-west giants are now level with West Ham United on 40 points.
But Arsenal are just a point behind having played two games fewer than the duo. United are desperate to finish in the top four.
They replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Rangnick in order to achieve that aim. However, it seems to be a case of one step forward and two back at present.
And Hoddle does not feel that the German tactician’s plans are being followed.
“It’s got to be the players, I can’t believe he’s not working on the training ground on how he wants to set the team up,” he told BT Sport, per FourFourTwo.
“They all want the ball, I see them come alive when someone’s in possession, they’re prepared to run and make angles. When they haven’t got the ball I don’t see a theme.”
Hoddle takes aim at high-profile pair
United were accused of lacking any real tactics while Solskjaer was at the helm. They relied on the individual brilliance of players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes to get results.
But the latter’s partnership with Pogba has not escaped Hoddle’s attention. The former Tottenham midfielder sees similarities between the way they function together and two of England’s finest in recent times.
And he feels they need to up their game and contribute more when the opposition have the ball.
“They could be like [Frank] Lampard and [Steven] Gerrard for England, who everybody said couldn’t play together,” he added.
“These two are wonderful footballers but they need to get them to chip in, just put them in areas where they make people play backwards and they’re part of that closing down”.
United will be back in action on Tuesday when they welcome Brighton to the Theatre of Dreams. A trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United follows next Sunday before the Champions League re-starts on February 23.
READ MORE: Richard Arnold considers scrapping Glazer, Man Utd policy after painful Luis Diaz reminder
The post ‘It’s got to be the players’; Hoddle namechecks England legends in scathing Man Utd swipe appeared first on TEAMtalk.