Manchester United suffered a 0-3 defeat at the feet of Tottenham Hotspur in the sixth round of the English Premier League. After the match, famous soccer commentators Shearer and Reinker, in their podcast The Rest is Football, heavily criticized United's performance and questioned the lack of proper identity of the team under the leadership of Jens Ten Hagar.
Shearer was outspoken about United's chaotic performance in the game and believes they were lucky to only concede three goals. He said angrily, "What the hell are United playing? Who can tell me what their system is, what their plan is? They are clueless in the game, I can't see what they are doing at all." Shearer also mocked the fact that United are 12th in the Premier League, which is no longer a matter of inconsistency, but of abysmal performances. He emphasized that the players must take responsibility and not always hide behind the manager.
At the same time, Reinker was also disappointed with United's performance. He said, "As a United fan, it must be a very bad moment. They look like lost souls, the players need to be clear about their roles and know what to do in a given situation. However, for quite some time now they don't seem to know their roles and that is certainly down to the coach." According to Reinkl, footballers don't say they don't try hard, but United's problems right now are clearly more than just a matter of player attitude.
Both commentators have said that despite United winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup at the end of last season, they are still far from being a true Premier League powerhouse. Shearer pointed out that it was an almost impossible task for Ten Hagar after news of United talking to other managers broke at the end of last season. Reinkele, on the other hand, is pessimistic that it will be difficult for Ten Hagar to turn things around at United right now. They agreed that United need to find their own identity and clarify the roles and responsibilities of their players in order to achieve better results in the coming campaigns.
