Erik ten Hag vs Sancho

[Glorio]

ETH simply said he selected the best off training performances. Sancho is saying not true I'm better than Pellistri, Garnacho, manager just scapegoating me.

It's possible Sancho is not actually disputing what EtH is saying. That comment has been widely construed to mean he has not been applying himself in training.

A player can have poor performances which have nothing to do with laziness (see Fred and McTom), and I think the notion of laziness is what he's disputing. Especially considering he says in the same post that he respects the decisions of the coaching staff.

That said, having watched Sancho pull out of just about every single potential duel I've seen him involved with, he's not convincing either way

 

[Cassidy]

I think it's an interpretation of ETH's quotes, as he didn't say Sancho didn't apply himself in training. Sancho's statement seems to be saying that he did apply himself, so understandable confusion.

ETH said, you have to reach the level everyday. So hes either saying Sancho didnt bring the level or other players brought a higher level.

In any case he clearly saying he was not good enough in training this week to even make the bench. Any way you look at it its a damning inditement when you look at the bench.

Sancho said he's being made a scapegoat and that is the word he used.

 

[GledTheRed]

He already “called him out” by picking the squad and having Gore ahead of him. What did you want him to say when asked where he was? Lie?

Lie, we don't need the added drama.

 

[astracrazy]

Whatever way you look at things, this is terrible man-management from EtH. Really poor.

100% its not.

 

[Earth Wind and McGuire]

I don’t understand why people are hating on ETH here. For years we have been desperate for someone to come into our club and not stand for the shit that goes on in it.

ETH has already proven he’s that man. Ronaldo, big financial drain, huge ego, team had to play a specific way with him in the team - Gone.

Maguire, another huge money under performer, own goal specialist who seemed to get endless game time due to the fact we were unwilling to admit our mistake in signing him - Stripped of the captaincy and rightfully demoted to 4th choice as his skill demands. Hopefully gone soon.

Sancho, perhaps the biggest disappointment out the lot, another huge money signing with a top wage, who has failed to impress at every opportunity. Not once in my mind has he ever came even close to looking like the player we thought we were getting.

De Gea, needed replacing a few years ago but sentiment seemed to keep him between the sticks. I loved De Gea but he just became outdated in the end - Gone

Fred - Tried hard but was never United quality - Gone

ETH instead of keeping the crap and just adding to it, is working hard to get rid of the other dross that’s been signed down the years. VDB, Martial, Maguire and Sancho will hopefully all be gone soon too.

I for one am absolutely delighted with what ETH has done since he came. I’ve been hoping for years for a manager with balls to come in and rip out the deadwood and he’s doing it. The players have become the real force and getting their own way for years. Well no more will subpar performances be ignored or even in some cases rewarded. No more will we have all these guys on a top wage that would struggle to shine in a championship club.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yes, and a manager has never given a false answer in a press conference before? He could have said anything else. "I'd prefer to focus on the players I selected today and their great performance, rather than the players not in the squad for reasons that are not relevant. Next" He didn't have a gun to his head.

And what if he thought calling out a player who aren’t performing might get a positive response? I’ve never known a player so indulged by a Manchester United manager in 40 years following the club. About time he tried a bit of tough love.Feck knows he’s tried every other tactic you can think of to get a tune out of Sancho.

 

[Trex]

Indeed. Although that situation was obviously helped by Rashford not being a little bitch about what happened.

Exactly at work, I get slagged off by my boss, sometimes even unfairly. I don't make statements, why? Because I'll be fired. ETH is Sancho boss and Sancho shouldn't be this fragile he can't take a little pointer.

 

[Superunknown]

He put Rashford on the bench last season because he was late to training, and Rashford responded well. Perhaps Sancho can take a cue from that (or maybe not).

We've seen Sancho's response. Rashford's response was to come off the bench to score the winner in that same game. Sancho's response is to cry on Twitter.

 

[Mickeza]

Lie, we don't need the added drama.

And then get called out for lying Ala Martial and Ragnick. Again, very sensible.

 

[Widow]

It's not a joke, he had no need to cause a drama by making it public.

Makes us look like a bugger bunch of clowns than we are already.

But he didn't, he was asked a question and he made an acceptable answer, Sancho made it a thing. No body was talking about how dramatic or out of order EtH comment was until Sancho started crying because he can't just admit that he hasn't lived upto the hype.

 

[hobbers]

Imagine being paid £350k a week after a £72m transfer, not performing well enough or putting enough effort in for multiple managers (3) to select you, and you lose your NT place.

And calling yourself a scapegoat.

Delusional.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

It's possible Sancho is not actually disputing what EtH is saying. That comment has been widely construed to mean he has not been applying himself in training.

A player can have poor performances which have nothing to do with laziness (see Fred and McTom), and I think the notion of laziness is what he's disputing. Especially considering he says in the same post that he respects the decisions of the coaching staff.

That said, having watched Sancho pull out of just about every single potential duel I've seen him involved with, he's not convincing either way

Sure. By idiots (and Sancho, a fellow idiot)

 

[Noc-Z]

Some are talking about Ten Hag throwing a player under the bus. I dont see that.

He said he wasn't selected as he didn't perform well in training. That's fine, a simple sporting decision. Sancho seems to have misunderstood Ten Hags statement. First he said dont believe what is written its a lie. Well Ten Hag only spoke of his performance....that can't be a lie, its Ten Hags opinion/judgement. Rightfully, entirely up to him so are others making statements about his conduct in the news? As he the says his conduct was good. Well Ten Hag didn't comment on his conduct, only his performance. So is he talking about Ten Hag here (which makes his statement idiotic) or reports on his conduct, which I haven't read.

I think its must be reports by others which have interpreted it as conduct when Ten Hag is talking about sporting performance. Otherwise if he's talking about Ten Hag, then he has misunderstood and revealed himself it is his conduct which is actuallyunder question. But I think he must be referring to other reports which I'm not aware of which are saying its his conduct rather than Ten Hag who only spoke of sporting performance which is his right.

Either way, Sancho, doesn't belong here regardless.

 

[Cassidy]

But he didn't, he was asked a question and he made an acceptable answer, Sancho made it a thing. No body was talking about how dramatic or out of order EtH comment was until Sancho started crying because he can't just admit that he hasn't lived upto the hype.

To be fair. Reporters immediately went to Twitter and quoted ETH so it was already an issue before Sancho posted.

 

[RuudTom83]

Not much has worked with Sancho, different managers (4 Manchester + 1 England) have all tried different approaches.

But replying on social media is hardly the brightest response…if he even wrote it himself (doubtful)

 

[Eyepopper]

"I'm sick of being a scapegoat"... says consistent underperformer.

I deal with people like this all the time, they talk the talk, but fail to walk to walk, and when the time arrives where their underperformance can no longer go unmentioned, or is called out, rather than look at themselves, they lash out, even though they don't have a leg to stand on based on their underperformance being the reason it's got to this point to begin with.

Rashford scored a screamer today, Sancho has 9 league goals in 2 years, does he honestly believe he's done enough to oust either Rashford or Garnacho?

 

[izec]

Sancho is done and ETH should get his shit together quickly. Absolute disappointment the shit he served up so far this season. He needs more pressure, has it far too comfortable.

 

[Agila Dathi]

Dropped because of poor performance in training, but no one was dropped after the 7-0 loss last season.
Nobody at this club has a clue what they’re doing, the board, manager, coaches or the players.

But no player should ever criticise the manager publicly, not ever! So he has to go now.
ETH should do what Mourinho did with Schweinsteiger and tell him to piss off, but he should have done that long time ago with Maguire so I doubt that he has the balls to do it.

 

[Cassidy]

Some are talking about Ten Hag throwing a player under the bus. I dont see that.

He said he wasn't selected as he didn't perform well in training. That's fine, a simple sporting decision. Sancho seems to have misunderstood Ten Hags statement. First he said dont believe what is written its a lie. Well Ten Hag only spoke of his performance....that can't be a lie, its Ten Hags opinion/judgement. Rightfully, entirely up to him so are others making statements about his conduct in the news? As he the says his conduct was good. Well Ten Hag didn't comment on his conduct, only his performance. So is he talking about Ten Hag here (which makes his statement idiotic) or reports on his conduct, which I haven't read.

I think its must be reports by others which have interpreted it as conduct when Ten Hag is talking about sporting performance. Otherwise if he's talking about Ten Hag, then he has misunderstood and revealed himself it is his conduct which is actuallyunder question. But I think he must be referring to other reports which I'm not aware of which are saying its his conduct rather than Ten Hag who only spoke of sporting performance which is his right.

Either way, Sancho, doesn't belong here regardless.

Maybe Sancho is talking about what was written on Social media about him being lazy

 

[VorZakone]

What is the answer he should’ve given, in your opinion? Genuine question. Trying to think of one that wouldn’t have created drama.

Managers lie or deflect all the time. They get media training from their clubs. I don't know, something like "I prefer to focus on the match itself and we'll analyze why we lost and we're taking it one matchday at a time" bla bla.

 

[gza the genius]

He very clearly tried handling Sancho with kid gloves last season. If he's making public statements like this now it just says to me that he's had enough, and fair enough. Sancho's reaction is the issue, not ETH answering a question.

 

[saivet]

ETH said, you have to reach the level everyday. So hes either saying Sancho didnt bring the level or other players brought a higher level.

In any case he clearly saying he was not good enough in training this week to even make the bench. Any way you look at it its a damning inditement when you look at the bench.

Sancho said he's being made a scapegoat and that is the word he used.

Oh I agree, it's a bad look on him regardless.

Not sure what the reference to being a scapegoat is about though, presume he is referring to the media/fans rather than the manager. To say the manager has made you a scapegoat is a pretty stupid thing to say publicly, even for a footballer.

 

[Trex]

It's possible Sancho is not actually disputing what EtH is saying. That comment has been widely construed to mean he has not been applying himself in training.

A player can have poor performances which have nothing to do with laziness (see Fred and McTom), and I think the notion of laziness is what he's disputing. Especially considering he says in the same post that he respects the decisions of the coaching staff.

That said, having watched Sancho pull out of just about every single potential duel I've seen him involved with, he's not convincing either way

Sancho is flat out lazy.

 

[Cassidy]

Oh I agree, it's a bad look on him regardless.

Not sure what the reference to being a scapegoat is about though, presume he is referring to the media/fans rather than the manager. To say the manager has made you a scapegoat is a pretty stupid thing to say publicly, even for a footballer.

Well he posted which is stupid so…. Who knows if he was talking about the manager or the media. I don’t put it past him to he stupid enough to be talking about the manager when he was stupid enough to post a statement

 

[Mickeza]

He very clearly tried handling Sancho with kid gloves last season. If he's making public statements like this now it just says to me that he's had enough, and fair enough. Sancho's reaction is the issue, not ETH answering a question.

Sancho’s reaction offer a very big hint as to why he isn’t being selected and are a huge red flag as to whether he has the mentality to succeed here.

 

[bstb3]

What were people expecting ETH to do? He was asked a direct question. He had several options

1) Tell the truth, without actually criticising because it's simply other people were better.
2) Tell the truth and call out Sancho as a lazy good for nothing
3) Lie and say he was injured / ill
4) Deflect and say something about it's not who is not here, there was enough talent to get the job done.
5) Call the reporters all fecking stupid & headbutt the nearest one on the way out.

He chose option 1, which was to the point and the truth as he sees it. Not bringing someone who hasn't trained well is surely what we would expect. Does he leave out people who have trained better, just to accommodate Sancho? If he does that they can then (rightly) accuse him of playing favourites. It's a no win job our manager role. When he left out Marcus Rashford onto the bench last year he was hailed for doing it. Option 4 might have been more wise, but experience and emotions can play a part. Too honest is a fair criticism.

As for Sancho himself. Obviously the statement in public wasn't wise, but if he was feeling somehow attacked then it's understandable. If you read it you see he hasn't mentioned ETH or the club, just people. He can just as easily be calling out people who have interpreted ETH's comments as he was lazy, late etc when in fact he knows the real reasons. Perhaps he wasn't interpreting the tactics ETH wanted well enough and they had a frank discussion about that. Simply we don't know, but speculation is all about his attitude etc because people have axes to grind, pre conceived ideas about him etc.

Everyone is so quick to jump to the negative these days when not in full possession of the facts. I hope to god one day this toxicity and dark mood lifts, I really do.

 

[top1whoisman]

Managers lie or deflect all the time. They get media training from their clubs. I don't know, something like "I prefer to focus on the match itself and we'll analyze why we lost and we're taking it one matchday at a time" bla bla.

And if the reporter rightly would’ve asked the question again as he didn’t answer it? Say ”no comment”? Sure that doesn’t create any drama or question marks in the media.

 

[gaffs]

Sancho isn't interested.

He is making over a million a month at United and he has been mailing it in since the day he signed.

I don't think he has the fire in him to be a top player - he doesn't have the mentality.

He will be another one that we stuck with. Our only hope is that Saudi buy him.

 

[saivet]

Well he posted which is stupid so…. Who knows if he was talking about the manager or the media. I don’t put it past him to he stupid enough to be talking about the manager when he was stupid enough to post a statement

No doubt it's a silly, vague and quite frankly unneeded statement.

 

[Cassidy]

Managers lie or deflect all the time. They get media training from their clubs. I don't know, something like "I prefer to focus on the match itself and we'll analyze why we lost and we're taking it one matchday at a time" bla bla.

He lied enough and deflected enough about Sancho last season

 

[Superunknown]

And if the reporter rightly would’ve asked the question again as he didn’t answer it? Say ”no comment”? Sure that doesn’t create any drama or question marks in the media.

The irony is that had Sancho said nothing, this 'story' would probably disappear or get buried tomorrow. It really didn't need to be the issue he's made it into.

 

[Dve]

What a massive overreaction from Sancho after fairly innocuous comments from ten Hag. If you're offended to this extent because the manager said you weren't good enough in training you shouldn't be at Manchester United.

Yes, an overreaction, that was my thought too. And he really hasn't been a scapegoat either, like he's claiming. In general, I think fans have been very friendly to Sancho and everyone wants him well. Maguire is the scapeGOAT, not sure what Sancho is on about.

 

[Irwin99]

After another big away day loss & in similar fashion to the way we succumbed late at the Emirates last season EtH choosing to name drop Sancho doesn’t particularly sit well.

If I’m Sancho & see how many chances Antony has been given to be nothing more than meh then I’m probably going to find it difficult to muster my all in training when match days don’t matter.

I don't get this Sancho vs Antony thing. Both are players with disappointing goals and assist numbers but one at least puts in a good shift and helps the team out. It's a bit of an easy choice- at least Antony provides something. I don't think i've ever seen a more passive player than Sancho for the club. Heck even Alexis Sanchez ran around the pitch a bit during his time here.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

He didn’t name drop him. He was sodding asked where he was. Are people just making shit up because they want to moan?

‘You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices. So for this game he [Sancho] wasn't selected'

Considering he spent the best part of 4 months dodging Sancho questions last season it’s a little startling that you struggle to see the difference here. EtH has shown an ability to dodge these questions, the fact he chose not to today wasn’t coincidence.

‘He was sodding asked where he was.’. See you in the next pre-match thread when he chooses not to tell us when Player X is.

Is what EtH did earth shattering? No but neither your post, take your moaning elsewhere.

 

[VorZakone]

And if the reporter rightly would’ve asked the question again as he didn’t answer it? Say ”no comment”? Sure that doesn’t create any drama or question marks in the media.

I've seen enough interviews by now to know that managers can get away with repeating their answer. This isn't some 60 Minutes investigation, these football journos will move on to the next question eventually.

 

[top1whoisman]

The irony is that had Sancho said nothing, this 'story' would probably disappear or get buried tomorrow. It really didn't need to be the issue he's made it into.

Exactly.

 

[gaffs]

What were people expecting ETH to do? He was asked a direct question. He had several options

1) Tell the truth, without actually criticising because it's simply other people were better.
2) Tell the truth and call out Sancho as a lazy good for nothing
3) Lie and say he was injured / ill
4) Deflect and say something about it's not who is not here, there was enough talent to get the job done.
5) Call the reporters all fecking stupid & headbutt the nearest one on the way out.

He chose option 1, which was to the point and the truth as he sees it. Not bringing someone who hasn't trained well is surely what we would expect. Does he leave out people who have trained better, just to accommodate Sancho? If he does that they can then (rightly) accuse him of playing favourites. It's a no win job our manager role. When he left out Marcus Rashford onto the bench last year he was hailed for doing it. Option 4 might have been more wise, but experience and emotions can play a part. Too honest is a fair criticism.

As for Sancho himself. Obviously the statement in public wasn't wise, but if he was feeling somehow attacked then it's understandable. If you read it you see he hasn't mentioned ETH or the club, just people. He can just as easily be calling out people who have interpreted ETH's comments as he was lazy, late etc when in fact he knows the real reasons. Perhaps he wasn't interpreting the tactics ETH wanted well enough and they had a frank discussion about that. Simply we don't know, but speculation is all about his attitude etc because people have axes to grind, pre conceived ideas about him etc.

Everyone is so quick to jump to the negative these days when not in full possession of the facts. I hope to god one day this toxicity and dark mood lifts, I really do.

I would say it would be best to not air out the dirty laundry in public. What good can come of that?

And the same for Sancho's response. It has just thrown further flames on the issue.

 

[Oranges038]

After another big away day loss & in similar fashion to the way we succumbed late at the Emirates last season EtH choosing to name drop Sancho doesn’t particularly sit well.

If I’m Sancho & see how many chances Antony has been given to be nothing more than meh then I’m probably going to find it difficult to muster my all in training when match days don’t matter.

Sancho had 2 years before Antony came in.

If he was any good on the right, Antony wouldn't be at the club.

 

[saik]

After another big away day loss & in similar fashion to the way we succumbed late at the Emirates last season EtH choosing to name drop Sancho doesn’t particularly sit well.

If I’m Sancho & see how many chances Antony has been given to be nothing more than meh then I’m probably going to find it difficult to muster my all in training when match days don’t matter.

He didn't specifically name drop him. He was asked about why McT and Sancho were absent for today's match and he gave an honest answer about them both. Honestly it was a nothing statement only made bigger because Sancho felt he needed to release a stupid PR statement instead of trying to prove ETH wrong.

 

[top1whoisman]

I've seen enough interviews by now to know that managers can get away with repeating their answer. This isn't some 60 Minutes investigation, these football journos will move on to the next question eventually.

Maybe he felt he had tried everything else with Sancho and nothing had worked.