Erik ten Hag vs Sancho

[redIndianDevil]

If Erik didnt say it, then Sancho doesnt post it. If Erik doesnt rate him, phase him out. Also the timing of saying it couldnt be much worse. There is being ruthless, I think we need it but there are ways to do it.

It looks like EtH is deflecting from the poor start. Or it could be frustrations from the transfer window.

 

[Devil You Know]

Prematurely? Hes been here 2 seasons and done nothing.To make things worse he regularly shirked his responsibilities on the pitch last season.

He even went on a special training camp mid way through the season. I mean this is unheard of.

Amad and Pellstri need to be prioritised over this chancer.

You're talking about the player. I agree that he doesn't deserve a place in the team and I've advocated for selling him for a while.

But I'm talking about the person. I don't want to make him another hate figure without hearing more.

 

[StiffTackle]

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Ten Hag: “Based on, uh, performance in the training, we didn’t select him. No (it wasn’t a form of discipline), you have to reach a level every day at Man United and we can make choices (aka have options) in the front line, so for this game he wasn’t selected.”

Media: “Sancho dropped from the squad due to his poor performances in training not meeting the standards of Manchester United”

Twitter: “How bad do you have to be to get dropped from the squad completely?! Always knew he was - unprofessional/a wrong-un/lazy/always late/rubbish/overpaid/probably addicted to pills”

Sancho: “Please don't believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into, l've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair!
All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face and contribute to my team. I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!”

Based on my (good faith) interpretation of what ten Hag ACTUALLY said in the press conference and the fact we currently have 7 attackers competing for 3 starting spots it doesnt seem wild to me that Sancho was just left out this week as the coaching staff felt the other players trained better. Being 7th best out of 7 attackers is not a glowing reference for Sancho’s application but its not necessarily the damning indictment people are suggesting it is either.

Sanchos statement actually makes more sense under that interpretation as he says he “respects all decisions made by the coaching staff” and that although “every week is a challenge” he plans to “continue to fight” for the badge and presumably his place.

• The lines about ‘not believing everything you read’ and ‘people saying things that are untrue’ could easily refer to the press and fans on twitter.
• The ‘reasons’ that he ‘wont go into’ like many other footballers before him that have felt unfairly maligned by the lazy/unprofessional tag could be perceived racial bias from the press.
• The feeling of being a ‘scapegoat for a long time’ would therefore more likely to refer to the constant criticism in the press/fanbase rather than referring to the man who gave him 3 months off, organised personalised training for him in his own country, is part of the coaching staff that he “respects” and who hasn’t once betrayed his trust publicly by revealing the reasons he went away last year.

Maybe I’m giving Sancho too much credit and it was just a tantrum lashing out at ten Hag but what he wrote seems so contradictory and implausible - I prefer to believe its just a very poorly worded statement by a footballer trying to clear his name on twitter rather than the career suicide of calling his manager a liar.

 

[Devil You Know]

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Based on my (good faith) interpretation of what ten Hag ACTUALLY said in the press conference and the fact we currently have 7 attackers competing for 3 starting spots it doesnt seem wild to me that Sancho was just left out this week as the coaching staff felt the other players trained better. Being 7th best out of 7 attackers is not a glowing reference for Sancho’s application but its not necessarily the damning indictment people are suggesting it is either.

Sanchos statement actually makes more sense under that interpretation as he says he “respects all decisions made by the coaching staff” and that although “every week is a challenge” he plans to “continue to fight” for the badge and presumably his place.

• The lines about ‘not believing everything you read’ and ‘people saying things that are untrue’ could easily refer to the press and fans on twitter.
• The ‘reasons’ that he ‘wont go into’ like many other footballers before him that have felt unfairly maligned by the lazy/unprofessional tag could be perceived racial bias from the press.
• The feeling of being a ‘scapegoat for a long time’ would therefore more likely to refer to the constant criticism in the press/fanbase rather than referring to the man who gave him 3 months off, organised personalised training for him in his own country, is part of the coaching staff that he “respects” and who hasn’t once betrayed his trust publicly by revealing the reasons he went away last year.

Maybe I’m giving Sancho too much credit and it was just a tantrum lashing out at ten Hag but what he wrote seems so contradictory and implausible - I prefer to believe its just a very poorly worded statement by a footballer trying to clear his name on twitter rather than the career suicide of calling his manager a liar.

Good post.

What you've argued is the most we can say at this point. That may change in the coming days, but let's wait and see.

 

[Marcus]

I think playing with a smile on your face is the effect of playing well, not what just happens. If you are in a titanic struggle, you will be playing with a grimace and that's also doing your part for the team. In fact, I would argue, even more so.

 

[StiffTackle]

Good post.

What you've argued is the most we can say at this point. That may change in the coming days, but let's wait and see.

Absolutely. I fear the fact he hasn’t already come out with a clarification suggests I might be wrong, but lets see.

 

[NewGlory]

I think playing with a smile on your face is the effect of playing well, not what just happens. If you are in a titanic struggle, you will be playing with a grimace and that's also doing your part for the team. In fact, I would argue, even more so.

My reading of Sancho's message is that Sancho was pretty directly accusing EtH of favoritism, trying to say that Antony gets picked only because he is EtH's favorite while Sancho believes Antony is not nearly as good as himself.

 

[JediSith]

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Based on my (good faith) interpretation of what ten Hag ACTUALLY said in the press conference and the fact we currently have 7 attackers competing for 3 starting spots it doesnt seem wild to me that Sancho was just left out this week as the coaching staff felt the other players trained better. Being 7th best out of 7 attackers is not a glowing reference for Sancho’s application but its not necessarily the damning indictment people are suggesting it is either.

Sanchos statement actually makes more sense under that interpretation as he says he “respects all decisions made by the coaching staff” and that although “every week is a challenge” he plans to “continue to fight” for the badge and presumably his place.

• The lines about ‘not believing everything you read’ and ‘people saying things that are untrue’ could easily refer to the press and fans on twitter.
• The ‘reasons’ that he ‘wont go into’ like many other footballers before him that have felt unfairly maligned by the lazy/unprofessional tag could be perceived racial bias from the press.
• The feeling of being a ‘scapegoat for a long time’ would therefore more likely to refer to the constant criticism in the press/fanbase rather than referring to the man who gave him 3 months off, organised personalised training for him in his own country, is part of the coaching staff that he “respects” and who hasn’t once betrayed his trust publicly by revealing the reasons he went away last year.

Maybe I’m giving Sancho too much credit and it was just a tantrum lashing out at ten Hag but what he wrote seems so contradictory and implausible - I prefer to believe its just a very poorly worded statement by a footballer trying to clear his name on twitter rather than the career suicide of calling his manager a liar.

Even if that wasn’t what he meant. It would be the perfect way to spin it and end this story.

My opinion is that timing it makes it more likely it was a response to ETH. Maybe he misunderstood what ETH said based on the headline attached etc. But if it was in response to the media / fans it would have taken longer to come out.

 

[Nori-]

The Irony is ETH stood by Sancho for almost 4 months last season, while he needed "a break".

Slowly let him integrate back to the team and supported him at every step.

Now, almost a year later ETH says one comment about training sessions and Sancho stabs him in the back.

I REALLY wanted Sancho to do well but its 100% time to move on. Get the guy sold to Saudi Arabia ASAP and give Amad/Pellistri a shot.

 

[pawanraj]

Sancho to Nottingham Forrest on loan... Any day now...

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

I hope Ten Hag bullies that weak loser Sancho out of the club.

 

[downunder red]

Dear Jason,
You need to have a good hard look at yourself. Over the last 3 years you have consistently come out with lackluster efforts while enjoying an overly massive pay wage. You were even given a chance to go abroad and find some form and fitness and still came back spineless.
You say all you want to do contribute to the team with a smile on your face. I don't want to see a smile. I want to see a look of grit and determination on your face while your playing and after the game you can smile all you want knowing you put in a stint.
Backing out of tackles is another problem. If your not willing to feel the pain fighting for the shirt; well you should not be wearing it.
Monday morning you should go into the office and apologize and either tell the boss your going to knuckle down and put your heart on the line or ask for a transfer.
yours truly
Downunder Red

 

[Sky1981]

feck off Sancho, when Ten Haag even called you out in public, you can bet he's had enough of this.

It may be your fault, it may not, who cares. Knuckle down and prove him wrong or head to the door and don't let the door hit you on the way out

 

[Sky1981]

Surprisingly poor emotional intelligence from ten Haag to not foresee that Sancho might react like this.

3 years of hands around the shoulder, cozying him up, protecting him with "Personal Time off" etc, maybe he's had enough and sometimes you literally need to get fire sets on your arse every once in a while

 

[Cassidy]

Surprisingly poor emotional intelligence from ten Haag to not foresee that Sancho might react like this.

Disagree. Given the response is entirely unprofessional from the player.

 

[Cassidy]

This season has disaster written all over it.

So did last season after a couple of games. And with the Ronaldo drama. We’ll be fine now Hojlund is fit. Hopefukly as Amrabat gets up to speed and more players come back. We played a decent game today against a tough side

 

[RedOrange]

It doesn't matter who the manager is, if the club sides with a mediocre player who won't put in the effort in training over the manager, the results will never improve..

If this is some player-manager power struggle and not a big misunderstanding then Sancho needs to be fecked off ASAP. Sometimes players don't work out for one reason or another, but putting the work in is non-negotiable.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Surprisingly poor emotional intelligence from ten Haag to not foresee that Sancho might react like this.

So ETH needed the foresight that Sancho would act like an supremely entitled brat and thus not ruffle his feathers?

Sancho's statement is embarrassing and this isn't a 1st-time occurrence for criticism of his 'effort' in his training.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

This season has disaster written all over it.

You probably said that after 2 games last season and it turned out okay.

 

[Levi1]

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Based on my (good faith) interpretation of what ten Hag ACTUALLY said in the press conference and the fact we currently have 7 attackers competing for 3 starting spots it doesnt seem wild to me that Sancho was just left out this week as the coaching staff felt the other players trained better. Being 7th best out of 7 attackers is not a glowing reference for Sancho’s application but its not necessarily the damning indictment people are suggesting it is either.

Sanchos statement actually makes more sense under that interpretation as he says he “respects all decisions made by the coaching staff” and that although “every week is a challenge” he plans to “continue to fight” for the badge and presumably his place.

• The lines about ‘not believing everything you read’ and ‘people saying things that are untrue’ could easily refer to the press and fans on twitter.
• The ‘reasons’ that he ‘wont go into’ like many other footballers before him that have felt unfairly maligned by the lazy/unprofessional tag could be perceived racial bias from the press.
• The feeling of being a ‘scapegoat for a long time’ would therefore more likely to refer to the constant criticism in the press/fanbase rather than referring to the man who gave him 3 months off, organised personalised training for him in his own country, is part of the coaching staff that he “respects” and who hasn’t once betrayed his trust publicly by revealing the reasons he went away last year.

Maybe I’m giving Sancho too much credit and it was just a tantrum lashing out at ten Hag but what he wrote seems so contradictory and implausible - I prefer to believe its just a very poorly worded statement by a footballer trying to clear his name on twitter rather than the career suicide of calling his manager a liar.

Hope you're right. He is paid too much though, that amount of money must make things difficult

 

[AR87]

Banter club. Even Chelsea with their billions down the drain are less of a laughing stock than us.

No

 

[SAFMUTD]

Surprisingly poor emotional intelligence from ten Haag to not foresee that Sancho might react like this.

Hahaha im convinced this is just trolling

 

[AR87]

My reading of Sancho's message is that Sancho was pretty directly accusing EtH of favoritism, trying to say that Antony gets picked only because he is EtH's favorite while Sancho believes Antony is not nearly as good as himself.

I'd probably favor a player like Antony, who despite his well documented struggles actually plays with intensity and never fails to make himself available for match selection barring injury versus Sancho, whondisappeared for reasons still unknown, although sanctioned by the manager, in the middle of last season when we were in the thick of our schedule.

Managers favoring players who actually fight for them on the pitch isn't a real shocker, and if Sancho wants that to change he should pick up his level of commitment.

 

[Winrar]

My overly generous interpretation of Sancho’s statement seems to be that he’s lashing out at the journalists who are doing what they usually, sensationalizing what ETH said to make it look like he doesn’t rate him at all. Maybe that’s actually true, but that wasn’t what he said at all there.

I’m any case, it was a poor statement to make and only gone on to do the opposite of what he intended in fueling the flames. Frankly if he was actually complaining about ETH’s statement then I hope there’s some sort of a way to terminate his contract.

 

[Redplane]

Some of this may still be a bit of a misunderstanding but everything taken literally: what EtH seems completely normal for a manager to say - and frankly - that's what I'd expect a United manager to say. I'd prefer it if it can be kept behind closed doors but as others have said: it seems hard to not imagine something pushed him over the edge this time.

Either way: Jadon should have just kept quiet. This whole social media experiment continues to be a mistake. You can't run a club if you constantly have to worry about who's feelings you might hurt. In that regard I respect guys like Harry a lot more.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I’ve always liked Sancho as a talent but I’m afraid he need to look within for answers and sort himself out. He’s paid a fortune to play for one of the worlds biggest football clubs, his manager as well as fans have been nothing but patient with him despite his poor showings - even letting him go away and work on himself for months last year - and now the ball is in his court to prove himself.

He has all the technical ability in the world but the constant issue has been his fragility and inability / lack of desire to compete physically on the football pitch. For him to not have sorted that out by now tells me that there’s something amiss in his mentality. So yeah, he’s really in no position to be whining about how he’s treated. In his position, you should want to work your ass off to make it all up to your fans and club who are putting their faith behind you.

Personally as much as I like the talent - he was the player who after a long time I got exited for us to sign - with this development, he should be on thin ice. I’d monitor his development this season and if it isn’t satisfactory, then it’s time to him him. I don’t want that to happen because I think he has the talent to be a special player but we can’t carry him endlessly.

 

[colombianmancunian]

ETH is explaining why Sancho didn’t make the squad. Perfect valid reason. Sancho on the other hand is being a diva, instead of taking this as a message to get himself together an improve his performances: mentally weak lad.

 

[crossy1686]

Offer him to Saudi Clubs for £40-50m. A lot of fans including me have run out of patience with this guy.

He had a 4 month break last season, we stood by him. He constantly disappears in games, we stood by him.

Now he's gotten so comfortable, he thinks its ok to release statements going against the manager, does he expect us to keep standing by him?

Clear his ridiculous wages ad get rid.

We have Amad and Pellistri who can step up.

Well yeah? He’s had unconditional support from people like yourself when he knows he’s been a bellend and played shit for the best part of 2 seasons. He probably thinks he can do whatever he wants at this point and he’ll still get a section of support.

 

[crossy1686]

I think he has simply decided he wants to leave. Players simply never make comments like that against manager in public, unless he wants to leave.

Yeah I think he’s seen a way out and is grabbing it with two hands. If he’s being shit in training or turning up late then he obviously wants out anyway.

 

[RedOrange]

Some of this may still be a bit of a misunderstanding but everything taken literally: what EtH seems completely normal for a manager to say - and frankly - that's what I'd expect a United manager to say. I'd prefer it if it can be kept behind closed doors but as others have said: it seems hard to not imagine something pushed him over the edge this time.

Leaving one of the highest paid players completely out of the matchday squad speaks for itself. Unless people want the manager to lie about the player being ill or something there's really no way to pretend like it's not related to training or performance.

 

[SirMonteyne]

This is a mess again, everybody knows that Sancho is not getting enough time because Antony is here, then publicly stating/lying like "I am playing Antony because Sancho is a very bad player" is very childish from ETH. Sancho is someone who needs to play regularly as he is the most technical player in the club. I thought that he was improving last year, but then he had to undergo individual training, which seemed a mess.

 

[Bondi77]

Think this deserves its own thread

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I gotta say, I never liked managers doing this in public. Rarely achieves anything. Kinda makes it difficult for Sancho going forward.

The whole point is that Sancho has struggled to go forward ever since he came here.

 

[frostbite]

Sancho cost a lot of money. ETH's job is to get the best out of him or else sell him (for as much as possible). I don't see how this situation will help with either. In my opinion, this is a bad mistake by ETH, and the manager caused this problem for no good reason. Also, ETH is the mature guy and Sancho is the young immature footballer, so I have higher expectations from ETH than from Sancho about handling situations like this one. Unfortunately, ETH doesn't seem capable of handling this correctly.

The manager telling everyone that Sancho can't even train correctly is not very smart!...

 

[Earth Wind and McGuire]

This would be the only issue I have with EtH's statement. Why tank his value? We're pretty good at this by the way (see Maguire, Greenwood)

Otherwise, idiotic of Sancho.

Pretty sure Sancho tanked his own value with his lacklustre performances over the last 2 years.

You think any team that has been watching him would be desperate to offer big money for him? He’s been utter trash and on a huge wage to boot. No one but perhaps the Saudi’s would touch him and even then it’s just for the name to enhance their leagues reputation.

 

[R'hllor]

People act like shit being kept in the house = there is no problem, shit would still brew behind closed doors regardless. Personally dont care much about it, its just one thing after another in circus corp.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Possibly thinks he's being singled out by those toxic fans for the same reason that him, Rashford and Saka got pelters after the Euros.

That's just speculation on my part, though.

Either way, the conclusion that most people are jumping to based on paragraph 2 is in contradiction to paragraph 4.

For any of this to make sense, the explanation should fit both of these paragraphs.

I'll always give United players the benefit of the doubt, until that doubt is erased. I'm not Sancho's biggest fan, but I don't want to throw him under the bus prematurely.

Yeh but it surely does cause a lot of drama and unrest around from his statements, and even making several headlines in media like “Sancho dispute ETH reasons for benching him” etc

If that not his original intention maybe he should clarify it or something.

 

[Tarrou]

I think this is a big mistake from ETH

Sancho is not doing well enough for sure but this stuff shouldn't be aired in public

 

[Beachryan]

On the fence here. Sancho clearly lacks the mentality to succeed at the highest level. Fergie would also have dropped him for that, but would never have said something to the press. He'd of had a niggle or knock in training. Stupid from EtH to feed the rage machine.

But Sanchos response is worse imo. I could care less about your smile, being happy is not what you're paid millions for. Was your mid-season holiday not nice enough last year? Do you need a touch more emotional support right now?

I know it's a different generation but good lord that's pathetic. If you're good enough prove it.

 

[garelo]

I'm with ETH here. someone needs to kick Sancho in the ass and who is better to do that other than his own manager? Man United should have a standard, and the standard is that you have to work hard every game. Antony hasnt set the world alight but you can never accused him of lack of effort to work hard on the pitch, unfortunately same cant be said about Sancho. The club have invested so much money in him and they have been very patient, but it has been 3 years since he arrived, obviously they have the rights to demand one or two things from Sancho at this point?

 

[Devil You Know]

Yeh but it surely does cause a lot of drama and unrest around from his statements, and even making several headlines in media like “Sancho dispute ETH reasons for benching him” etc

If that not his original intention maybe he should clarify it or something.

I'm sure there's a followup coming.

The other thing to point out is that Sancho said:

Don't believe everything you read!​

This only makes sense if he read the comments and never watched the clip. I think that stretches credulity, and only makes sense to internet fans like ourselves who consume football as entertainment through our web browsers. People in this thread are extrapolating from their direct experiences, rather than approaching it from Sancho's.

Sancho would have watched and heard everything his manager said in the 3 hours between the press conference and him hitting the send button. If his tweet had been directed straight at Ten Hag, he would have said, "Don't believe everything you hear!" because that's where he'd have been coming from.