Any true old-school Manchester United fans would be more than familiar with Lee Sharpe, as he represented the Red Devils for eight years, making 265 appearances throughout the late '80s and early to mid '90s.
Now over 25 years since his departure from Old Trafford, Sharpe has spoken about his former club's messy situation and everything going on behind the scenes.
Let us take a deeper dive into what he has said about Man United's tough start to the season.
The Jadon Sancho situation
By now we have all seen and heard what is going on with Jadon Sancho at Man United, as the 23-year-old looks set for a departure from the Theatre of Dreams just under three years after his £70 million move from Borussia Dortmund.
When asked about this situation, Sharpe has stated that he believes Man United manager Erik Ten Hag has been unfortunate and has had to deal with many more similar scenarios in his reign so far.
“I feel for Ten Hag that he’s never really had a clean run at anything. He’s had the Ronaldo situation, he’s now got Sancho, he’s had to deal with Greenwood and Antony, so there’s always been something away from the actual football pitch that he’s had to deal with. It’s another issue that you don’t want, especially when the team are playing as they are.”
Despite this drama happening behind the scenes, Sharpe does credit Sancho for his on-field potential but says that he has not been able to perform at Man United.
“On his day, Sancho is as good at going past people as anyone, his feet are incredible, his energy levels are high, but he just doesn’t seem to be able to do it week in week out for Manchester United.”
Whilst there could be many reasons for the winger’s underperformance, Sharpe thinks that Sancho has not taken the right stance by arguing with Ten Hag.
“Whether it’s because the club is too big for him, whether he does have mental health problems and can’t cope, it’s very difficult. But when you’re arguing and going up against the manager, there’s really only one winner when you’re at a club like United.”
The big question that was asked was if Sancho could revive his career at Old Trafford, which Sharpe answered by suggesting that this is highly unlikely by saying the following:
“Unless he comes back and apologises, works twice as hard as anyone else and puts in performances week after week, then I can’t see him lasting very long at the club.“
After struggling to deliver at Man United, a Premier League move seems to be off the cards according to Sharpe, as he believes that bringing in Sancho is too much of a risk for clubs to take.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone in the Premier League that would take a risk on him. He’s already missed games due to his mental health, he’s now not apologised due to not apologising to his manager, he hasn’t particularly set the league alight when he has played regularly. He has played well in flashes and in spells, I think he’s scored some good goals and created a few good goals. His feet are unreal, and his ability as a footballer is incredible, but his mental strength and attitude you’d have to question, and would a Premier League team take him? I don’t know. Maybe a manager that could put his arm around him and get the best out of him, then maybe, but it’s very difficult when you’ve got a player that is refusing to apologise and is then out partying, it’s a very difficult one. As far as his ability, he’s amazing.“
Only time will tell where Sancho will land up but at this point things just seem to go from bad to worse every day for the Englishman.
Was Mason Mount the right signing?
Ten Hag’s first signing of the 2023 summer transfer window was Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
The midfielder departed his boyhood club and switched from blue to red for a fee of £60 million in hopes of starting a new and successful chapter in his career.
Sharpe was asked if Mount would be Ten Hag’s first choice player to sign, and this was his response:
“I’m not sure, but I know Mount had a loan spell in Holland while Ten Hag was there, and he was pretty impressed by him in Holland, so whether he’s thought back to that and put him on the list of option for him to buy over that. But you look and he wasn’t in the Chelsea team as a regular, so how has he come to Man United and been given the iconic #7 shirt and be expected to be one of the best players here when he couldn’t get in the Chelsea team?”
As someone who has had the pressure of wearing the famous number 7 for Man United, Sharpe understands the pressure that it involves.
Sharpe was also questioned about amount’s ability on the pitch, and how he has started life at his new side.
“I think he’s a good player, high energy, can score goals, get round the pitch, but I think sometimes he lacks awareness of what’s around him and gets caught in possession a few times when he shouldn’t. Again, it’s a brand new club, moving into a new house, playing under a new manager and a new regime, so he’s going to need time. With the team also being so inconsistent it’s putting more pressure on him, so only time will tell.”
Mount has often been compared to Tottenham midfielder James Maddison,, who was signed for £15 million less than his England teammate but has massively impressed since his transfer from Leicester to North London in the summer.
Sharpe was asked if Man United should have rather signed Maddison over Mount, and he responded shortly by saying:
“I think if we all had the gift of hindsight then we all would have said Maddison would have been a better signing!”
However, he does mention that Mount would have probably been used to handling pressure better than Maddison due to their previous clubs, so it seemed to be the right move for Man United.
“When you are buying a lad from Chelsea, or you can buy a lad from Leicester, the question is can they perform at a club like Manchester United, and Mount coming from Chelsea you’d guess might be able to deal with the pressure and the club a little bit better than Maddison on the face of it.”
But certainly the way the two have started this season, Maddison looks a far better investment than Mount does at the moment. But we’ll see where Tottenham end up and how Mount gets on for the rest of the season, and judge it at the end of the season.”
Does Ten Hag have what it takes?
Many questions have been asked about the Dutch manager’s future due to poor recent performances from his side.
However, Sharpe thinks that Man United should stick with their current boss as he has done some really good things for the club so far.
The interviewer asked the former Red Devil if he thinks that Ten Hag does have what it takes to bring back Man United’s glory days, and this is what he said.
“I do, yes. For one, I don’t think there’s anyone out there that you can get to replace him, as they’ve tried four or five world class managers and they’ve not worked. I think the way we saw him deal with the Ronaldo situation amongst other things last season, he’s brought a very much needed discipline back to the club and you have to give him time if nothing else.”
Sharpe even compare’s Ten Hag’s style of discipline to Sir Alex Ferguson in the following quote:
“I think the discipline, order and club discipline before any individual player is very much like Sir Alex.“
The other main point he brought up was that there are not many other options available to take over Ten Hag as Man United manager:
“I think under Ole, things were getting a bit lackadaisical in the discipline side of things, and the work rate was at the lower end of the Premier League when you check the stats of miles covered under Ole. I think Ten Haag has got them fitter, more disciplined, but he’s got a certain way of wanting to play and do certain players not buy into that? He’s got a couple of players who might not be suitable for the size of the club, but is that his choice or the recruitment side? It’s a difficult one at the moment, but who is in the pecking order to take over?”
Ten Hag has undoubtedly improved the overall situation at the club since his arrival, so sticking with him does make sense.
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