Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag made one of the worst ever team selections ahead of his sacking.
Have you ever made a huge mistake?
It happens to all of us, and honestly the best course of action is to (a) apologise or (b) never mention it again and hope nobody notices.
Erik ten Hag is of the view (c) double-down and bring it up without being asked, refusing to admit that he was wrong.
In case you are thinking, ‘well Erik ten Hag made lots of mistakes, which one is this in reference to’, that would be fair. So I’ll be more specific.
Ten Hag selected Noussair Mazraoui as an attacking midfielder for Manchester United in the Europa League, and left Amad on the bench.
Days later he was fired after a Premier League defeat to West Ham.
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Ten Hag on Mazraoui versatility
I wrote in the days following his sacking, ‘I knew Erik ten Hag was doomed the moment he made the dumbest selection call I’ve ever seen’.
This past week, Ten Hag referenced the decision when discussing Noussair Mazraoui’s versatility, and it does not sound like he has any regrets.
Speaking to the Algemeen Dagblad, Ten Hag discussed Mazraoui’s World Cup performances and made the quite sensible point that there could be a future for him at centre-back, before referencing his disastrous decision.
Ten Hag said: “I have whispered to him before that I can see him playing there in the future. I put him there at Ajax as well. At United, I played Nous at number 10 against Fenerbahçe. He did quite well there too.”
‘Quite well’ is not how we would describe it. United fans commented how it felt like the team was playing a man short, claiming it had not remotely worked.
Mazraoui was moved back to full-back early in the second half with United drawing the game 1-1.
The decision at the time underlined Ten Hag’s increasingly erratic team selections, combined with a poor run of results. Another subsequent defeat saw him fired days later, and the bemusement caused by the Mazraoui decision may have been a contributory factor.
After the World Cup debacle, if YOU had the power to reverse/cancel any red card suspension in Manchester United history, what would you pick?
Mazraoui has technical qualities
Mazraoui can cope better in midfield than other defenders and his versatility is a strength. But he has not played in midfield since and it is likely he will never do so again.
The other position Ten Hag referenced, a centre-back role, is far more likely.
Mazraoui has filled in at the position during the World Cup, just like he did for Manchester United against Chelsea in a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge last season.
He has been an excellent signing for United for the fee paid, a rare Ten Hag success story. Aside from that one game.
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