Manchester United Decreased, Former Captain Blames Sir Alex Ferguson

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag (left) with legend Sir Alex Ferguson. (X. @ManUtd)

JAKARTA - Manchester United never got back up again to win the English Premier League trophy after the death of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Due to Manchester United's slump, former captain Patrice Evra blamed Ferguson.

Not only Ferguson was judged to have made a fatal mistake by placing his post after leading United to win the 2013 Premier League trophy. Evra also blamed himself for leaving Manchester United too quickly after Ferguson's departure.

After being left by Ferguson, United have never won the Premier League trophy again despite changing to five managers. Even a number of top managers have puzzle the Red Devils, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. But no one was able to give the Premier League trophy.

Van Gaal only brought MU to win the FA Cup. Meanwhile, Mourinho is still good because MU can win the Europa League. Now, MU is handled by Erik ten Hag who has won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. However, the former Ajax Amsterdam coach is threatened with dismissal.

Evra assessed that it was difficult for Ten Hag to bring MU to the Premier League champions. Last season despite winning the FA Cup, Manchester United were stranded in eighth place or the lowest position since the competition changed to Premier League. Currently, MU is still stuck in 12th place.

Evra, who left Manchester United in 2014 or one year after Ferguson's departure, admitted that he was too quick to leave when the team needed someone who could set a role model for players.

"I am to blame. I also blame Sir Alex Ferguson. It must be admitted that now it is really difficult to talk about United. Especially when compared to the past when we played for fans, emblems and the club's history," Evra was quoted as saying by The Sun.

"We went too fast and this makes it difficult for players because they can't be used as role models," he said.

Ferguson's departure was also quite surprising and was considered too fast. Even Evra thinks it's not time for Ferguson to leave because the club hasn't prepared a replacement yet. And it looks like Manchester United are confused and having trouble finding a replacement for Ferguson until they later sign David Moyes who never won the championship trophy while handling Everton.

Ferguson actually hopes for Pep Guardiola who at that time had left Barcelona. They have also met. But Guardiola turned down Ferguson's offer and chose to take care of Bayern Munich. Not only that, Guardiola then crossed over to Manchester City's Manchester United rivals, so left Bayern.

No coach has come to Old Trafford to replace Ferguson until finally Moyes is appointed. As a result, Moyes failed to meet expectations and was dismissed before the 2013/2014 competition ended.

When Evra left, Van Gaal, who replaced Moyes, had asked him to stay. However, Evra refused. Meanwhile, his partner in the back, Rio Ferdinand, also did not renew his contract. Practically, MU lost a number of senior players.

Despite leaving Wayne Rooney, goalkeeper David de Gea, Robin van Persie to Antonio Valencia, but United were never able to rise again. This makes Evra regret deciding to leave when MU needs a senior player.

"I'm no longer inside. So I don't know what the problem is. Manager Ten Hag has tried to do his best, but it's still not enough," said Evra, who has won five Premier League trophies and one Champions League champion. This does not include other trophies such as the FA Cup, Community Shield to the Club World Cup.

"This is not just a matter of the season. Since we last won the league in the 2013 season, the club seems to be experiencing chaos," he said.

"I always think positively, but this is indeed difficult. Our competitors are much better than us. They play football very well. Frankly, United's future is still not bright. We are still having difficult moments," said Evra again.

Liverpool had to wait 30 years to become a league champion again. Now United have never won again 11 years. I don't want to wait any longer. I am still United fans forever. And it's really hard to watch United play at this time," said the former France international.

Ten Hag claimed to have won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the first three years at MU. This makes him still worthy of handling the Red Devils. However, Evra assessed that for a club as big as MU, the trophy was still not enough.

He's been at the club for three years. That's right, he has won two trophies. But when you become United manager, you are required to win the league every season. But we'd better stop talking about the past. It's time for us to rebuild MU," he said.