After Manchester United's 1-3 away defeat to Brentford at the weekend, Erik ten Hag is under even more pressure. This loss saw the club drop to 14th place in the standings. One of the main criticisms leveled at the Portuguese manager from the outside world now is his stubborn refusal to change his 3-4-3 formation—despite an increasing number of matches showing that the current squad is not suited to this style of play. Recently, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand also spoke out about this issue.
The former United star urged Ten Hag to switch to the more practical 4-2-3-1 formation, a system frequently used during the tenures of Louis van Gaal, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and even Ten Hag himself earlier in his time at the club. He stated on his show, “If they play 4-2-3-1, I think all the players will be in positions where they feel comfortable. For the midfield, you could have two out of Casemiro, Ugarte, and Mainoo. Then in the attacking third, there would be three players: Amad, Cunha, and Toney—even Mainoo or Bruno Fernandes could fit in there. They can all play anywhere in the forward areas. Let Šeško lead the line upfront, and let Bruno Fernandes play in the number 10 role; he has been phenomenal in that position ever since he joined the club. I don't think this is complicated—everyone can see the same problems.”
Although Bruno Fernandes missed another crucial penalty in the defeat to Brentford (the Manchester United captain had also fluffed a penalty in the earlier draw with Fulham), this time he tried to deceive the goalkeeper, only for his weak shot to be easily saved. Nevertheless, Ferdinand still affirmed Bruno's ability, noting that the only issue is that he is not in the right position at the moment.
