Paul Ince exclusive: Ten Hag and Sancho are both in the wrong, Man Utd to beat Brighton after break and Liverpool have an excellent player in Ryan Gravenberch
Speaking to LuckyBlock.com (your source for bitcoin casino games), former England, Liverpool and Man Utd star Paul Ince believes the Three Lions will be tested against Ukraine and also confirms his desire to return to management.
What are your thoughts on the Ten Hag and Sancho situation?
PI: “I remember, a few years back, speaking about the Pogba situation with Mourinho, that’s not how you deal with things at Man United. Especially with Sir Alex Ferguson, things like this need to stay in-house to avoid adding fuel to the fire. The media were having a field day with the Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho situation.
“Manchester United haven’t started well and Erik ten Hag knows that. The last thing you need at a club like Manchester United is to have this kind of distraction come out – it could’ve been dealt with very differently. Ten Hag has his ways but when you come out saying that “Jadon’s performance in training hasn’t been great”, it’s not something that needs to be put out there and then, worst of all, as what has happened with this, is Sancho replying back.
Paul Ince
“This whole situation has blown up and Ten Hag could’ve dealt with it in a very different way. Sancho has been very inconsistent at Man United and I don’t know who advised him to put the statement out, but I think he’ll look back on it and feel a bit naive.
“When you’re at Manchester United, you have to perform everyday in training. There’s no let off, that’s the standard we set when we were at Old Trafford. Jadon should’ve knocked on the manager’s door straight after seeing the comment and this whole situation could’ve been avoided.”
Do you think Jadon Sancho’s Man United career is effectively over now?
PI: “No, Jadon’s Manchester United career is still intact. The lad is still young, he’s still learning. I think what he’s done is naive and I don’t know who’s told him to do it.
“He needs to go and sit down with the manager and have a conversation. I’ve managed before that’s what I’d be doing.
“It’s down to Jadon Sancho to prove to the manager that he wants to get in the side. We know a lot of money was spent, around £70m. Old Trafford and Man United is a tough place to play and sometimes it takes a lot of time to get used to it but he needs to start stepping up to the plate.”
What do you think Mason Mount’s tough start is down to?
PI: “When you look at Mason, he’s not played much in the last two years, but what he did at Chelsea was brilliant. Man United have signed a player out of form but let’s not get away from the fact that he’s a very talented kid and a very good player.
“Fans need to give him time, As I said people don’t understand mentally and emotionally what it takes to play for a club like Manchester United, it’s completely different to a lot of other football clubs and the expectation is that you have to perform week in, week out.”
What’s next for Martial at Man United?
PI: “Anthony Martial has been at Man United six years and he’s had enough chances. When he first came on the scene I thought “wow, what a wonderful player”, he had everything. But over these last few years I’ve looked at him and just thought that he never looks happy, and he doesn’t want to be there. I rarely seen him smile but he’s playing football for the biggest club in the world, he should be smiling every day.
“Eventually, if you don’t perform, there will always be someone coming to replace you and that’s what he’s got with Rasmus Hojland.
“Man United need someone who is going to score 25 goals a season. Rashford can’t do it all on his own, and hopefully Hojlund will be the answer.”
Ten Hag has had two transfer windows at Manchester United and are off to a poor start. How much longer does he deserve before questions should be asked about his future?
PI: “Any manager that manages Man United or any football club is under pressure as soon as they walk through the door. I feel like, being a manager myself, you like to have three transfer windows to really be able to implement your own style of play. I look at Man United’s recruitment now and think they’re still not there yet.
“Having said that, Ten Hag’s remit was to get in the Champions League and win a trophy. He’s done both. There has been a progression under him. These players that have arrived need to start performing. There are a lack of legs in the midfield, despite how good Casemiro is. Teams are able to break them down easily.
“Ten Hag has done a fairly good job so far and he was the right choice for the club, but if you look at the away record, it’s probably as bad as mine was at Reading!
Paul Ince
“There’s hope at Man United and I think maybe Erik needs a couple more transfer windows. The jury is still out for me on Antony. He’s got to have more to his game than he does.
“Man United have to find these little nugget signings like Brighton do, that aren’t known to the other big clubs. I’d like to see Scott McTominay get more minutes, but Ten Hag still has to look at the midfield area.”
Man Utd play Brighton after the international break. What are you predicting?
PI: “It’s a great game, but a tough one for Man United. Both teams will want to play football and it’s a game that could really go either way.
“On paper you’d expect Man United to win but in reality they’re not quite there yet. Brighton will be full of confidence and it’ll be very entertaining.
“I expect the Reds to win but Brighton won’t be pushovers.”
The Saudis are reportedly preparing to bid £200m for Salah. Given his age, is that an offer they should accept?
PI: “It’s tough. The question is whether Liverpool would be able to replace him or not. I think he is irreplaceable at this moment in time. £200m is a lot of money, but Liverpool don’t need to sell. They are looking like they’re getting back to the Liverpool of old right now.
“Salah is 31. The Saudi Pro League will be there when he is 34. The opportunity will still be there for him later in his career.
“Reportedly, the Saudi’s want to pay Salah £1.5m per week, I don’t think that’s life-changing for him, but more so for the next generation. It’s hard to turn that money down, but it’ll always be there for Salah. Even in two or three years.”
Given the positive start from Alex Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, alongside the addition of Ryan Gravenberch, do you think Liverpool have had the best transfer window in the Premier League?
PI: “What Liverpool have done better than their rivals, is they’ve recognised a weakness in the squad and done something about it. Mac Allister was a fantastic buy for the money they spent on him.
“I watched Gravenberch when he was younger and he’s a lovely player. Very elegant and technically very, very good.
“As for Dominik, he looks like he’s played for Liverpool for two or three years already.
The best thing about it is that these players are still young. They have so many years until they grow into their peak at 28/29 years old.”
Fans have already likened Szoboszlai to Steven Gerrard. Early days, but can you see similarities between the pair?
PI: “If anyone compares Liverpool midfielders to Steven Gerrard, those people need to stay away from the bars and stop drinking! You don’t get players like Steven anymore. There will never be another Stevie G. Patrick Viera, Roy Keane. Players like that aren’t around anymore.
“Steven had the whole package. He had everything and you can’t compare anyone with him. I played with and against Gerrard and he’s one of the greatest ever players.
“In my day, you had to play well for decades before being ‘world-class’, nowadays a player has three or four good games and people claim they’re world class. It doesn’t work like that. Especially not in my eyes.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold captained Liverpool for the first time since it was announced he’d be made vice-captain. What sort of an impact do you see this having on both his club form and international chances?
PI: “Trent is a fantastic player. He’s a world class player going forward. People say he can’t defend but I don’t think that’s true. He’s just been in such a good Liverpool team that he’s had to attack more than defend.
“The fact that he’s forced his way back into Southgate’s plans shows he’s a credit to himself. I know what it’s like to captain Liverpool having done it for two years. It’s so special and now something that you can’t take away from him [Trent].”
Taking Declan Rice out of the side was always going to be a big loss. But when you’ve seen how they’ve played this year, are they actually a more settled and a better team without him, given who they’ve managed to bring in?
PI: “It was never all on Declan Rice. Maybe for some it was, but not me. West Ham was not Declan Rice, there were 10 other players on the pitch. If you’re going in every day and all anyone talks about is Declan then it will affect you as a player.
“Whenever a key player leaves, like Declan has, you have to come together and, without being disrespectful, show that they don’t need him.
“People have always doubted Moyes and claimed he’s too old school, but sometimes you need that. Credit to the board for sticking by him. That’s the type of owners you want.
“Moyes is a great manager and I still believe, had he been given the time, he’d have been a success at Man United too.
“It’s been a blessing to have kept hold of Jarrod Bowen. They’ve started great and it just goes to show that some owners are too trigger happy. I’m pleased the West Ham board kept hold of Moysey.”
England play Ukraine on Saturday, what are you predicting?
PI: “It’s always tough against Ukraine. England will be tested. I still expect them to come away with the win but Ukraine won’t be pushovers.
“I understand why Jordan Henderson has been included. He’s a leader and there’s more to it than form on the pitch. The strange one for me is Kalvin Phillips. I don’t understand why he’s in the squad. He was wonderful for Leeds but he’s not had much game time.
“I was surprised James Ward-Prowse wasn’t included in the last squad. When there’s a free-kick and you need a goal, everyone always thinks of him. There’s no reason why Sterling shouldn’t be in the squad either. He was our number one player at the last Euros.”
What’s next for Paul Ince? Are you itching to get back into management?
PI: “I definitely want to return to management. I look back at the job Alex Rae and I did at Reading and it was phenomenal. No one understands what an embargo actually entails. I look back and think that we did a fantastic job. If it wasn’t for the six-point deduction, we’d have stayed in the Championship.
“We were decimated by injuries and had our main talisman [Tom Ince] for ten games. We had kids on the bench and we’d have still stayed up if it wasn’t for the six point deduction.
“We had five winnable games and it was disappointing to leave when we did. Leeds tried doing it with Big Sam and it didn’t work.
“You can understand change with ten games to go and there’s another manager in charge. I love Noel Hunt and no disrespect to him, but to bring in someone like that with the pressure of the position we were in was one of the reasons we went down.
“I believe, even with the points deduction, we’d have kept Reading up had we not been sacked.
“It left a bitter taste in the mouth, but I loved the fans. They were great and I’m glad we managed to give them experiences like going up to Old Trafford in the FA Cup.
“I’ve proven I can still manage and I’ve got my thirst back for that side of the game. I don’t care about what level I manage at, I just believe in the individual projects. I want a project but it’s hard to work under an impatient owner. Sir Alex always said to me, don’t pick the club, pick the owner.”
