Michael Owen urges Manchester United to sack Erik Ten Hag before FA Cup final | OneFootball

Michael Owen believes Erik Ten Hag “simply cannot” be the manager of Manchester United next season.

Even the current United manager was forced to admit in the aftermath of their dismal 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace that it was the lowest point of their season so far.

The club has never finished below seventh in the Premier League era, and finished seventh in 2013-14, the first season after Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.

However, Ten Hag told Sky Sports that he believed he was the right person to take the club forward, despite the prospect of European football slipping away as they trail sixth-placed Newcastle by two points.

“I’ve said it for a long time that Ten Hag is not the right man for this job, I’ve been saying it for ages and ages,” Owen told Premier League Productions.

“He cannot, simply cannot, manage the team next season.

“I almost wonder now, they’ve got a cup final and they’ve got a few important games that could mean European football next year or not.

“At some point you’ve got to make a decision, they’re going to get absolutely hammered by Manchester City [in the FA Cup final], they’re going to get annihilated, in fact, Arsenal will smash them to bits at Old Trafford, Newcastle will probably beat them and I wouldn’t even fancy them going to Brighton either. They might not get anything out of the rest of the season, playing like that.

“I just wonder there’s just so much at stake, even if it’s only for four games, I wonder whether the board might just have to try to do something here and now and be quite radical about it.

“He cannot, simply cannot, manage this team next season. He’s not good enough. I’ve thought it for ages, and he’s just not good enough to manage Manchester United.”

Owen played for Manchester United for three years between 2009 and 2012, making 31 appearances and scoring five goals.