Rio Ferdinand urges Erik ten Hag to ‘throw the kids in’ as certain stars ‘don’t deserve the shirt’
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed the three youngsters he believes should be given a chance by Erik ten Hag after his disastrous start to his tenure at Old Trafford.
The 43-year-old believes Ten Hag should give more game time to trio Zidane Iqbal, Charlie Savage and James Garner, as United look to bounce back from consecutive defeats, including Saturday’s shock 4-0 result at Brentford.
United now sit bottom of the league with a -5 goal difference after two games, and Ferdinand told his Vibe With Five podcast that he believes it is now time for Ten Hag to send a message to his senior players.
Former Man United star Rio Ferdinand believes it is time for Erik ten Hag to play his youngsters
He said: ‘Do you know what? Throw the kids in, I would. You know why? When you don’t get effort, you don’t deserve to get the shirt. When you don’t get the right application, you don’t deserve to get the shirt.
‘When you don’t have the balls to play, you don’t deserve to get the shirt. When you’re not working, when you’re not running yourself into the ground, you don’t deserve to wear the shirt.
‘There are young kids in there, Jimmy Garner, Charlie Savage, Zidane [Iqbal], all these other kids, whether they’re good enough in terms of whether they’re good players, in the long run, is not the point for me.
Zidane Iqbal drew praise from supporters after his performances during pre-season
‘I think it’s beyond that, you need to send a message to people and say you aren’t just going to keep getting the shirt.
‘Mistake after mistake, lack of application every week, desire not there, moaning behind the scenes – probably.
‘I bet they’re all moaning and pointing the finger, it’s not good enough. Put the kids in.’
Charlie Savage is yet to make his senior debut at the club but has received Ferdinand’s backing
Ten Hag has thus far shown faith with the majority of the players he inherited this summer, with only Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez starting out of the three signings he has made this summer.
And although United’s pre-season was largely over-shadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo’s desire to leave the club, the tour of Thailand and Australia saw Iqbal and Savage impress.
Iqbal featured in all but one pre-season match, missing the 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid, whilst Savage was also a prominent member of the Red Devils’ preparations for the new season.
Ten Hag has so far shown faith with players who were a mainstay last season but to no avail
Garner was a prominent member of Steve Cooper’s promotion-winning Nottingham Forest side last season, featuring 44 times, scoring four goals and assisting eight more.
With United’s midfield coming under heavy scrutiny once again, Ferdinand’s suggestion to play the three players – all of whom are midfielders – comes at a time when Ten Hag will surely be asking himself ‘could it really get any worse?’
United are next in action on Monday when they welcome a Liverpool side that are doing only marginally better this season, with two points from two games.
James Garner featured heavily as Nottingham Forest won promotion under Steve Cooper
