Jadon Sancho vs Erik ten Hag
Jadon Sancho is in the spotlight again, and not for the right reasons. It would seem that the Manchester United forward and Erik ten Hag are rapidly reaching an impasse. A public war of words between the two has reportedly escalated enough to prompt intervention from United executives Richard Arnold and John Murtaugh.
The inquest against Sancho began after the United vs Arsenal game. His absence from the squad and lack of game time to start the season was starting to raise eyebrows. Especially considering Antony has been struggling to register any attacking returns this season so far, and is now on an indefinite leave as he attempts to defend himself in a series of domestic violence accusations.
By many counts Sancho had put in better preseason performances than Antony. His goal and assist return has been better that Antony’s since the Brazilian joined the club. And Antony has had obvious private matters distracting from his performances before he took a leave of absence. On the surface he seemed deserving of a more prominent roll then what he has experienced so far this season.
This has left myself, and many fans to ask the question, what on earth is going on with Jadon Sancho?
A War of Words
In ten Hag’s post match interview after the Arsenal match, Erik ten Hag was asked why Sancho has featured so little and why he was left out of the squad.
Ever breviloquent, ten Hag responded;
“Jadon, on his performance in training, was not selected. You have to reach a level at Manchester United every day and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game he was not selected.“
Many interpreted this as, Jadon Sancho was not physically and mentally fit enough to play. It was also interpreted as ten Hag being annoyed with Sancho and unhappy with his commitment levels.
Sancho responded with a public social media post refuting the manager that read;
“Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!“
“All I want to do is play football with a smile on my face an contribute to my team. I respect all decisions that are made by the coaching staff, I play with fantastic players and grateful to do so which I know every week is a challenge. I will continue to fight for this badge no matter what!“
Jadon Sancho has since removed this comment from his social media accounts. Though not before it had been viewed more than 60 million times.
Erik ten Hag Stands His Ground
Sancho has since been removed from the first team and is now training on his own. While further reports go as far to say that his own teammates are fed up with his indiscretions and poor performances.
Deleting the post appeared nothing more than an empty gesture that has hardly phased ten Hag. Now the manager is demanding an apology to the team from Sancho before he is reintegrated into the squad. An apology that has yet to come
Many feel, myself included, that ten Hag feels is well within his rights to call out a player who is not performing to his standards. Given the teams recent performances, he seems fully justified in publicly reprimanding players like Sancho, when they consistently break the rules or underperform. A tactic employed regularly by Sir Alex Ferguson.
All indications are that there is more going on behind closed doors than we know. And the manager is maintaining his uncompromising approach to player discipline. Rightfully so.
What is This Really All About
The question lingering around this issue is, why? Why is all of this bubbling to the surface all of a sudden. Why is ten Hag really upset with Sancho and vise versa?
Mainstream reporting on this topic, claims that Jadon has had ongoing disciplinary issues behind the scenes. Nothing sinister, but it has been released by multiple sources, including Sky, ESPN and the BBC that Sancho has been plagued with a lack of punctuality.
An infarction that ten Hag views as deeply insulting to both him, the staff and the players.
These same outlets are reporting that Sancho has made a habit of arriving late to meetings, training sessions, and club marketing events dating back beyond his time under Erik ten Hag.
He exhibited the same carelessness and lack of respect under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Ragnick as well. So much so that the club executives specifically asked ten Hag to find a solution the moment he took over as manager.
After giving Sancho three months off last season to work on his personal issues ten Hag appears to feel he has given Sancho enough empathy and opportunities and now it is time for tough love.
Ten Hag Building a Culture of Accountability
The managers argument is, when he joined United the dressing room was like the wild west. There was no discipline, no culture, no team cohesion and no respect for the badge.
Ten Hag was quick to impose himself on the squad with the immediate removal of Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting eleven. He was quick to reprimand Garnacho for arriving late to training and meetings. He was also quick to unofficially replace Maguire as captain. And he wasn’t afraid to bench Marcus Rashford, arguably his best player, for arriving a rumored 45 seconds late for a team meeting.
The manager has been nothing but ruthless, uncompromising, and above all consistent, when it comes to establishing a standard at United for all players, staff and even himself. He is clearly doing his best to implement a culture of accountability and mutual respect at the club.
He’s gone as far as to say,
“There was no good culture before I entered last season, so to set good standards, that is what I did and it is my job to control the standards.
‘Of course, it is never someone only makes one mistake, it is a whole process before you come to a certain outcome about strict lines. If staff or players or whoever, there is a structure to cross lines so you have to be strong.”
A sentiment Sancho appears to be resistant to.
It Is All About the Team
Before the Brighton match, reporters were yet again persistent for a quote from the manager about the Jadon Sancho situation. Ten Hag took the opportunity to clarify his position in his typically candid approach to the media.
“It’s in favor of the team. That’s what my decision is based on. That’s not about me and, to be strict, this is in favor of the team.
‘I have to win a game. It’s all about that. The players who are there and available deserve me. I have to guide them, I have to prepare them, so it’s about that. I only focus on the players who are available.
‘It’s about the team and the club. I put all of my energy into giving the best performance against Brighton. I think about the way the team has to progress. After Brighton, we go to the Champions League I have a lot to consider to make the right decisions.“
These comments and Jadon’s removal from the first team further indicate some truth in the aforementioned reports that Sancho’s behavior is now negatively effecting the team.
Rio Ferdinand Weighs In On Sancho, ten Hag Feud.
Rio Ferdinand has recently chimed in on this matter. He points out that this might be a sign of desperation from the manager. He suggests that this might be a last ditch effort from ten Hag to get the best our of the England International. But, that the manager is playing a dangerous game with this tactic.
Ferdinand said on his podcast;
“Is it a personal thing between the manager and player? Or is he genuinely not training the way he wants him to train? Jadon would say and agree he hasn’t lived up to the hype yet, and the fee...
‘The manager has gone ‘this is my last chance’, I can’t get anything else out of him so I’ll make it public and see if that public embarrassment and his pride gets pressed enough and he comes back with a performance.
‘He did it to Rashford. He was the talisman at the time, he was on fire, he was on the top of his game… in terms of ego and pride and then more pressure.
‘I just think there have been players asked questions publicly or subliminally. I think the manager going public with Jadon was a big call and did the manager understand the risk with that?”
Nothing Rio said gives me the sense that he is condoning Sancho’s part in all of this. But he is suggesting that this tactic has every potential to backfire as much as succeed. And I think he is also suggesting that Sancho may not respond to this kind of pressure as well as Marcus Rashford did.
The Jadon Sancho Perspective
Now that the Manchester United forward has been banished to train at the youth academy facilities, the question still begs, where is Sancho coming from? Why does he feel the need to dig his heels in so much against ten Hag?
Since he removed his post after the Arsenal match the only perspective coming from the Sancho camp is that he feels he is being made a scapegoat. He feels that he is and has been in the past treated harshly by the fans.
He makes similar statements as Harry Maguire, that he just wants play football with a smile, that he’s being singled out. And he maintains his professionalism and commitment to United have always been to the highest standard.
But details or context beyond that are hard to come by. Too much about this Sancho situation is left to interpretation rather than factual observation.
Jadon Sancho’s Rough Start to Life at Old Trafford
In 2022, after Sancho had become fed up with the pressure and criticism of performing in the Old Trafford spot light he took a break from social media. Having done so without providing much perspective to fans and the press.
Major media outlets were reporting that Sancho wanted to reclaim some sense of privacy and control over his life. They went on to suggest that Sancho’s development was stunted by Manchester United’s catastrophic downturn in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s last season.
While some reports go so far as to suggest that the player needed time to work on his mental health. Foundations for such claims are that Sancho has consistently been denied a chance by England manager Gareth Southgate. Further combined with a difficult first season at United and unspecified off field and family issues have all combined to undercut his development and mental health.
Jadon Sancho, A Man of Mystery
Beyond this it is hard to tell what is what with Jadon Sancho. He does well to keep his private life private. Rightfully so. But that also makes it hard for fans to find a way to see things from his point of view. Fans desperately want to connect to their favorite players, but it is hard to do so with out some perspective. Or the only perspective being the kind of fractious response he had to ten Hags criticism.
There is a way for players to exude humility and respect for the team, manager, and fans when also providing insight to the public.
I want so hard to support Sancho. He looked incredible at Borussia Dortmund. But my tolerance for a player who has never lived up to his own hype, like a lot of fans, can only last so long without some context.
Not that we as fans are entitled to know any private aspect of a players life. But, I do think we are entitled to more than the current he-said-she-said mess. A mess that is being left open to far too much journalistic interpretation.
It is possible he is being too harshly criticized by the public, considering the British medias’ affinity for trashing English players. But he has also had an awful lot of chances to prove his metal with both Manchester United and England, yet here we find ourselves.
Did This Need to Escalate So Far?
All we really know about Sancho is his personal life has generally been a source of turmoil for him. Though there are no credible details online about what specifically that source has been. He was given time off last season to train independently and work on his physical and mental health for more than three months. And now there is a dangerous rift between him and the manager.
After talking to many other United fans, I get the sense that there is a lot of compassion towards Jadon. In an era where privacy and mental health amongst professional athletes needs to be addressed, Sancho has been one of few that has had the courage to openly discuss such a sensitive topic.
The other take is, the club and multiple managers have been reasonably compassionate to his personal struggles. But he is one of the clubs highest earners. He is meant to set an example to the younger players. Yet he still stretches the rules. And he publicly tests the managers authority on a matter that could easily have been solve behind closed doors.
I Fear the Worst for Sancho
Personally, I feel that there is too much going on behind the scenes that we as fans will never be privileged to. Thus it is not for us to pass any kind of judgement on this situation.
Regardless of what complaints the manager has about Sancho, and with respect to his personal problems, he is an immense talent.
He should be England’s first choice on the right side of a front three. He should be scoring 20 goals a season. And he should be one of this generations superstars.
But he has yet to fulfil any of those expectations, at club or international level. Which I believe adds to fans’ frustrations. There is also enough evidence out there to suggest that Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United may not be a match made in heaven, for reasons that we may never fully understand.
The Next Few Weeks Will Determine Sancho’s Fate
My only question now is, can Erik ten Hag and Jadon Sancho work out a way to get him back to his best? Or does Sancho need to move to greener pastures to rediscover the phenom that was developing in Germany?
If rumors of Sancho’s punctuality and disciplinary issues are in fact true, which they seem to be, then the only solution is for Sancho to accept that the United manager is uncompromising. Literally, not even for one second. And he expects his players to approach the game in the same uncompromising way.
If that places too much pressure on Sancho to perform than he needs to find another team. Both for his and the teams sake. And there is no shame in that.
It is also possible that ten Hag may be taking advantage of Jadon Sancho to reinforce his authority over a faltering squad. And the general public are using this situation to point the finger at Sancho for the teams recent poor form. Meaning to some extent Sancho is not completely unjustified in feeling he is a scapegoat.
At the moment the only thing that seems to matter is ten Hag wants Sancho to apologize. If that doesn’t happen then this impasse will spell the end of his tenure are United. And if he does apologize there is still no guarantee he will return to his pomp at Old Trafford.
So, at the moment the ball appears to be in Sancho’s court.
Glory, Glory Man United!
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