Andy Cole: ‘There’s no reason for doom and gloom at Manchester United’

After a 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, the pressure is seemingly increasing on Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag. However, club legend Andy Cole believes it’s too early for ‘doom at gloom’ at Old Trafford and believes Ten Hag needs to be left to do his job as it’s so early on in the new Premier League campaign. Speaking to Betfred, Cole also spoke about his former club’s fans’ reaction to Marcus Rashford on Sunday, Jadon Sancho’s move to Chelsea, Arsenal’s signing of Raheem Sterling and much more. 

What alarmed you most about Manchester United’s performance against Liverpool on Sunday?

“I wouldn’t say I was alarmed. Ultimately in football matches, you get punished when you make mistakes and Liverpool punished Manchester United. That can happen in any game when you’re playing against a team of their calibre. If you make mistakes, you should expect to be punished and that’s what happened in the end.”

Do you have sympathy for Erik ten Hag that pressure has now ramped up on him after Sunday’s result against Liverpool, despite it only being three games into the new Premier League campaign?

“I don’t really entertain that nonsense. I really don’t. Everybody’s going to have an opinion and say what they have to say and want to say. Ultimately, Erik ten Hag’s in charge and he deserves to be in charge because winning two cups in two seasons isn’t doom and gloom. I understand that they’ve lost in a big game at home against Liverpool and it wasn’t a game that we lost many times when I was playing for Manchester United, but we’re only three games in.

“It’s not as if Manchester United have been terrible in all those three games. They beat Fulham and they were unlucky against Brighton. For me personally, it can’t be doom and gloom and we just need to let Erik get on with his job.”

Do you believe Casemiro is going to benefit from the arrival of Manuel Ugarte in the sense that it can allow him to have time out of the team when he’s in poor form?

“It might do, but I’m not going to sit here and say that Casemiro was the reason why Manchester United lost to Liverpool on Sunday. Football is a team game and unfortunately every now and then, an individual makes a mistake, gets caught out and the opposition capitalise on it. You can’t just blame an individual for a defeat. I look at football completely different to the way the fans do because I’ve been involved in the game, but nine times out of ten when a player makes a mistake, you’re not necessarily going to be punished. Casemiro was punished just like Kobbie Mainoo was for the third goal, but that’s football.”

What did you make of Manchester United’s fans’ treatment of Marcus Rashford on Sunday?

“It’s disappointing. With Marcus being a boy from Manchester, and considering how long I’ve been personally involved with the club, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a local player have such a relationship with the fans. It’s a little bit surreal because the fans usually get behind one of their own and in general, they get behind the team. For them to focus on one individual is a bit disappointing to see and the only way Marcus can get through this situation is by winning the fans back. That’s going to be done via his performances, goals and doing what he did a couple of seasons ago. 

“I’ve said this before, but nobody actually knows what’s going on with him. It could be something so personal that it’s impacting his football. I’m not going to sit here and say it could be X, Y and Z because in football you need to get back to basics and that’s what Marcus has to do. We’re only three games into the season and there’s still a hell of a lot of football still to be played yet.”

What are your first impressions of Manchester United summer signing Joshua Zirkzee?

“He looks lively enough. He’s already come out and said that he’s not a number nine, but more of a nine and a half. I think Manchester United just want somebody that’s going to score goals and he got himself in good positions at times against Liverpool on Sunday and could have done a little bit better with some of the chances he got.

“He’s only three games into his Manchester United career, so we can’t be judgemental of a player that’s started only one game and it was a big game to start against Liverpool. There’s a long way to go and there’s a hell of a lot of football to be played.”

And the same question, but this time regarding Noussair Mazraoui?

“He looks good. He’s comfortable on the ball, gets forward and he produced a good save from Alisson on Sunday. It’s not often that you see right-backs in those areas. From what I’ve seen of him so far, he looks like a very good attacking full-back and he’s a signing that I believe will do well.”

Do you believe new signing Manuel Ugarte is exactly what Manchester United need in their midfield?

“It’s difficult for me to speak about Ugarte because I’ve not seen him play too much. He hardly played for PSG last season in the Champions League, despite playing more frequently in Ligue 1, so it will be interesting to finally see what type of player he is. He sounds like a player that likes to win the ball and give it to whoever he needs to give it to, so I’m just looking forward to seeing him play, like everybody else is. 

“We can’t expect him to come into the team and fix everything because he’s just one player in a team. They’ve all got to work at it. I don’t believe the start of the season has been as bad as everybody’s making out. They won against Fulham, they should have got a result against Brighton and yesterday was obviously disappointing, even more so that they’ve now got to wait two weeks to put things right.”

Mason Mount missed the game against Liverpool through injury and is set to be out for the next couple of weeks. He was arguably one of Manchester United’s best players in the first-half against Brighton last week before coming off at half-time injured, but are you excited to see him return to first-team action and do you believe he’s going to be integral to the style of football that Erik ten Hag wants his team to play?

“He could well be. Mason’s just got to try and get back in the team when he’s fit and see whether there’s a space for him to come back into the starting eleven. Everybody at the moment keeps talking about pressing, pressing, pressing, which Mason is associated with, and it’s like pressing is the new buzzword. People talk about it as if it’s a new thing, but it’s not a new thing. You’ve always had to press in the right areas to win the ball back from the opposition. There’s nothing new about it.”

What were your thoughts on Matthijs de Ligt’s first start for Manchester United against Liverpool on Sunday?

“We can’t play the blame game. You win together and you lose together. Manchester United lost to a better team on Sunday and Liverpool punished them in areas that they needed to punish them in. Regarding De Ligt, it was a difficult game to come into and he wouldn’t have known what to expect. He would have been disappointed with the result on his home debut. You could also ask the question why did Harry Maguire not deserve to start against Liverpool? I’m not here to point the blame at anybody because Manchester United lost to a better team and that’s football.”

Were there any other transfers that you wished Manchester United pursued during the summer transfer window?

“There wasn’t specifically any players that I wanted to see come through the door because Manchester United’s manager and recruitment team chose the players that they believe would make the team stronger and we’ve just got to go with it. Manchester United needed a centre-forward and they’ve gone and got one. 

“There’s two young centre-forwards in the squad now in Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Højlund and they get to learn from Ruud van Nistelrooy. If you can’t learn from Ruud then you’re going to have problems, but this is Zirkzee’s debut season in the Premier League and Højlund’s second and both strikers have come to the club from Serie A and the Premier League is a completely different league to Serie A. Now it’s just the case of both strikers trying to hit the ground running and score as many goals as they possibly can between them for Manchester United this season.”

Late on in the transfer window, Manchester United were linked with a move for Raheem Sterling, who later went on to complete a loan move to Arsenal on deadline day. Are you disappointed that the move didn’t come to fruition?

“If it would have happened, then that would have been another positive for Manchester United. He’s got great experience, creates chances, scores goals and works very hard. In those positions, you’re looking for individuals that are very, very direct and that’s something that Raheem is. 

“I think he’s a really good player and he’s proved that, but in regards to a move to Manchester United, I believe his age may have gone against him if there was any truth to the speculation. When you look at the players that Manchester United have actually brought in over the summer, it looks as if they’ve done some really good business.” 

On deadline day, Jadon Sancho completed a loan, with an obligation to buy, move to Chelsea. The obligation is said to be worth £20-£25 million and in your opinion, could this end up being a steal for the Stamford Bridge outfit if he realises his potential?

“Manchester United paid over £70 million for Jadon three years ago, so it’s a lot of money lost isn’t it? Jadon’s a very talented kid and he’s still only 24 years old, so if Chelsea can get the best out of him, like Borussia Dortmund did last season, then it would be a steal. 

“There’s so much talent and so much unlocked potential there, so if Chelsea can unlock it and get him to the peak of his powers, then it would ultimately be a very, very good deal for them. However, you can flip it on its head and ask where he’s going to play? Unless football becomes 24-a-side, he’s going to struggle like everybody else is at Chelsea because nobody knows what’s going on there. They’ve got loads of big names but they can only choose eleven players to start, so it will be interesting to see how he does at Chelsea.”

Are you surprised by Newcastle United’s lack of transfer activity over the summer?

“I’m very surprised to be fair. It looks as if they did have money to spend considering that they bid a couple of times for Marc Guéhi and ultimately, I’m very, very surprised in Crystal Palace because Marc has less than two years remaining on his contract, so if you want £70 million for a player and a team’s bid £65 million including add-ons for them, then why would you turn that down because you’re going to eventually get £70 million anyway. However, that’s all dependent on whether reports were correct regarding the size of the offer on the table.

“It’s very strange because if Marc’s still at Crystal Palace next summer, then he could have one year remaining on his deal and they’re not going to be able to demand that amount of money for him in that scenario.

“It is disappointing that Newcastle didn’t do more business during the summer and it’s crazy to know that they have all that financial resource and they can’t actually use it. I think that’s really cheesing them off at the moment and if they were bought before PSR and FFP came into play, then they would have spent a hell of a lot of money. However, I think Newcastle will be okay. They look sound enough.”

Off the back of his ban, what are you expecting to see from Sandro Tonali at St James’ Park this season?

“What he was at AC Milan. You can tell that Newcastle have missed him because he’s got a great engine and the club in general has a solid midfield outfit. I also think Joelinton is absolutely fantastic and the way he plays, you’d have thought that he’s played in midfield all his footballing career. 

Which Premier League club’s transfer business has impressed you most this summer?

“I’m not even going to say Chelsea because they haven’t signed anyone. They’ve signed any player with a pulse. Ipswich have bought some players from the Championship that do also have that top-level experience and they’ll know that they’ve got a good set of players that would be capable of bringing them straight back up if they weren’t able to survive in the Premier League this season. They’ve had a decent window. 

“I’m surprised Liverpool didn’t do more but if you look at their performance against Manchester United and the two games they’ve played previously, they look good. Manchester City hardly did any business, so I don’t believe any team’s dealings this summer as a collective have been particularly eye-catching or outstanding, but it does seem that most clubs were very happy with the business that they did.” 

And which particular transfer has impressed you most?

“Possibly Raheem Sterling’s loan move to Arsenal. I really do believe that’s good business and like everybody else, I’m astounded that Enzo Maresca came out and said that Raheem wasn’t going to get any minutes under him. It was like Enzo was shooting himself in the foot by saying that. It’s not like his position is solidified because if they go on a bad run, he’ll be out the door as well. Arsenal have done good business by getting Raheem in.”

Speaking of Enzo Maresca, what are your first impressions of him as Chelsea manager?

“When I listen to him, I can’t tell if he’s making a rod for his own back or he’s being told to say these things. He’s been at Chelsea for a matter of months and he’s speaking as if he’s been there for three years and that he’s in charge of everything. Is he trying to say that all the signings that Chelsea have made this summer are all his signings? That’s the interesting thing because if you ask any top manager whether they want to work with 26 players, then I don’t think they’d say yes. He does make me giggle when I hear him speak because it’s like he’s making a rod for his own back. Chelsea have already got rid of Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel in recent years, who’re all good managers, so it’s going to be interesting to see how Maresca does this season.” 

Are you delighted for ex-Manchester United midfielder Angel Gomes getting a call-up to the senior England squad?

“Fair play to him. I do know Angel from his time at Manchester United and he was a young man that made the decision to leave Old Trafford for Ligue 1 and play first-team football. He’s done extremely well over in France and he’s done really well for England’s U21s too. All you can do once you’ve left Manchester United is get your head down and put in performances and he’s done that. Lee Carsley knows him well and has given him this opportunity, so fair play to him. I’ve always liked his attitude and when he was younger, people may have thought that his size would go against him, but he’s a talented and tenacious young man and I would say that his call-up is deserved. Congratulations to Angel.”