Martin Keown risks reigniting Ruud van Nistelrooy feud as Arsenal Invincible questions support for 'lonely' Erik ten Hag
09/30/2024 09:16 AM
Martin Keown has questioned whether Ruud van Nistelrooy is giving everything to help Erik ten Hag in the wake of Manchester United’s defeat to Tottenham.
The Red Devils were humiliated at Old Trafford on Sunday – losing 3-0 to Spurs – to leave them languishing 12th in the Premier League table.
Having lost half of their six top-flight matches this term, United boss Ten Hag has found himself under pressure yet again, with many fans demanding him to be axed.
Though talkSPORT understands the Dutchman’s immediate future is not in jeopardy ahead of the upcoming away trips to Porto and Aston Villa before the international break.
If the ex-Ajax manager be relieved of his duties, Gabby Agbonlahor believes Van Nistelrooy, who returned to the Theatre of Dreams in the summer as Ten Hag’s assistant, should be given the job.
Van Nistelrooy is a player Keown famously clashed with in 2003, which saw the Arsenal icon slapped with a three-game ban and a fine of £20,000.
In the iconic Battle of Old Trafford, Keown jumped on the striker following his late penalty miss in the goalless draw, which sparked a mass brawl between both sets of players.
Keown blames Van Nistelrooy for his part in the Gunners receiving £275k in fines, insisting his theatrics earlier in the match got skipper Patrick Vieira sent off.
And over 20 years later, Keown has taken a swipe at Van Nisterooy yet again as he questioned the motives behind the Red Devils icon’s return.
He said on the White and Jordan show on talkSPORT : "I’m looking at Van Nistelrooy. Is he giving everything to this manager? This manager looks very lonely on the sideline.
"Is Van Nistelrooy waiting to take over? Because it looks as if there’s going to be change taking place there.
He added: “Is everyone adding to the group? I’m not seeing that from Van Nistelrooy. Ten Hag is just sitting there, nothing going on, no conversation. Pep goes back and speaks to the gurus next to him.
“Is everybody looking in the mirror at themselves giving their best?”
Keown continued: "It doesn’t look like the players are committed, it doesn’t look like the staff are particularly committed. It’s a lone man in the dugout.
“You hope that that group of players is there in the dressing room right now and maybe tries to police it because it’s not unusual.
"It wouldn’t have been in our dressing room to have the occasional meeting where we had to try to sort of bash out where things were wrong, where things weren’t going well.
"But the direction comes from the manager and I didn’t see any real belief in what they’re trying to achieve and the way they’re trying to play.
"They’re not great in possession and they can’t really go and press.
"It looks like one or two players are coming to the end there. The manager is holding onto his job.
"OK, there was an expectation last year. They finished eighth and they lost 14 matches.
"So you could look at it and say, well, OK, the management team that’s in there, if they allowed him to lose that many games last year, then no wonder he’s going to be allowed to carry on.
"But I’m not sure that’s the right way to go with this current manager. I think it’s time now."
