England legend John Barnes has warned Manchester United that their issues stem deeper than the squad at their disposal, as the club enters the Erik Ten Hag era.
United axed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer midway through last season and drafted in Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis until the end of the 2021-22 season – which ended with disappointment as the club failed to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football.
Ten Hag was lured to Old Trafford from Ajax to take the club into a new direction, becoming the fifth permanent managerial appointment at United since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013.
The arrival of the Dutchman comes amid further changes in the United hierarchy, with Ed Woodward departing and Richard Arnold coming in as chief executive officer.
While fans are hoping for new signings, having seen rivals Manchester City land Erling Haaland and Liverpool capture Darwin Nunez, Barnes isn't convinced that additions will solve their problems.
"I don't know whether other players coming in is going to be better because Man United have spent money and brought players in and it hasn't worked," he told Stats Perform.
"So, it's not a question of just buying players in and automatically it's going to work because you know, everybody has their problems, adjusting when a new manager comes in when new players coming in.
"What I do know is they've spent money and they've had players. So, I don't know anything about the institution as to how an institution should be run. But what I do know is they’ve got good players.
"If they have good players and they're not performing, I don't think you can blame the hierarchy, blame the owners for them not playing well on the pitch.
"Because what they have on the pitch, the players they have on the pitch, the money they've spent, they shouldn't be where they are. And they shouldn't be in the turmoil that they are.
"I think it's too easy to blame that rather than looking at the players who should take responsibility for performances."
Barnes also made it clear that Ten Hag needs to establish himself as more powerful than the players in the United squad, as Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel have done.
"Once you don't have a manager who you give the power to make decisions, you will then keep changing the manager and then the players get very complacent. Because they know they're not going to get blamed," he explained.
"I can think of the three clubs in England who don't blame the manager and who the manager is more powerful than the players, Klopp, Guardiola, Tuchel, there's not one player at those clubs who could undermine the manager.
"I suppose you could put Conte and now Arteta in that position after the decision with Aubameyang where he [Arteta] won that battle, and that has to happen at any football club to be successful.
"Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened at United for the last four or five managers. So that for me is the issue, not the manager."
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
Man Utd cannot afford to get complacent – Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag urged his players not to get complacent against a Burnley side who are still fighting for their place in the Premier League.
After a run of four games without a win in the top-flight, Manchester United came from behind with late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund to beat bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United on Wednesday.
The Red Devils sit in sixth place on 53 points, three more than Newcastle United below them, but have not yet secured a place in Europe next season.
When asked what kind of challenge Burnley would pose, Ten Hag was full of praise for the way Vincent Kompany has set up his team.
“They play high-intensity football. They have changed their approach slightly in the season. They have had good results and are hard to beat, and all the compliments to Vincent and his staff.
“We can’t afford to think [it’s only X] about any opponent. With the team we have available, we have to be creative. We have to take every opponent with 100% focus. We can’t allow and do a little bit less.”
Burnley’s survival hopes were given a huge boost last weekend with an impressive 4-1 win against Sheffield United, leaving them just three points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th.
With just four games left of the season, Kompany highlighted the characteristics have kept the Clarets within touching distance of the teams around them.
He said: “The biggest thing is consistency, hard work and making sure to not get distracted by the outside noise has been the main factor. We haven't found the recipe for Champions League football yet, but we are improving every game.
"I know we still have a chance and that's all that matters to me, whether it's two teams, three teams or four teams still in it, it doesn't matter too much to me.”
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