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Alan Shearer hits back again after Erik ten Hag called him out over ‘stupid’ Man Utd claim
Ben Crawford
5 – 6 minutes
Alan Shearer came under fire from Erik ten Hag for criticising Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, but the pundit doesn’t regret calling him out after the Red Devils’ early season stumbles
Alan Shearer speaking on mic
Shearer has responded to his critiquing of Rashford being called ‘stupid'(Image: (Image: The Rest is Football))
Alan Shearer has hit back after Erik ten Hag labelled his comments regarding Marcus Rashford’s form “stupid”.
The out-of-sorts England ace has endured a torrid start to the Premier League season. As Shearer pointed out, leading to the backlash, Rashford has failed to register a single shot on goal during United’s first three clashes – from which they’ve mustered just three points.
The 26-year-old saw his name linked with a move away this summer, with PSG reportedly circling. But the decision was made that Rashford would remain at Old Trafford.
Pundit Shearer’s comments struck a nerve with Ten Hag. But the former Newcastle striker stands by his comments and doubled down on the criticism, while also understanding why the United boss may have taken offence.
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“I was quite content and happy with what I said about Man United and Marcus Rashford before the game,” Shearer responded after Ten Hag’s comments, telling Betfair.
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“I totally get Erik ten Hag’s reaction because the question was put to him in his press conference about one of his players, and he’s got no other option than to protect his player. I totally understood that.
“However, I would stand by everything I said, and nothing changed for me from what I saw at the weekend. I don’t see much change in Man United in their three league games so far to what we saw last year, when they finished eighth. They’re still wide open and still struggle in forward positions so I stand by what I said.”
Marcus Rashford looking dejected during Manchester United vs Liverpool
Rashford start to the season has been poor(Image: Offside via Getty Images)
The comments that clearly upset Ten Hag came during the ex-England striker’s analysis of Rashford on Match of the Day after the defeat at Brighton, where he said: “He’s had two games this season Marcus Rashford and he’s not had one shot at goal.
“57 goals they [Manchester United] scored last season. That was the worst in the top half. Ruud van Nistelrooy has been brought into there. He’s going to have to work his magic somehow.”
The Dutch boss was queried about Shearer’s comments during the pre-match press conference for the Liverpool game, and duly replied: “Everyone gets criticism, it doesn’t matter what we are doing, if we are winning or if we are losing.
Erik ten Hag
Ten Hag was quick to defend his forward(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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“If I take a player off, the conclusion is I was not happy with him. But I was very happy with Rashy in pre-season, against Fulham [in the opening game] and also against Brighton. I didn’t take him off because his performances or level were not right – no, we had to rotate because we have good players on the bench who bring new energy.
“There will be rotation. Then there is the conclusion the player is not performing. It can be sometimes but definitely it wasn’t in this case. In this case, it was stupid analysis from the pundit.”
But, Shearer stands by the criticism fired United’s way, and worries further for Rashford’s England future. The forward wasn’t called up by new interim boss Lee Carsley for the national squad’s upcoming UEFA Nations League clashes.
“In his current form, I don’t see Marcus Rashford reviving his England career,” Shearer added. “I personally don’t know his mentality, or what his approach is in terms of training, but there’s only one way back, which is to train and have the right attitude.
“But looking from the outside, for me, he should have left Man United to reignite his career because he’s gone very static for whatever reason, and it hasn’t worked for him for a while now. Only Marcus can answer how much he wants to get back to scoring 30 goals a season.”
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