‘At least you saw a plan!’ - Man Utd better under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer than Erik ten Hag, says ex-Chelsea & Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas

In a candid assessment, Fabregas claimed that United had a clearer head and a well-defined structure when the Norwegian was at the helm. However, under Ten Hag, the club seems to be lacking a cohesive strategy, leading to a sense of uncertainty and inconsistency.

Fabregas' comments come at a time when pressure is mounting on Ten Hag to turn around the club's fortunes after a tumultuous season at Old Trafford - especially after their shock defeat to Fulham at the weekend.

Speaking to thePlanet Premier League podcast, Fabregas said: "I have to say as well that I don't know the numbers, but with Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] there were some good big games. They used to have a structure, they had a plan. At least you saw a plan, which was to defend well and have great breaks and this is exactly what Manchester United don't have at the moment."

Fulham ripped open United on several occasions on the counter and Fabregas believes that the performance should have sent "alarm bells" ringing at the Old Trafford board room.

"Looking carefully at the counters that Fulham did to them and the way they were done, it makes the alarm bells go for a very, very long period of time," he said. "It cannot happen that a top, top team gets done on the counter so many times in one half, or over 60 minutes. And this shows that they are lacking something. I don't know his game plan, I don't know if he has structure, I don't know what his message is. But, definitely, if these happen to my team, there would be a lot of alarm bells going on."

Solskjaer was in charge of United from March 2019 until November 2021. He led the Red Devils in 127 Premier League matches - won 59, drew 32 and lost 36 times.

The absence of tactical clarity has been evident in United's performances, with the team struggling to maintain consistency and produce positive results on the pitch. If they suffer a hammering by Manchester City in the derby on Sunday, more questions will be asked of Ten Hag's methods.