Football

Mark Goldbridge Slams Ten Hag’s ‘Favouritism’ After Failing To Substitute ‘Rubbish’ Bruno Fernandes Against FC Twente

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By
Cai Parry
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Cai Parry Sports Editor

Cai is a news and features writer that specialises in football, but has experience covering a variety of other sports, including darts, basketball, American football, MMA, boxing and more. He holds a degree in Football Journalism (BA Hons) from the University of Derby, and worked with Nottingham Forest FC and Burton Albion FC throughout his studies. Cai also has experience working in social media with the Football Association of Wales, where he worked on a freelance basis, and has also been an accredited writer in the JD Cymru Premier for both Y Clwb Pêl-Droed and welshfootie since the 2019/20 season.

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Published26 Sep 2024

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Mark Goldbridge Ten Hag

Manchester United fan and influencer Mark Goldbridge has taken to social media to slam Erik ten Hag for his ‘favouritism’, after the Dutchman failed to substitute Bruno Fernandes against FC Twente.

Wednesday night marked the start of Manchester United’s 2024/25 Europa League campaign, with Erik ten Hag going head-to-head with his boyhood club FC Twente at Old Trafford, but it wasn’t quite the start that the Red Devils boss would’ve hoped for.

Christian Eriksen put the hosts in front initially, powering home a thunderous effort into the top right corner. Unfortunately for the Dane however, he was at fault for the equaliser, as he turned into trouble and ex-Rangers striker Sam Lammers took full advantage, smashing his effort in at Andre Onana‘s near post.

United were unable to muster up a response across the closing 25 minutes or so and were forced to settle for a point after playing out a 1-1 stalemate in front of their disappointed fans.

Unsurprisingly given that they were clear favourites to win the match among the UK’s best football betting sites, the result sparked heavy criticism on social media once again, with numerous supporters pointing the finger at Ten Hag and his captain, Bruno Fernandes.

One of those was Manchester United influencer Mark Goldbridge, who slammed the pair after the full-time whistle.

Mark Goldbridge Slams Ten Hag ‘Favouritism’ Following FC Twente Draw

Speaking to his YouTube subscribers following the ’embarrassing’ draw, Goldbridge claimed that Ten Hag was displaying clear favouritism by refusing to substitute Bruno Fernandes, who he claims has been subpar as of late.

“Embarrassing. Absolutely f**king embarrassing. And that’s what happens mate, when you don’t take a certain player off.

“Oh my god. It’s like deja vu, we said this on Saturday. Bruno [Fernandes] should’ve come off with 20 minutes to go. We literally did a show on Monday night: ‘Time To Sub Bruno?’. Everybody’s been talking about it for four days, and he’s given him another 90 minutes when he’s sh*t.

“That was a sh*t performance, you’ve got to look at the manager again. It’s as bad as Brighton. You’ve got to look at the manager again. There’s no excuse for it. You cannot carry players at any level, and your favouritism has got to go, mate! No wonder [Christian] Eriksen was fuming. It needs calling out.”

Goldbridge continued, reiterating that he isn’t ‘Ten Hag out’, but that doesn’t mean the Dutchman is immune to criticism.

“Look, you don’t need to be ‘Ten Hag out’. People go from one extreme to the other. We were good against Palace. Defensively, we never should concede that goal [vs FC Twente]. It’s sh*t. But look, there’s a bigger problem here: favouritism.

“You cannot keep a player on who’s playing that sh*t. He [Fernandes] was f**king rubbish, I’m not joking. First half, he was average. Second half, he couldn’t hit the ocean from a boat with a pass!”