Man United fans were ‘MORONIC’ to boo Erik ten Hag for taking off Rasmus Hojlund in Brighton defeat, says Ian Ladyman as Chris Sutton says Red Devils aren’t in a crisis yet on Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!

• Man United suffered a dismal 3-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford on Saturday
• Fans booed Erik ten Hag’s decision to take off Rasmus Hojlund in the second half 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off! 

Ian Ladyman has slammed Manchester United supporters for booing Erik ten Hag when he subbed off Rasmus Hojlund during Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton.

United suffered another damaging result after being thoroughly outclassed by the Seagulls and one moment in particular saw those inside Old Trafford let their frustrations get the better of them.

Just after the hour mark, new £72million signing Hojlund – who had put in a decent performance on his home debut – was replaced by Martial, with the Danish striker only just returning from a back injury that needs to be carefully managed.

United were 2-0 down at the time and as the 20-year-old made his way off the pitch, a cacophony of boos rang out around the stadium.

And Ladyman, speaking to former Premier League winner and Mail Sport columnist Chris Sutton on Mail Sport’s ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ podcast, hit out at those responsible and insisted Ten Hag had done the right thing by protecting his striker.

Ian Ladyman slammed Man United fans for their reaction to Rasmus Hojlund being taken off 

Erik ten Hag’s choice to substitute Hojlund was greeted by boos during the 3-1 loss to Brighton

Ladyman labelled the show of dissatisfaction as ‘moronic’ and backed Ten Hag’s decision

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‘I happen to think by the way that the booing at Old Trafford of Ten Hag on Saturday for taking off Rasmus Hojlund was absolutely moronic,’ he said. 

‘If you are booing your manager for taking off the one player who has given you reason to be optimistic. 

‘And we know he’s got a long-term back situation going on, but if you’re booing your manager for taking him off when he’s clearly trying to manage him, then you don’t know very much about football.’

Sutton agreed with his co-host and insisted the response from United supporters was a damning indictment of the situation the club find themselves in.

He added: ‘But that’s your entitled fan base, isn’t it? Manchester United fans feeling entitled. 

‘I’m totally with you on this. He’s protecting Hojlund, who’s just come back from a long-term injury. So he would have had a plan with the medical department about taking him off. 

‘And it’s just unraveling. Manchester United fans need to keep their heads. There are so many different sort of aspects which are wrong at Manchester United. 

‘You’ve got it from the top with the Glazers, the recruitment you have to say hasn’t been great and then the thing Ten Hag can control is performances on the pitch but then when he’s got players missing, he’s got Anthony missing and Sancho missing, that’s not his fault.’

However, Sutton stopped short of insisting United’s situation was irretrievable as he said: ‘Look, I don’t think Manchester United are in crisis, and I certainly don’t think Chelsea are in crisis. 

‘We can’t judge both teams on five games. They’ve both had really disappointing starts to the season. 

‘We can’t get away from that, but crisis, that’s a massive overreaction.’

Chris Sutton also condemned the booing from fans but insisted United are not in crisis just yet

Ten Hag defended his decision post-game, insisting the striker’s fitness needs to be managed

Ladyman then added how he wouldn’t tarnish all United fans for the response inside Old Trafford as he said: ‘I live in Manchester. I know a lot of Manchester United fans and most of them that I know are an awful lot smarter than that.’

Speaking post-game, Ten Hag defended his decision based on the fact that Hojlund has only just returned from the aforementioned back injury that requires careful management

‘Everyone knows he came in with a small issue,’ argued Ten Hag. ‘He is not ready for a whole game and we have many games to play at short notice, so we have to build the fitness.

‘If he gets injured because he is not capable to play 90 minutes, then we are much farther away than where we want to go.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

Your browser does not support iframes.

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

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