RAGING football fans have blasted Manchester United for their use of a shock tactic against Newcastle.
The early exchanges in the Red Devils clash with Magpies saw the home side with the lions share of chances.
And in a likely not too subtle effort to curb the flow of momentum Eddie Howe‘s side were riding on in the first half, Harry Maguire was seen taking his time to do up his laces in the penalty area.
Erik ten Hag would be more than aware of the challenge posed by the Toon so may have instructed his players to disrupt the flow of the game when Newcastle were on top.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted the England stars act and were quick to call him and the club out.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan said: “Maguire time wasting . Where is the shame.”
A second said: “Man Utd sunk so low that they are time wasting, after 20 mins, at the scoreline of 0-0.”
A third said: “Is Man Utd wasting time already???.”
Another said: “Bro we’re time wasting in the first half. What have we become.”
While a fifth added: “Manchester United wasting time 20 mins into the Game lmao. Ten Hag has really got you lot playing like relegation fodder teams.”
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In a twist of irony Ten Hag had labelled Newcastle “annoying” for their own time-wasting tactics used under Howe last season.
Data last season revealed Newcastle had the ball in play for the least amount of time of any team in the division.
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