How Manchester United’s world fell apart again
The spectacle at Old Trafford felt somber as Erik ten Hag and his players walked across the pitch through the pouring rain to cheer on the fans who had remained in the stands until the final whistle. Those few hundred in the Stretford End kept singing even though there wasn’t much to sing; the tone is not so much challenging as obligatory.
Alejandro Garnacho, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana were among the last to pass through the tunnel. Thoughts must have been running through their minds about how quickly Manchester United have already fallen into turmoil this season and what needs to change to bring about a turnaround.
There was nothing special in the locker room afterward. Just a determination to ‘reset’, starting in the Europa League match against Porto on Thursday, with Ten Hag telling his players there is ‘always a new day’.
But the focus will inevitably be on whether Ten Hag has the ability to bring sunlight into that new day, as this was a dark occasion, a second 3-0 defeat in as many Premier League home games, after one of the worst having played halves of the competition. football in recent memory in the opening period.
Ten Hag said afterwards that he had not thought about being checked for his position. “We all made this decision together this summer to stay together,” he said, referring to the review in which United interviewed other candidates for his position, such as Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi, before deciding to stay with him. .
“After a clear evaluation, we have made the decision what we need to improve as an organization and how we should put together a selection. All decisions were made collaboratively, even knowing that it would take some time given how the window went. We are all there on one page, one boat, the ownership, the leadership group, the staff, the players too.”
United’s shabby first half was greeted by icy faces in an executive box that included INEOS sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford and United’s CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.
United’s hierarchy, including (from left, second row to top) Sir Dave Brailsford, Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Privately, those in charge echo Ten Hag’s sentiments: that changing infrastructure and working practices at the club was the main priority when INEOS arrived and patience is needed for that to sink in and see results. Berrada and Ashworth only publicly stated their unequivocal support for Ten Hag at the beginning of this month, so changing course now would be a volte-face and inappropriate for executives who like to be guided by a methodical process.
Another consideration is that Ten Hag was allowed to choose his own coaches, including Ruud van Nistelrooy, and had influence on the signings.
Likewise, the management landscape hasn’t changed much from that period in May and June, when United executives scoured the market for potential replacements and ultimately settled on Ten Hag. Gareth Southgate is now available after leaving his role with England and has links with Ashworth and Brailsford, but that’s as far as he’s concerned.
However, the pressure will certainly increase on the decision-makers as Porto and Sunday’s visit to Aston Villa deliver more of the same, especially with another international break looming. Gary Neville and Ashley Young, two former United captains, suggested on Sky Sports that the players without Ten Hag should have a meeting to decide how to proceed. That’s the kind of media conjecture that will fill the narrative unless results improve dramatically.
“We started the game very badly after conceding a goal, as we did when a central defender (Micky van de Ven) crossed the entire field. After that we were very stressful in the match, we didn’t find a reserve man in the match. substitution, couldn’t hold the ball, not aggressive enough with third-man actions, we didn’t get the press right,” Ten Hag accepted.
Such mental fragility is alarming and begs the question whether this is an individual thing or a lack of confidence in the team strategy.
The red card for Bruno Fernandes had an impact on the match, but Tottenham were already cutting United at will when it was 11 versus 11. Spurs were good, but United were very bad. Their press was disjointed, attempts to pass out from the back were fraught as holes opened up again in midfield, and simply finding a teammate with the ball seemed like an alien concept to several players.
More than once the ball dribbled out of the boot of a United player trying to get a move going. Those who did find a red shirt were often wrong. In one counter-attack before the break, Joshua Zirkzee laid the ball off to Marcus Rashford but put the ball behind his point. All Rashford could do was turn and hit a return pass into a Spurs defender. He showed his frustration by waving his arms.
United’s passing accuracy in the first half was 76 percent, the lowest in the first half of the Premier League this season.
United also hesitated in defence, at one point Matthijs de Ligt turned the ball and found Dominic Solanke. On another occasion, Diogo Dalot tried to add an extra touch but found Brennan Johnson on him to start an attack that led to a James Maddison shot.
Then there was the Spurs goal in the third minute. Van de Ven copied FC Twente’s blueprint by grabbing the ball and running straight at United. It’s embarrassing to have to concede a goal like that once; to do this twice in two matches is an omission.
It is in that context that Fernandes made his mistake. He slipped, but still threw his studs at Maddison’s shin before pulling them away. It was a harsh red card but there seemed to be an element of irritation with Maddison dictating the action in midfield. (Fernandes later asked to do post-match media in place of Onana to convey his side and accept responsibility.)
Fernandes brings down Maddison to earn a red card (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
United were imploding at that stage, with Kobbie Mainoo also leaving at the same time, which seemed to suggest to Casemiro and Antony on the touchline that he had hurt his hamstring. United’s discipline eroded, with yellow cards for Mason Mount who clattered Rodrigo Bentancur, Martinez who said Maddison and Manuel Ugarte who charged over Dejan Kulusevski.
Ten Hag has recorded just six wins in 19 Premier League games dating back to last season, while United’s tally of seven points is the lowest after six games in a season (the same record in both 2013/14 and 2020/21).
Only in the 2007-08 season (four) did United score fewer goals in their first six Premier League games than the five this season, although they did end that season with a double Premier League and Champions League title.
In a more worrying sign, United lose consecutive Premier League games without scoring at Old Trafford for the first time since November 2021 (0-5 against Liverpool and 0-2 against Manchester City). Those were the last two home games for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was in charge of the club.
Ten Hag will hope that this is not a bad omen for his own term in office.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
