The international break is behind us now but for United fans it could not have come fast enough, a sluggish start to the league season is being kind. Two defeats in three games is a bad start but the defeat to Liverpool has reopened the debate about Erik ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford.
Last season ended with an FA Cup Final win and then a two-week period in which INEOS took their time to decide if he should carry on, he kept his job but was he the best person for the job or was he only option available?
Tactics was a big part of what he needed to change but alas we are here again talking about the same issues, the team has fresh faces but the same problems, so the question is why?
Against Fulham it was very turgid and slow which was won by a debut goal for new signing Joshua Zirkzee late on, so struggling to beat a lesser team at home just like last season.
Then on to United’s new bogey team in Brighton where they played well found themselves losing only to equalise and almost go in front but for VAR to thwart them. Poor defending again cost them in the last minute and once again snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
So away to a top 10 team in Brighton resulted in United losing the game with bad defending again, all the hallmarks of the previous season coming to fruition again so early on. It’s almost like nothing has changed at all from last season, so the big question is why?
I mean if you see a plan isn’t working then surely you must think I need to fix this or at least alter the setup in some way but no, so United fans can be forgiven for thinking it was Groundhog Day when Liverpool rocked up to Old Trafford.
They showed up with their new bald Dutch Manager in charge and United fans must have been thinking they got the wrong one as Arne Slot has picked up where Klopp left in beating United quite handily.
Liverpool never really got out of second gear, they waited for United to lose possession in midfield and then punished them, they looked more organised and disciplined so as to question which coach was in their third game and which one was in their third season?
The way the team seems built requires too much of the midfielders and how much space they need to routinely cover each game, Liverpool waited in their shape and exposed this, but this is not anything new.
United now have Manuel Ugarte in from PSG to effectively replace Casemiro who put in the kind of performance that should end with someone close to him asking if he should think about his next move.
Now the big question is can Ugarte be the man to fix this system? I don’t think so as the system looks too flawed and easy to play against and this is not to say he isn’t a talented player, but he won’t be put in a position to succeed.
INEOS have given the boss a vote of confidence, but you can be rest assured they won’t hesitate to put him out of his misery if this continues. This is a proper structure now and one we as fans have been craving for a long time now and they will act if they feel they must.
The manager famously said he cannot play the kind of football he played at Ajax at United, and you can’t help but wonder why was he hired then? Most football fans watched Ajax dominate Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in the Champions League a few years ago and wanted that kind of football but just like with Louis Van Gaal we may have got the wrong man and been fooled by what we wanted not what was actually there.
In the press conference after the game when a journalist asked him why the same mistakes were being made ten Hag talked about the trophies he won whilst he was here, this got me thinking of Jose Mourinho’s infamous Respect rant.
Jose didn’t last much longer and with the way this is going I can’t see it going past Bonfire night, the defeat to Liverpool hits deeper than any other but further illustrates that they have changed in a few months under Slot but United have not figured out what they are yet.
Every manager at United seems to go through a similar cycle until it all goes wrong in the third season, and we are here again, INEOS should have swept everything to do with the Glazers aside in their football operations and that included the manager to say that this is their project going forward.
They will need to move quickly as United have 7 games before the next international break and with tough games against Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Aston Villa as well as two Europa League games including a tough trip to Porto it will be make or break.
Just like his predecessors before him Erik ten Hag is in danger of going the same way as Ole Gunner Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho, losing control of things in the third season and getting sacked.
For United fans we are right back to where we have been too many times before after a defeat to one of the big guns realising just how far behind we still are.
Even with our new football structure it will take time, but fans are in danger of turning into Bill Murray in Groundhog Day in reliving the same thing over and over again hoping to break the cycle.
INEOS need to remember that they were supposed to be the voice of reason and logic, we have been used to getting what we think we want as fans and then getting angry when it doesn’t turn out like we hoped. They need to not listen to the noise and sort a long-term plan out and if the current manager is not your guy, then you need to go and find the frontman for your project.
The writing may be on the wall for Erik ten Hag and even with players coming back from injury it might not be enough, it seems that he is the last thing left from the football side of operations INEOS haven’t changed but you do feel that if it continues then he may go sooner that we think.
