Manchester United fans find themselves in that all too familiar place where they know the inevitable is just around the corner.
Avoiding defeat in away clashes to both FC Porto and Aston Villa may well have granted Erik ten Hag something of a lifeline to make it through the international break, but as Jamie Carragher suggested pre-match on Sunday, it’s now just a case of kicking the can down the road. It’s evident he’ll be sacked at some stage, so why prolong it any further?
Last night’s stalemate at Villa Park culminated with United recording their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign, having tallied only eight points after the opening seven matches. Ten Hag broke the record that he’d set this time last season when the side had notched nine points at this stage of the campaign.
As such, that’s why his frequent ramblings over the ‘process’ now fall upon deaf ears. He’s been granted more than enough time and money to implement his project at Old Trafford, but the club – in his third season – are heading on a downward trajectory, and Ten Hag won’t be the man to stop it.
It’s time for INEOS to cut ties with Erik ten Hag
Journalist Sam Pilger has echoed such a sentiment, suggesting it’s time for the United faithful to be put out of their misery by no longer enduring such dismal performances. He said: “The end of Ten Hag’s reign feels like it is just being dragged out now with United a humiliating 14th in the table after yet another lifeless and clueless performance with almost no goal threat. It is a shambles, and something needs to quickly change.”