It took Dutch manager Eric Ten Hag just two official matches to see first hand the depth of the crisis his new team, Manchester United, is going through since the retirement of legendary Scottish manager Alex Ferguson in 2013.
After three wins in the four warm-up matches he played on his Asia-Australia tour, United supporters were optimistic about the possibility that Ten Hag could revolutionize the squad that would put him back where he was and forget last season’s disappointment. and the sixth-place finish won by the Red Devils in the league.
But Ten Hag soon faced the bitter reality of a 20-time champion, losing the first two matches of the new Premier League season, the first at home against Brighton 1-2 and the second on Saturday at Brentford Stadium with a clean four, his latest record. in the first 36 minutes.
Saturday’s painful loss, which came with the presence of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting line-up after he came on as a substitute in the first meeting, was United’s seventh consecutive away from home in the league as a continuation of last season. a scenario that hasn’t happened to him since… 1936.
open heart surgery
After that disastrous start to the new season, any hope for a new bright future was quickly dashed under the leadership of the former Ajax Amsterdam manager, who quickly realized what his German predecessor, Ralf Rangnick, had in mind after his last match as interim manager of the team. , when he said United needed “open heart surgery” and bring in up to ten new players to try and improve on the sixth position he was in.
As the league reached its third stage, United still failed to bring in more than three new players: Dane Christian Eriksen, Argentinean Lisandro Martinis and Dutchman Terrell Malasia, who failed to achieve the desired revolution.
Aggravating the scale of United’s crisis is that on paper the current side seems weaker than last season’s, especially with the departure of French midfielder Paul Pogba, Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, midfielders Jesse Lingard, Serb Nemanja Matic and Spaniard Juan Mata. all for free due to the expiration of their contracts with the club.
The club’s shop was forced to close its doors following an attack by supporters who demanded the departure of the Glaser family before the opening match, which the team lost at home against Brighton, began.
There are expected to be other moves on the sidelines of United’s next home match against Liverpool, repeating the scene from last season when the decision was made to postpone the match between the two teams in May 2021 when fans stormed Old Trafford Stadium in protest against European Super League plans.
“It’s time for the Glazers to sell the club,” former United captain Gary Neville said, adding: “People in management positions (at the club) should have known that handing over to Erik ten Hag was unacceptable.” team.”
After Saturday’s humiliating defeat, the Dutchman said he asked his players to “play with faith and take responsibility for their game, and we didn’t.”
“It seems like what happened last, last season, is repeating itself this season, and we need to change that quickly.”
Ten Hag became the sixth manager to hold the position since then, to no avail unless management is convinced of a more fundamental restructuring of the club’s management.
Otherwise, United risk repeating the same mistakes, which could lead to new lows.
