A 3-0 loss to Tottenham at Old Trafford has sparked a brutal, public shaming of Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag, who is now “running out of time” to save his job according to UK experts.
The British media hasn’t missed in lambasting the Premier League giants and their beleaguered boss, who was taunted with chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” throughout second half.
Manchester United now sits 13th on the Premier League standings with two wins in six games.
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The club’s new football leadership team handed ten Hag an extension to his contract less than three months ago, but the Dutchman is under extreme, and increasingly mounting, pressure to hold his position.
“(Ten Hag) is only one bad defeat away from a crisis and unforgiving scrutiny,” BBC reporter Phil McNulty claimed. “The 54-year-old is running out of time after a United performance that was as shambolic, incompetent and indisciplined as any he has presided over in his tenure.
“This is a manager who is looking increasingly out of his depth … this felt very much like the end – if not now, then very soon.”
But while a large portion of the blame has landed squarely at the feet of ten Hag, Arsenal legend Martin Keown floated a stunning theory that could rock the boat at Old Trafford.
Keown, a long-time nemesis of Manchester United in the 1990s and early 2000s, singled out assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy, questioning whether he’s doing enough to support ten Hag.
Keown, who famously sparred with van Nistelrooy in a bitter rivalry during their Premier League careers, said on TalkSport: “Is he giving everything to this manager? This manager looks very lonely on the sideline.
“Is Van Nistelrooy waiting to take over? Because it looks as if there’s going to be change taking place there.
“Is everyone adding to the group? I’m not seeing that from Van Nistelrooy. Ten Hag is just sitting there, nothing going on, no conversation. Pep [Guardiola] goes back and speaks to the gurus next to him. Is everybody looking in the mirror at themselves giving their best?
“It doesn’t look like the players are committed, it doesn’t look like the staff are particularly committed. It’s a lone man in the dugout.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s defence also came under heavy scrutiny following the loss to Tottenham.
“United were a shambles – a rabble,” McNulty continued. “From the first whistle, Spurs were all over United like a rash.
“There was no shape to United. They lacked direction and leadership … at times they looked out of control.”
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith claimed the team’s defence was “as leaky as the roof at Old Trafford”, also criticising ten Hag’s off-season signings.
“They have shelled out over £600m on signings for Erik ten Hag, and the head coach can’t escape the fact that Sunday’s squad was very much the team he had built,” Smith wrote.
The Guardian’s Jonathan Wilson continued: “If the first-half performance against Tottenham on Sunday wasn’t the worst under Ten Hag, it’s only because there are so many other candidates.
“They were shapeless, demotivated, petulant and apparently entirely devoid of confidence.”
Chief among those to be called out for the defensive efforts has been Matthijs de Ligt, ten Hag’s countryman who was signed for £43m (A$83m).
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher grilled de Ligt, saying that he was “completely out of position all the time” against Spurs.
“I’ve noticed this a little bit with De Ligt and a lot of centre-backs,” Carragher said in analysing the goals on Sky Sports.
“I don’t understand why they don’t fill the space and come over – I see this so much.”
Nonetheless, it’s ten Hag who has ultimately copped the majority of the heat in the UK press since Sunday’s loss.
ESPN’s Mark Ogden lashed ten Hag’s tendency to cast the blame elsewhere whenever Manchester United suffers defeat.
“Erik ten Hag is out of excuses,” Ogden penned.
“Selective memory is becoming a theme of Ten Hag’s increasingly predictable defence of his record as United manager. He has blamed injuries for a lack of consistency and bad results – every team suffers from injuries – and pointed to the two trophies he has won in two seasons … but that overlooks guiding the club to their worst-ever Premier League finish in 2023/24 and overseeing an array of humiliating defeats.
“There is now a real possibility that Ten Hag is entering the final days of his reign as United manager.”
Manchester United will next face Aston Villa away on Sunday.
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