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Hello! Is judgement day looming for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag?
Coming up:
United undone: Ten Hag asks for patience with future in doubt
(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Deep in Erik ten Hag’s 1,000-yard stare is the gloom of a coach who needs saving from himself. How many more times can he cut the same, sorry image: statuesque and helpless as the rain pelts him, his Manchester United team scudded once again?
Yesterday’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur had everybody asking if this was it; if a not-so-super Sunday was one dumpster fire too far. Ten Hag pleaded for patience, but a man in his job cannot expect time in perpetuity and he’s had his share. We woke up this morning waiting to see if United’s faith would withstand the mess.
Ten Hag’s perennially tight corner is always slightly baffling because he had put together a highly accomplished Ajax team who came within a few kicks of the Champions League final in 2019. Has the Premier League found him out? Has United’s dysfunction done him in? Are the players phoning it in? Is it all of the above?
The constant problem for Ten Hag is that there isn’t much he scores well at. United’s tactics look like a dare. Their big failings — which include a defensive setup with more gaps than an ice hockey player’s grin — are forever on repeat. Motivation isn’t a particular strength and transfers instigated by him (give Antony a wave) have been fairly abject.
There was a telling photo of United’s directors’ box at Old Trafford yesterday (below). Some of them had fear in their eyes, but the club have repeatedly promised to stand by Ten Hag. Will their backbone hold?
‘We’re all on one boat’
It’s a good idea to take a look at what the main protagonists at United are thinking:
- Ten Hag is not admitting defeat. He was asked at his post-match press conference if he feared he might be fired. “No, I’m not thinking about this,” he said. “We need some time, we are all there on one page, one boat, the ownership, the leadership group, the staff, the players, too.”
- The decision-makers at minority shareholder INEOS have spent many months altering and improving the internal management structure at Old Trafford. They saw that as their priority after buying into the club. Privately, they have also been preaching patience for Ten Hag.
- Sky Sports pundit and ex-United defender Gary Neville suggested Ten Hag’s squad meet today without their boss and have it out. Flaky performances aren’t reflecting well on them.
As for the crowd, the mood at full time was one of tired resignation. None of those watching are enjoying the endless holding pattern. Who would?
Sizzling Spurs
One thing that should be said: Tottenham were terrific. Micky van de Ven conjured a sensational assist for their first goal — a blistering blitz of United’s back line — and their expected goals (xG) figure hit 4.7 (above). That’s a beating.
Ten Hag was handicapped by a first-half red card shown to captain Bruno Fernandes that, in all fairness, has a fair chance of being overturned on appeal. But they were 1-0 down and in disarray by then, and therein lies the rub: the excuses that exist just aren’t cutting it.
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News round-up
Madrid Madness: Atletico vs Real chaos as players plead with fans in balaclavas
(Oscar del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
Spanish football has a lot going for it, not least some of the world’s top players. But conversely, it has an image problem, too, and last night’s Madrid derby won’t help its reputation.
The build-up to Atletico versus Real was unsavoury enough, with Atletico supporters posting online that they were planning to racially abuse Vinicius Junior and their president bizarrely claiming that no one at his club was “racist or anti-racist” (Atletico later called this a “slip of the tongue”).
Then came the game itself, which was suspended for around 20 minutes after Real’s Eder Militao opened the scoring in the second half. Objects were thrown at Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois by Atletico fans behind him, prompting the referee to take the teams off the pitch. Atletico manager Diego Simeone and some of their players had to intervene to calm the crowd down.
Dermot Corrigan and Guillermo Rai have explained some of the wider context for us, including the role of Atletico’s ultras in the trouble. Atletico nicked a 1-1 draw in stoppage time, though Marcos Llorente soured the evening further by receiving a red card for a horrible, straight-through-the-shin tackle that could have seriously hurt Fran Garcia (below).
Garcia is training as planned today, but still, I’d humbly suggest it’s time to get a grip.
Palmed off: The transfers — and non-movers — already looking like smart business
Liam Twomey tickled me with his comment that Cole Palmer’s four-goals-in-20-minutes onslaught against Brighton on Saturday “wasn’t even his best four-goal haul”. It’s true as well, despite the perfect accuracy of his free kick (below). Life’s peachy.
Chelsea’s Palmer is one of three players over the weekend who made me think about how history judges big transfer decisions:
Around The Athletic FC 🌎
Quiz Answer
Did you get the player who holds the Premier League record for exclusively scoring at home (nine goals)? It was former Tottenham defender Clive Wilson. A bonus point if you called him by his birth name: Euclid.
Catch a match
Premier League: Bournemouth vs Southampton, 3pm/8pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports. Serie A: Parma vs Cagliari, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+/OneFootball. La Liga: Villarreal vs Las Palmas, 3pm/8pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports.
And finally…
Are players consciously bidding for TAFC’s ‘League One error of the weekend’ nomination?
The reason we ask is that Saturday by Saturday, the crime of failing to play out from the back worsens. This was Birmingham City goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell doing… well, we’re not quite sure what he was doing against Peterborough United. I’m starting to think they’re on the wind-up.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
