There was a dark atmosphere at Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag and his players roamed the pitch in the pouring rain to applaud the fans who remained in the stands until the final whistle. The several hundred people in the Stretford End continued to sing, even though there wasn't much to sing. His tone is one of obligation rather than defiance.
Alejandro Garnacho, Lisandro Martinez and Andre Onana were among the last to go down the tunnel. Thoughts must have been swirling in their minds about how quickly Manchester United have fallen into disarray already this season and what needs to change to turn things around.
Nothing unusual happened in the locker room after that. Ten Hag told his players that “there is always a new day” and spoke only of his determination to “reset” from Thursday's Europa League game against Porto.
But the focus will inevitably be on Ten Hag's ability to bring the sun into that new day. Because this was a dark occasion, their second 3-0 defeat in a home game in the Premier League, and they had played one of their worst halves. The most recent memory I have is the opening season of soccer.
Afterwards, Ten Hag said she did not consider her work to be scrutinized. In reference to the review in which United interviewed other candidates such as Thomas Tuchel and Roberto de Zerbi and ultimately decided to keep him, he said: “We came together in the summer to make the decision to stay together.'' ,” he said. .
“We made the decision after thinking clearly about what we need to improve as an organization and how to build our team. We knew it would take some time to think about it. We're all on one page, one boat, the owners, the leadership group, the staff and the players.”
United's disastrous first half was stony-faced in the directors' box, which included INEOS sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford, United CEO Omar Berada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox. I was greeted with a friendly face.
(Top second row from left) United ranks including Sir Dave Brailsford, Omar Berada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Officials unofficially agree with Ten Hag's opinion. Changes to the club's infrastructure and working practices were a top priority when INEOS first arrived, and patience will be needed to make them stick and see results. It was only earlier this month that Mr. Berrada and Mr. Ashworth went public with their clear support for Mr. Ten Hag, so changing course now would be a cavalier gesture and would not be swayed by a systematic process. This may be outdated for executives who prefer to be exposed.
Another consideration was that Ten Hag could choose his own coaches, including Ruud van Nistelrooy, and could have influence over contracts.
Similarly, the management situation has not changed much since May and June, when United's chiefs combed the market for a replacement and ultimately settled on Ten Hag. Gareth Southgate has moved on from his role with England and is currently available due to his links with Ashworth and Brailsford, but that is as far as he is concerned.
But if Porto and Sunday's trip to Aston Villa deliver more, the pressure will certainly increase on the decision-makers, especially with another international break looming. Former United captains Gary Neville and Ashley Young suggested on Sky Sports that the players should meet without Ten Hag to decide how to proceed. Unless results improve dramatically, media speculation like this will fill the narrative.
“We got off to a very bad start, conceding a goal like when our centre-half (Mickey van de Ven) ran across the pitch. “Then I was very stressed during the game and had to ask the team for a reserve. We couldn't find the personnel.'' “We couldn't switch, we couldn't keep the ball, we weren't active enough with our third-man action, we couldn't press correctly,'' Ten Hag accepted.
This mental weakness is alarming and raises the question of whether it is an individual issue or a lack of confidence in the team's strategy.
Bruno Fernandes' red card affected the contest, but by 11-11 Tottenham were already tearing United apart at will. Spurs were doing well, United were very bad. Their pressing was disjointed, gaps in midfield once again made attempts to pass out from the back difficult, and finding a teammate with the ball seemed an alien concept to some players. .
There were a number of times when the ball was dribbled out and was touched by a United player's boot. Those who spotted the red shirt were often off the mark. On the counter-attack before the interval, Joshua Zirkzee laid off Marcus Rashford but put the ball behind his run. All Rashford could do was pivot and hammer a return pass into the Spurs defender. He flapped his arms to show his frustration.
United's passing accuracy in the first half was 76 per cent, the lowest in the first half of the Premier League this season.
United also failed to defend and at one point Matthijs de Ligt tried to put the ball in, but it was found by Dominic Solanke. On another occasion, Diogo Dalot attempted an extra touch, but Brennan Johnson started the attack, leading to James Maddison's shot.
And Spurs' goal came in the third minute. Van de Ven followed FC Twente's blueprint, winning the ball and running straight at United. It's embarrassing that we conceded a goal like that once. It's remiss to do the same thing twice in two games.
It was in such a situation that Fernandes committed a foul. He slipped, but still slammed the stud into Madison's shin and pulled away. It was a tough red card, but it seemed like there was an element of frustration in Maddison, who controls the movement of the midfield. (Fernandez later requested a postgame media appearance on Onana's behalf to convey his position and accept responsibility.)
Fernandes gets red card for bringing down Maddison (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
At this stage United were on the brink of collapse, with Koby Mainu also sent off, seemingly suggesting to Casemiro and Anthony on the sideline that he had injured his hamstring. United's discipline broke down, with Mason Mount getting a yellow card and Rodrygo Bentancur smacked of, Martínez refereeing Maddison and Manuel Ugarte cutting in on Dejan Kulusevski.
Ten Hag have won just six of their 19 Premier League games since last season, while United's seven points are the lowest for either side after six games in a season (2013/14 and 2020). Same record in both seasons).
Only in the 2007–08 season (4) did United score fewer goals in their first six Premier League games than in their five this season, but they finished the season with a double Premier League and Champions League title. .
An even more worrying sign was that United suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats without scoring at Old Trafford for the first time since November 2021 (5-0 against Liverpool, 2-0 against Manchester City). These were Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's final two home games in charge of the club.
Ten Babaa will hope that doesn't bode ill for his tenure.
(Top photo: Karl Lesseen/Getty Images)
