Footballing Weekly: Is Erik ten Hag afflicted by Man United's 2nd-season manager woes?
Like his managerial predecessors, the Dutchman is beginning to struggle to lift the EPL giants out of their current slump
SINGAPORE — While the English Premier League media landscape was working itself into a furore in the past few days over a glaring error by the video assistant referee (VAR) against Liverpool, another major talking point somehow slipped quietly away from public opinion.
Manchester United slumped to their fourth defeat in seven league matches on Saturday (30 September), this time losing meekly at home, 0-1 to a so-so Crystal Palace side. Jeers rang out at full-time, as frustrated Red Devils fans made their voices heard loud and clear.
The pain did not stop in midweek, as United crashed again at home, losing 2-3 to Turkey's Galatasaray in their Champions League group match on Tuesday. Two goals from new signing Rasmus Hojland were not enough to lift United out of their current funk.
What has gone wrong in the second season of Erik ten Hag's tenure, after the Dutch manager revived the EPL giants with a third-place finish in the league and a Carabao Cup trophy last season?
With his strong tactical acumen and no-nonsense attitude, it had really seemed that the former Ajax Amsterdam boss could bring back United's glory days under Alex Ferguson.
Yet, ten Hag and the club are struggling to manage a series of off-field transgressions by his young players: Mason Greenwood with his sexual assault charges, Antony with his assault allegations, and Jadon Sancho for his less-than-satisfactory training standards.
This has led to the prolonged absences of the trio on the pitch, and United have struggled to score all season, with just six goals in seven matches. This problem was actually evident last season too - they scored 58 goals in 38 games, as many as ninth-placed Brentford - but United showed that they could grind out wins despite lacking an out-and-out striker.
Not so this season, despite Hojland's immense promise. The squad looked jaded in their losses, unable to figure out their opponents' defences, while new goalkeeper Andre Onana's less-than-convincing start to his United career has fans crying out for their old custodian David de Gea.
Ten Hag should have enough goodwill among fans to stay on the job and try to arrest this current slump. But such trend of managers struggling after an initial encouraging spell is symptomatic of most of United's managerial hires since Ferguson retired in 2013 - Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all had great starts before the gloom set in quickly.
The clock, therefore, is ticking for ten Hag. With a crunch tie with city rivals and defending EPL champions Manchester City looming ahead at the end of the month, he is in a race against time to lift his troops to produce better displays than the recent defeats.
Otherwise, the Dutchman risks ending up on the chopping block like his predecessors.
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