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Erik ten Hag’s arduous task: Manchester United bottomed in Premier League but is it too early to judge? | Football news


Manchester United’s shameful 4-0 loss to Brentford was a reminder of the arduous task facing Erik ten Hag. United are at the bottom of the Premier League, but they’ve been here before. Is it too early to judge?

Ten Hag’s hardest test is getting harder and harder

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WATCH FREE: Highlights of Brentford’s win over Manchester United in the Premier League

Criticism of Manchester United has become a weekly occurrence. There’s no denying that they’ve been bad for a while, but just when it seemed like they couldn’t get any worse, did Brentford come in.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is clearly the one with the problem. Then there’s Ralf Rangnick. Now Ten Hag is in the spotlight. The Dutchman faces his toughest task yet.

The former Ajax boss is certainly a stellar coach given his success in the Netherlands, but his tactics have faced criticism following Saturday’s humiliation in west London. Against a tall and physically fit Brentford, his decision to leave Scott McTominay at 6ft 4in and deploy Christian Eriksen in deeper midfield was a bold move. So one also sticks with Lisandro Martinez 5ft 9in at centre-back while Raphael Varane 6ft 3in starts from the bench. Both were unrequited.

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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says his players did not play with confidence or responsibility in their loss to Brentford

Brentford may have had just four shots on target in the first half – all successful – but it could be easier than that. The home team has underperformed, ecstatic and outperformed the opponent, but mistakes like David de Gea made in the first and second goals are something Ten Hag can’t do more about.

Brentford ran 13.8 kilometers more than United on Saturday. Ten Hag’s reaction? To make his players run the same distance in training the next day. United supporters are confident he is the man who can turn their side’s fortunes around, but the mess he has inherited since taking charge this summer has never been clearer.

United have lost four consecutive games for the first time since February 1979. They have also lost seven consecutive away games for the first time since losing 10 games between September and December 1936.

There have been embarrassing results before – Brighton away last season under the spring of Rangnick – but Saturday felt the worst of the lot.

“I believe I’ll get it done – I’ve done it everywhere,” Ten Hag told Sports sky on Friday when asked how long it would take him to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.

But the 52-year-old became the first manager to lose his first two games in charge of United since John Chapman in November 1921.

The intensity and physicality of the Premier League left him no time to settle. It is clear that he needs time to build a team in his image. However, he needs more signings and there is no guarantee he will get them. Cristiano Ronaldo’s future continues to be an unwanted distraction.

The club requires “open heart surgery”. Those were the words of Ten Hag’s predecessor Rangnick in April. Looks like he was right.

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Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp passionately discuss what happened to Manchester United

Man Utd show below but it’s too early to judge?

The last time Manchester United began a climactic campaign with consecutive defeats in the first season of the Premier League was in 1992/93.

Thirty years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side lost to Sheffield United 2-1 on opening day – with Brian Deane scoring the first goal of the tournament – and that was followed by a 0-3 loss at home to Everton.

That left United last for three days from August 19-21, but a 1-1 draw at home to Ipswich on August 22 was enough to lift them off the table and they never looked back, only lost four of the remaining games. 39 to become the first Premier League champion. They won the championship with 84 points from 42 matches – 10 points ahead of second place Aston Villa.

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Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell describes Manchester United’s performance against Brentford as ‘pathetic’

Three years later in 1995, an opening day defeat to Villa on August 19 saw them sit 19th out of 20 teams for three days until Bolton dropped below them.

Failure for Villa motivated Match of the day Doctor Alan Hansen claimed that “you don’t win anything with the kids”, but their stay in the relegation zone was short-lived followed by 5 wins and they eventually won the league and FA Cup double that season.

Fast-forward to 25 August 2007 when a three-game winless start – draws with Reading and Portsmouth before a 0-1 loss in the Manchester derby – leaves them 19th again.

It was the catalyst for an eight-match winning streak and the season ended with United as champions of both the Premier League and Champions League.

Is this Man Utd’s lowest moment?

Sky Sports’ Zinny Boswell:

A reminder then, perhaps, that there were also bad times under Ferguson. Remember the 6-1 loss to noisy neighbors Manchester City in 2011? A 6-3 defeat to Southampton just a week after a 5-0 loss to Newcastle in October 1996? Or maybe the 5-0 loss to Chelsea in 1999?

It’s important to remember that not all winners during Fergie’s time lifted the trophy and won before the legendary manager retired.

Difference? Those are blisters. This has now become a reality.

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Sam Allardyce believes Erik ten Hag now understands how big Manchester United’s job is after Saturday’s 4-0 defeat

Over the past 12 months, United have been beaten 5-0 by Liverpool at Old Trafford, 4-1 by Watford, and 4-0 by Brighton. That is, forget the disastrous 6-1 loss to Tottenham at home a season ago and the 4-0 loss to Everton in 2019.

What makes Saturday at Brentford worse than those moments? This is supposed to be a good bit.

Ten Hag means being in the honeymoon phase. A transfer window worth considering has left him on target with a second centre-back, free agent Christian Eriksen and a left-back yet to start. Otherwise, this is the squad that produced United’s worst season in the Premier League.

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Darren Lewis and Henry Winter look at how the Sunday papers react to another shock defeat for Manchester United

There are two weeks left in the transfer window, giving United a chance to correct their mistakes and get their manager back.

The sense of hope and optimism that Ten Hag’s appearance had had disappeared. Suddenly, 36 Premier League games feel like a long road ahead. Next, just a small matter of Liverpool about Monday Night Football.

Watch Manchester United vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League & Major Events from 6:30 p.m. onwards Monday Night Football (August 22); start at 8pm.

Monday, August 22, 6:30 p.m

Starting at 8pm


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