Manchester United are at the bottom but they’ve been here before | Erik ten Hag faces his toughest task | Football news

From Manchester United Losing 4-0 to Brentford last weekend saw them slide to the bottom of the Premier League, but they’ve been there before. Ahead of Monday night’s big clash with rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford, live Sports skywe take a trip down the memory lane…

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United are still without a point this season after previous consecutive defeats Brighton and Brentford have seen new manager Erik ten Hag get off to the worst possible start to his tenure, but this is not the first time the club has found themselves in the position.

They last started with consecutive defeats in their first Premier League campaign in 1992/93.

Thirty years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men lost 2-1 to Sheffield United 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 games to become the first Premier League champion. They won the championship with 84 points from 42 games – 10 points ahead of second place Aston Villa.

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

The defeat for Villa has 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 Championship and FA Cup double that season.

Fast-forward to 25 August 2007 when a three-game winless start – draws against Reading and Portsmouth before a 0-1 defeat in the Manchester derby – leaves them 19th once 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 the ‘noisy neighbor’ Manchester City in 2011? Losing 6-3 to Southampton just a week after beating Newcastle 5-0 in October 1996? Or maybe the 5-0 loss to Chelsea in 1999?

It’s important to remember that not all ‘Fergie-time’ winners, who lift the trophy and win before the legendary manager retires.

But since the Scots’ departure, and especially over the past 12 months, those results have become the norm. United were thrashed 5-0 by Liverpool at Old Trafford, 4-1 by Watford and thrashed 4-0 by Brighton. Not forgetting the 6-1 defeat to Tottenham at home a season ago and the 4-0 loss to Everton in 2019.

What made last weekend at Brentford worse than those moments? This is considered a good bit. Ten Hag means to be in the honeymoon phase, but the feeling of hope and optimism that his appearance had disappeared.

Suddenly, 36 Premier League games feel like a long road ahead.

Ten Hag’s hardest test is getting harder and harder

Sky Sports’ Dan Sansom:

Criticism of Manchester United has become a weekly occurrence. There’s no denying they’ve been playing badly 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 undoubtedly a stellar coach given his success in recent years, but his tactics have faced criticism following last weekend’s humiliation in the west. London.

Against a tall and physically fit Brentford, his decision to let Scott McTominay drop 6ft 4in and deploy Christian Eriksen in deeper midfield was a bold one. So one also sticks with Lisandro Martinez 5ft 9in at centre-back, while Raphael Varane 6ft 3in starts from the bench. Not paid in full.

Brentford may have had just four shots on target in the first half – all successful – but it could be easier than that. The hosts have underperformed, ecstatic and outperformed their opponents, 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 games in a row for the first time since February 1979. They have also lost seven in a row away 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 feels the worst of the lot.

“I believe I’ll get the job done – I’ve done it everywhere,” Ten Hag told Sports sky last week 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.

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

Next, just a small matter of Liverpool about Monday Night Football. Incredibly, however, three points will put Ten Hag’s side ahead of their rivals in the table. A reminder that despite United’s current problems, the Premier League season is only two weeks old.

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