S Poddar
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United are cruising into the summer with bright green shades after tasting victory in the FA Cup. Similar to every other team with high hopes, this season was expected to come full circle in terms of spending for new signings, which seemed to reap rewards quite convincingly. The season kick has been little short of underwhelming, raising very pertinent questions of whether the team is really improving.
There were jeers from the Old Trafford crowd during their last match, a 1-1 draw against Twente in the Europa League. Not spread but creeping in is a sense of frustration as excitement is turning to growing frustration. Even Christian Eriksen said that Twente “wanted it more,” a sentiment shared by Ten Hag in his post-match comments.
“It was far from good enough,” said Eriksen. “They looked like they wanted it more – that can’t be right. We didn’t lose, but it feels like a loss.”
With just three wins in their first eight games, which included a loss to Manchester City in a penalty shootout in the Community Shield, United is showing fewer signs of improvement than many had hoped for. United drew twice and lost three times, though the defensive play at times has seemed more sound, as the offenses continue to struggle.
Struggles Up Front
One of United’s three wins came against League One side Barnsley in the EFL Cup, where they won with a result of 7-0. Such performances have been few and far between this season, though. If United except the Barnsley game and a 2-1 win over Southampton—which have managed only one point this season—then United have not been able to score effectively.
No United player has scored more than one goal in the Premier League to date, but it was Alejandro Garnacho who came on against Twente, and he has been the club’s top scorer with four overall, two of those in the visit to Barnsley.
Boss Ten Hag, who often quotes expected goals (xG) statistics, must see what is amiss in front of goal. United have underperformed their xG in five of their seven competitive games this season. Their conversion rate of chances is a frightening 7%, stark for a team that has the offensive talent.
Despite creating 19 shots against Twente, the Dutch side capitalized on their key opportunity, and Ten Hag admitted that the visitors had the edge in determination.
“It was the game of their life,” said Ten Hag. “They fight for every yard and we did not. Ninety-nine per cent are not enough. Often, I think the mentality from this team is very good. Today I have some criticisms. It is not only the team that needs to look into the mirror; I am part of it too. We know we have some problems in scoring goals, but we need to finish the game.”
A Need for Ruthlessness
Former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves commented after the game, commenting that, though they were creating good opportunities, United sometimes lacked a clinical edge.
“For all the firepower Man United had, even though they had 19 shots, it didn’t feel like it was good enough,” Hargreaves said. “Ruthlessness comes from the matchwinners. Man United have always had those players-the best of the best. Someone needs to step up with a goal when they need one. They should be creating more and scoring more.”
Captain Bruno Fernandes and new signing Joshua Zirkzee both have moments close to scoring the winning goal, but the team fails to dominate as opponents against Twente should be dominated in the way that successful United sides of the past have done.
A reminder of what United once was came in the form of Sir Alex Ferguson, passing on a plate to his former assistant and Twente’s former title-winning manager Steve McClaren before the match. Winning at all costs defined the Ferguson era and was echoed by Hargreaves, a Champions League winner with United in 2008, as he underlined the need to win.
“At a club like this, you need to win,” Hargreaves said. “The fixtures coming up are incredibly difficult. They need to rise to the occasion now and find some solutions.”
Defensive Improvements, but Tough Tests Ahead
On the plus side, United have tightened up at the back of late, having looked very leaky for vast swathes of last season. This season, they have averaged fewer than one goal conceded per game, a huge improvement on Ten Hag’s first two campaigns there but defensive frailties did creep in again in three quick-falling goals to Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier this month.
United face a formidable weekend with Tottenham visiting Old Trafford, while another stern test beckons next week in the European tie at home against Porto, who astonishingly lost their opener to Norwegian outfit Bodo/Glimt. The following week could also be a tough away match at Aston Villa.
The attack lacks efficacy, and this has been creeping into the minds of those who have seen their team fail to deliver in recent matches. Ten Hag remains confident that his team is on the right path, despite the setbacks. He acknowledges that work needs to be done but insists that any current issues are merely short-term.
“We are very ambitious, and when you have ambition, you have to perform,” said Ten Hag. “Especially today, in the second half, we were too complacent. We didn’t bring it over the line, and as a team, you have to do this.”
Time is still on Ten Hag’s side, but growing impatience in the direction of this team – if things don’t look good and start to improve soon – will soon change optimism into somewhere slightly more concerning outlooks over the direction of this team.
