S Poddar
As Sir Jim Ratcliffe sat in the Old Trafford directors’ box, his face a picture of glumness, during the second half of Sunday’s match, there was only one number that could have been going through his mind. Watching his team go through another embarrassing defeat at the hands of Liverpool, Ratcliffe would likely have thought the same as many fans: Where is this club going, and is Erik ten Hag the right man to take it?
Supposedly, this was to be a new era for Manchester United, one in which the Glazer family had finally retreated from frontline business, and momentum from an unexpected FA Cup win over Manchester City could translate into tangible progress under Ten Hag. Ratcliffe, who had considered sacking the Dutchman before that triumphant FA Cup final, might well have done so were it not for United’s 2-1 win over City at Wembley, allied to the dearth of appealing managerial alternatives on the market.
Despite entering his third season as United’s head coach, Ten Hag has yet to establish a clear identity or tactical vision for his team. The early season promise was quickly washed away as United were outplayed by Liverpool, barely a month into the campaign. Luis Diaz’s second-half brace and Mohamed Salah’s sublime strike in the second half sealed a 3-0 win for the visitors, who would have easily replicated last season’s 7-0 demolition at Anfield if they were more clinical in front of goal.
But the apparent chasm in coaching between the two teams is, really, the most striking thing. United’s opponents, Liverpool, were cohesive and well-drilled under new head coach Arne Slot, playing a brand of high-tempo, possession-based football that overwhelmed United at times. This was supposed to be a transition year for Liverpool, adjusting to Slot’s style while moving away from their reliance on seasoned stars like Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Yet, Slot won a signature victory in his third game in charge.
Meanwhile, two-plus years into Ten Hag’s tenure at United, he continues to struggle to define what his team is. An ambitious summer transfer window, and the promise of a fresh start with Ratcliffe and his INEOS group, the action on the pitch at Old Trafford suggests very little has.
With the Glazers now out of the way, the scrutiny has fallen more and more on Ten Hag. American mismanagement is no longer an excuse that washes over the manager himself. It is up to him to explain why United are not approaching games with a clear-cut tactical blueprint. This is the reason for which, while the squad is full of talented individuals who can win big games for them, there is simply no strategy that leads them in one direction or another.
That same debate was remarkably replayed on Sky Sports as the network’s pundits, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, began butting heads over United’s decision to stick with Ten Hag, as Neville claimed there was no better alternative during the summer window. Meanwhile, Carragher questioned where the club were going under the 54-year-old boss.
With United’s performances continuing to worsen, it begs the question whether Ratcliffe now regrets not moving for Slot when he had the chance. The position of Ten Hag has never seemed more precarious, with the pressure immense on him to turn things around with the season still in its early days. Whether he can rise to the challenge or be replaced by a new face such as Slot remains to be seen.
