A fog engulfing the boisterous FC Porto fans made it difficult for visibility and clarity as Manchester United and Porto’s players tip-toed their way onto the pitch for their Europa League tie on Wednesday.
The thick mist, which made visibly virtually impossible for players and the cameras before the teams lined up for the pre-game Europa League anthem, was ominous of another gloomy chapter in United’s unending crisis as Ten Hag failed to envisage what lay ahead of his team.
United managed to earn a point despite being reduced to 10 men and leading twice against a dogged Porto side.
The latest catastrophic crumble, giving away a two-goal lead in the space of seven minutes, was preceded by a 3-0 league mauling by Spurs on Sunday.
Sunday’s game plan was immediately thrown out of the window in the opening minutes when Spurs defender Micky van de Ven made a 50-yard odd bursting run to tee up Brennan Johnson, who easily tucked home from close range.
Just as United – a team who were once never counted out until the end of games – have become accustomed to in recent times, Johnson’s goal took the wind out of their sails as they succumbed to a bitter defeat against Spurs.
The shouts to get Ten Hag out, which were echoed in parts last term, had a unified chorus as fans jeered loudly at the full-time whistle.
Old Trafford’s disapproval of the team’s performance added to the mounting pressure on the Dutch gaffer.
Ten Hag’s days are no longer numbered. His dismissal? An inevitable reality that would soon befall the Dutchman.
Eras? They do definitely come to an end. Ten Hag may look back, particularly at this season and point fingers at so many individual errors potentially costing him his job.
The taciturn Dutch manager is not completely faultless in this comic showing in the past three seasons, sticking to some principles which has so far failed to yield results.
Trying to write United’s collapse off under Ten Hag as a blip is fanciful because on show throughout his tenure has been a failure in basic competence from front to back.
United’s defence is as open as the roofs at Old Trafford, leaking in goals and conceding at an auction rate of three, withholding out the number, and failing to compromise on it.
Ten Hag after winning some fans over with last season’s FA Cup triumph is running out of time, despite insisting in his post-Porto presser his side should be judged at the end of the season.
“Don’t judge us in this moment. Judge us at the end of the season,” he said
Man United have been far too erratic, with the manager’s idea of holding onto possession and building up from the back in contrast to the abilities of his players.
United have given opportunities away from turnovers and sloppiness, leading to a direct shot at their goal or a big chance created against them.
Ten Hag’s stint as United boss has been characterised by some pain-gripping results, not least the 7-0 shellacking against fierce rivals Liverpool and the lopsided 6-3 defeat to Manchester City in his first season.
It’s no secret that United have been benevolent and charitable in giving away goals to opponents, conceding 58 league goals last season and shipping in eight league goals already.
The worrying discourse which never seems to go away for United fans is how coaches who have been at post at different clubs in shorter times able to create a fluid system – laying down blueprints by which their teams thrive.
Liverpool’s Arne Slot, Chelsea’s Maresca, and Spurs’ Ange Postecoglu are but a few managers who have been in the job shorter than Ten Hag but have a clear structural plan and identity for their teams.
Anytime the weekend looms, supporters of the most successful Premier League club [Man United] dread the prospect of trooping to Old Trafford to watch their side’s insipid performances pan out before their eyes.
Meeting up at nearby pubs downtown to watch games involving Manchester United over a glass of wine with friends has proved difficult.
Such has been the ignominy of being a United fan these days – not knowing what scene would unfold next in Ten Hag’s subplots.
Even rival fans, Chelsea, City, Arsenal and Liverpool, have had enough – with regards to ridiculing Manchester United, demanding the team rises from the doldrums to take its rightful place, which is at the top, in England.
Over €600m has been spent on signings – who have been far from convincing – in the Red Devils’ quest to be without blemish once more.
However, the murky situation at hand has not been the case throughout Ten Hag’s tenure, with the manager winning two trophies for the club.
The Dutch gaffer ended a six-year trophy drought in his first stint with the club and defeated Manchester City in the final of the 2023-24 FA Cup.
Despite his achievements, the all-too-familiar sight of players throwing their arms aloft while they should be fighting for challenges; players walking unconcerned while they should be sprinting back to help out defensively, irks United fans.
And on a night which could be seen as a turning point or a firing trigger, it was Harry Maguire who came off the bench to rescue a point for Man United away to Porto in Portugal.
United’s new co-owners – Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his minority stakeholders – will definitely have to get it right with the next managerial move they make.
With the allure of coaching Manchester United proving enticing to most coaches, United are not short of options – with Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate, and Graham Potter all waiting in the wings.
It’s difficult to see how Ten Hag will turn the tide, but it is much more difficult to see how the manager will get away with such stinking results.
With a Premier League game against an Aston Villa side who are flying high in confidence (what United need) on Sunday, the final nail could be laid in Erik’s coffin.
