Premier League: Mounting woes for Ten Hag

LOSING three matches in a row, while conceding three goals or more, has not happened to Manchester United since 1978, a statistic boss Erik ten Hag could have done without. But for it to happen on the same week a report is published stating that Man United recorded the highest net spend of any club in the world over the last decade, must have made the Dutchman curse whatever luck he has.

In the six games played so far this season, United have managed two wins. Both wins just being one- goal margins against a struggling Wolves and Forest. But the most recent three results have started to raise concerns among Old Trafford watchers.

The first saw in-form Arsenal predictably win well against United at the Emirates. And to be fair, in the third, it is never an embarrassment to lose to German giants Bayern Munich, even though it looked like the Bavarian side could have scored whenever they desired against United on Wednesday night. But it was the home defeat to Brighton last Saturday, in the second of the these most recent games, and the manner of the humiliation which was maybe the most jarring for ten Hag and the United faithful.

In a strange game, where United still played relatively well in parts and dominated possession, the south-coast side nevertheless, outplayed United with relative ease unlocking the defence and ing through the United midfield like it wasn’t there.

The day’s events were summed up best by Pascal Gross’ neat finish for Brighton’s second, which came at the end of 28 unanswered es and where the home side was unable to even get in a single credible tackle.

German efficiency

The scene was replicated in the Champions League game on Wednesday in Munich, when the fast-pace ing of the German side easily unlocked the last-ditch defending of the United back four, who were constantly left under pressure from their midfield colleagues’ nonchalance, who seemingly think ‘running back’ is just a position in an American football team.

Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez had a difficult night, and the defence was only lifted by Sergio Reguilon, but their biggest problem was that Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay  and Casemiro were not interested in lending a hand when the waves of Bayern attackers swarmed at them.

The 4-3 scoreline flattered United as their scores came off some rather flippant late defending from the Bavarians, when the Germans thought they had it all wrapped up. Obviously, Munich has not learnt their lesson from 1999 about letting United in the backdoor late on. Unlike 1999, this Bavarian side always looked like winning, capable of unlocking this United side whenever they wanted and probably should have won by more.

Of course, United were also not helped by Andre Onana spilling the ball into his own net for the first goal. It seems like United gave up David de Gea for a goalie who is comfortable playing out of defence but only at the expense of stopping shots.

To add insult to injury, two former Premier League players scored goals against them; Leroy Sane, formerly of the noisy neighbours and Harry Kane of Spurs fame.

Bad reports

The thing is, all the United players have a pedigree and skillset to be great but the sum of the parts do not add up once they get to Old Trafford.

The study from the CIES Observatory, this week, showed United topped the soccer club charts by posting a net spend of €1.4bn during the last decade. Net spend is essentially total money spent on transfers, minus money received from player sales.

United’s rise to the top of this undesirable financial charts was fuelled by some expensive transfers. Paul Pogba, Antony, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, and Romelu Lukaku were the five most expensive incomings for the club between 2014 and 2023. The combined cost of this quintet was approximately €458 million. Even the most resolute United fan would not say these five players, and some more, were value for money.

Toxic influence?

After the Arsenal defeat, former United player and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville suggested the constant speculation over the sale of the club was having a toxic influence on the mood and attitude of the players. Maybe so.

Add this to the fallout from the allegations made against Mason Greenwood and Anthony off the pitch. And the social media spat between Ten Hag and Jadon Sancho about the player’s commitment, and suddenly the prospects of an invigorated United challenge, held at the start of the season, looks a distant dream now. Most of these difficulties predate Ten Hag’s arrival. Indeed, last year’s performances and finish offered a lot of hope for United fans, but unless this year's downturn is reversed against Burnley today, then things are going to get pretty sticky for ten Hag.