While doubts are surrounding Erik ten Hag, the smiles of his counterparts Arne Slot, Unai Emery, Ange Postecoglou and Enzo Maresca only make the situation worse for the Dutch strategist. Simply because they prove that coaches do not always need time, as Ten Hag often mentions.
The 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham was United's third defeat in six Premier League games this season. They are 12th and eight points behind leaders Liverpool. Only Southampton have scored fewer goals than the Ten Hag side's five in the league.
Despite being outplayed by Tottenham at Old Trafford, Ten Hag insisted that captain Bruno Fernandes' first-half red card "changed the game". Before that, Man United had created a number of chances and Alejandro Garnacho hit the post.
Ten Hag's assessment was not entirely wrong, but he failed to mention Tottenham's chances in the first half. The visitors could have even gone four goals up if they had been more careful with their chances.
Before Bruno Fernandes left the pitch, all the statistics showed Spurs were dominant. Tottenham had 64% possession, completed 260 passes compared to Man United's 172. They had 28 touches in the opposition box compared to Man United's 7, and had 4 times as many shots as their opponents (12).
According to Opta, the away team's expected goals (xG) index is up to 4.67. Meanwhile, what Man United has is only 2 shots on target with 0.97 xG.
Ten Hag's excuses are so boring they're predictable. He blames injuries, but that's something that almost any team has to deal with. Ten Hag also points to the Carabao Cup and FA Cup titles as achievements. However, the Dutchman ignores leading the club to their worst ever Premier League finish in 2023-24.
Not to mention a series of humiliating defeats: 0-7 to Liverpool, 0-4 to Crystal Palace, 0-4 to Brentford, 3-6 to Manchester City. And this season, 2 defeats with the same score of 0-3 at home to Liverpool and Spurs. Man United have also scored only 1 goal in the league at home this season.
Ten Hag has spent £550m on transfers since arriving at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022. The huge sum has been spent on the likes of Antony (£80m), Rasmus Hojlund (£72m), Mason Mount (£55m), Manuel Ugarte (£50m) and Joshua Zirkzee (£36.5m).
That spending eliminates any suggestion that the 54-year-old has not been given the money to rebuild his squad. Only Chelsea (£1.1bn) have spent more on transfers since Ten Hag took charge at United.
Will any "Red Devils" fans still believe what Ten Hag said?
