The pressure on Erik ten Hag is being increased further by the English media, as there continues to be no consistency found in Manchester United's gameplay. In the run-up to the meeting with Newcastle United in the League Cup, it is clear that improvements need to be made quickly to ensure that the position of the 53-year-old from Haaksbergen is not also questioned internally.
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General Director Richard Arnold stated after the clear defeat against Manchester City (0-3) that Ten Hag has full confidence and that the club's leadership does indeed perceive progress. Various English media think differently, however. For example, The Guardian writes in a reflective piece that Ten Hag is indeed responsible for the lack of a clear line in United's gameplay and for bringing in around 400 million euros worth of players, who at this moment do not form a top team that poses a threat to the dominant City.
According to The Sun, the way United fell apart in the Manchester Derby also leads to increasing doubts within the squad. While the reporting of the tabloid often has to be taken with a grain of salt, it cannot be denied that it is difficult to explain why central defender Victor Lindelöf was preferred as a left-back over Sergio Reguilón, and why playmaker Bruno Fernandes was positioned as a disguised right-winger with Antony on the bench. Roy Keane aptly summed up the sentiments: "They fell short technically and tactically in every respect."
So Ten Hag's credit is slowly starting to run out, and it is clear that United will need to deliver results and show progress in football terms in the matches up until the next international break. United will face Newcastle United (League Cup), Fulham (Premier League), FC Copenhagen (Champions League), and Luton Town (Premier League) consecutively. United cannot afford any missteps in those last three games in particular, while Ten Hag will likely also need to make a good impression in the League Cup, a tournament he won last season.
Toxicity
It is evident that there is little room for error left for the former successful Ajax manager, though another perspective is also being shared. Gary Neville points out in his podcast for Sky Sports that Ten Hag is not the first top coach to struggle at United. "Erik ten Hag is a fantastic coach, José Mourinho is a fantastic coach. There is no doubt about that. What we do need to question, though, is why all these coaches are failing at this club. At some point, we think of every manager who comes to Manchester United as being the problem. There is a culturally determined toxicity here."
Neville notes that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Mourinho, and Louis van Gaal, like Ten Hag, all went through tough times, and he believes it is no coincidence that purchase after purchase fails at Manchester United. The former defender points to the Glazer family, often blamed by the fans, as the root of all problems. "Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa are all fairly well managed from top to bottom. Manchester United is not well managed, and the owners are the problem."
