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Hey! Is judgement day looming for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag?
Developing:
United undone: Ten Hag asks for endurance with future unsure
(Carl Recine/Getty Pictures)
Deep in Erik ten Hag’s 1,000-yard stare is the gloom of a coach who wants saving from himself. What number of extra instances can he lower the identical, sorry picture: statuesque and helpless because the rain pelts him, his Manchester United workforce scudded as soon as once more?
Yesterday’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur had everyone asking if this was it; if a not-so-super Sunday was one dumpster fireplace too far. Ten Hag pleaded for endurance, however a person in his job can not anticipate time in perpetuity and he’s had his share. We wakened this morning ready to see if United’s religion would face up to the mess.
Ten Hag’s perennially tight nook is all the time barely baffling as a result of he had put collectively a extremely completed Ajax workforce who got here inside a couple of kicks of the Champions League remaining in 2019. Has the Premier League discovered him out? Has United’s dysfunction executed him in? Are the gamers phoning it in? Is it the entire above?
The fixed drawback for Ten Hag is that there isn’t a lot he scores properly at. United’s ways appear to be a dare. Their large failings — which embody a defensive setup with extra gaps than an ice hockey participant’s grin — are without end on repeat. Motivation isn’t a selected power and transfers instigated by him (give Antony a wave) have been pretty abject.
There was a telling photograph of United’s administrators’ field at Previous Trafford yesterday (beneath). A few of them had worry of their eyes, however the membership have repeatedly promised to face by Ten Hag. Will their spine maintain?
‘We’re all on one boat’
It’s a good suggestion to try what the principle protagonists at United are pondering:
- Ten Hag will not be admitting defeat. He was requested at his post-match press convention if he feared he could be fired. “No, I’m not desirous about this,” he stated. “We’d like a while, we’re all there on one web page, one boat, the possession, the management group, the employees, the gamers, too.”
- The choice-makers at minority shareholder INEOS have spent many months altering and bettering the interior administration construction at Previous Trafford. They noticed that as their precedence after shopping for into the membership. Privately, they’ve additionally been preaching endurance for Ten Hag.
- Sky Sports activities pundit and ex-United defender Gary Neville steered Ten Hag’s squad meet right this moment with out their boss and have it out. Flaky performances aren’t reflecting properly on them.
As for the group, the temper at full time was one among drained resignation. None of these watching are having fun with the infinite holding sample. Who would?
Scorching Spurs
One factor that must be stated: Tottenham had been terrific. Micky van de Ven conjured a sensational help for his or her first purpose — a blistering blitz of United’s again line — and their anticipated objectives (xG) determine hit 4.7 (above). That’s a beating.
Ten Hag was handicapped by a first-half purple card proven to captain Bruno Fernandes that, in all equity, has a good probability of being overturned on attraction. However they had been 1-0 down and in disarray by then, and therein lies the rub: the reasons that exist simply aren’t slicing it.
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Information round-up
Madrid Insanity: Atletico vs Actual chaos as gamers plead with followers in balaclavas
(Oscar del Pozo/AFP through Getty Pictures)
Spanish soccer has loads going for it, not least among the world’s prime gamers. However conversely, it has a picture drawback, too, and final evening’s Madrid derby gained’t assist its repute.
The build-up to Atletico versus Actual was unsavoury sufficient, with Atletico supporters posting on-line that they had been planning to racially abuse Vinicius Junior and their president bizarrely claiming that nobody at his membership was “racist or anti-racist” (Atletico later referred to as this a “slip of the tongue”).
Then got here the sport itself, which was suspended for round 20 minutes after Actual’s Eder Militao opened the scoring within the second half. Objects had been thrown at Actual goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois by Atletico followers behind him, prompting the referee to take the groups off the pitch. Atletico supervisor Diego Simeone and a few of their gamers needed to intervene to calm the group down.
Dermot Corrigan and Guillermo Rai have defined among the wider context for us, together with the function of Atletico’s ultras within the bother. Atletico nicked a 1-1 attract stoppage time, although Marcos Llorente soured the night additional by receiving a purple card for a horrible, straight-through-the-shin deal with that might have significantly damage Fran Garcia (beneath).
Garcia is coaching as deliberate right this moment, however nonetheless, I’d humbly counsel it’s time to get a grip.
Palmed off: The transfers — and non-movers — already wanting like sensible enterprise
Liam Twomey tickled me along with his remark that Cole Palmer’s four-goals-in-20-minutes onslaught towards Brighton on Saturday “wasn’t even his greatest four-goal haul”. It’s true as properly, regardless of the proper accuracy of his free kick (beneath). Life’s peachy.
Chelsea’s Palmer is one among three gamers over the weekend who made me take into consideration how historical past judges large switch choices:
Round The Athletic FC 🌎
Quiz Reply
Did you get the participant who holds the Premier League document for solely scoring at dwelling (9 objectives)? It was former Tottenham defender Clive Wilson. A bonus level if you happen to referred to as him by his delivery title: Euclid.
Catch a match
Premier League: Bournemouth vs Southampton, 3pm/8pm — USA Community, Fubo/Sky Sports activities. Serie A: Parma vs Cagliari, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+/OneFootball. La Liga: Villarreal vs Las Palmas, 3pm/8pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports activities.
And at last…
Are gamers consciously bidding for TAFC’s ‘League One error of the weekend’ nomination?
The explanation we ask is that Saturday by Saturday, the crime of failing to play out from the again worsens. This was Birmingham Metropolis goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell doing… properly, we’re not fairly certain what he was doing towards Peterborough United. I’m beginning to assume they’re on the wind-up.
(High photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Pictures)
