Erik Ten Hag’s Credit Fading After Another Manchester United Collapse

“Old Trafford is falling down”

This is what the Manchester City fans chanted as they watched their side stroll to a comfortable and convincing 3-0 win against Manchester United on Sunday.

For the United fans who stayed until the end, and many headed to the exits as soon as City had scored their third goal in the 80th minute, it was hard to hear such gloating, but also hard to disagree with it.

This was United’s fifth defeat in 10 league games this season, the first time they have amassed such a poor record since the 1986/87 season.

The difference was the 1986/87 was the final days of Ron Atkinson’s tenure, when he presided over a tired and disjointed squad, and only lasted three more games before he was sacked in the first week of November.

By contrast this is meant to be the start of Erik ten Hag’s bright new era, with £400 million having been spent on new players in the last fifteen months.

The credit and goodwill Ten Hag earned in his first season is fast evaporating with the Dutchman responsible for this dreadful record, and also a series of baffling decisions that have only served to weaken and confuse his side.

In the summer transfer window Ten Hag made Mason Mount his midfield priority signing, and though the player only had a year remaining on his contract, demanded that United pay a fee that could rise to £60 million.

Mount has so far made no impact; there have been no goals and no assists in the league or Europe, which is not surprising when his manager has not started him in several games. He failed to appear at all against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday, and against City was left on the bench until half-time.

Mount has been at United for three months and it remains unclear why Ten Hag bought him and what role he sees for him in his side.

Ten Hag was also determined to sign another defensive midfielder this summer and waited until the end of the window to secure Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina. With Casemiro being absent through injury and suspension for the last three games, it was expected the Moroccan would play a major role for Ten Hag, but instead he has been substituted at half-time in the last two games.

Scott McTominay, who has obvious attacking qualities, but has never excelled in possession of the ball, was surprisingly asked to fill in for Amrabat and play as a defensive midfielder in the second half against City.

After Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia succumbed to injury early in the season, Ten Hag was desperate to sign a recognised left-back, which he found in Sergio Reguilon coming on loan from Tottenham. But against City he decided to keep the Spaniard on the bench and instead started a central defender Victor Lindelof out of position.

When United were trailing 2-0 in the 73^rd minute Ten Hag took off Rasmus Hojlund, who had offered some threat and presence, to leave United without a recognised striker for the game’s final minutes.

It should not be forgotten this was a fixture United actually won last season, beating City 2-1 at Old Trafford in January, highlighting their alarming regression ever since.

The clocks went back in England on Sunday, it is November next week, and yet United are still waiting to deliver a convincing performance in the Premier League or Champions League. In 13 games, they have been well beaten in their seven defeats, and unimpressive, and often fortunate, in their six wins.

There is some mitigation for Ten Hag; he is currently playing without his entire first choice defence, with the loss of Lisandro Martinez and his ball-progressing skills particularly missed, but overall he has enough quality players, many of them he signed himself, to not be languishing in eighth place in the table, with an embarrassing -5 goal difference.

The Dutchman retains the support of most United fans, and has pleaded with them to stick by him, but he needs to quickly do a lot more to earn that support.