“You’re going down with Fulham,” went the chant from the west Londoners, the kind of giddy two-on-one celebration that can only happen when your already good team makes you look better than the opposition’s ineptitude. A minute later, they turned their attention to United’s new manager, Erik ten Haag. “They fire you in the morning! Fired at mooooorning! They’re firing you in the morning!” United have two games left in the 2022-23 season and the goodwill enjoyed by Ten Hag during the pre-season is waning. The 52-year-old cut a desperate figure during Saturday’s game, prompting comparisons with Dutchman Frank de Boer’s disastrous five-game spell in charge of Crystal Palace at the start of the 2017-18 campaign. United were woeful against Brentford, ten Haag’s strategy of playing from the back looking naive against Thomas Frank’s side. After the 4-0 defeat, Ten Haag said: “It wasn’t about tactics. The first two goals are about dealing with the ball and decisions.” But the sight of Ivan Toney standing next to Lisandro Martinez, the 5ft 9in (175cm) centre-half signed this summer for £47m ($57m), pointing to the sky during a goal kick should have caused concern . Brentford are known to be a physical side, known for long, direct passes and an impressive collection of set-play routines. When they beat his Chelsea side 4-1 last season, Thomas Tuchel said he included 6ft 3in midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek in his squad in a bid to combat the expected aerial bombardment. Knowing how to beat Brentford in the air is one thing. Doing it is another. During the 94 minutes here, United fell short on both occasions. Back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Brentford – their next game is a visit to Liverpool on Monday, August 22 – have left United bottom of the table (Manchester City top) and Ten Hag in a difficult position. Is the former Ajax boss another De Boer, unprepared for the difficulty of going from the Eredivisie to the Premier League? Or is there something more at play? The Dutchman was appointed United manager on 21 April. Fifteen weeks ago it became known that Frenkie de Jong was his No. 1 target in the transfer window. In early July, their main striker, Cristiano Ronaldo, informed the club that he would not travel on a pre-season tour and, days before the start of the current season, it was announced that their other senior striker, Anthony Martial, had a hamstring injury . United have had weeks to equip their new manager with the right tools but are now fitting square pegs into round holes. Goodwill built up through an encouraging preparation is fading (Photo: Ian Kington/AFP via Getty Images) In the last seven days alone, Ten Hag made a run for Marko Arnautovic, only to do a volte-face, and were asked about the future of one of the wingers, Marcus Rashford, who appears to be open to a move to Paris Saint Germain. United have appointed a very good tactical coach, but Ten Haag is beset by issues that make it difficult for him to do on the pitch. What he can train the team to do is deal with problems during competitive games, as United’s players seem to suffer from an athletic form of learned weakness. Weird individual mistakes happen all the time. These events then lead to a negative spiral where players lose confidence and believe that the situation is hopeless. “You can have a good plan, but we had to put the plan in the bin,” Ten Haag also said after the match, but he must be aware that his plan put several confident players in unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations. for them. Any of Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeepers will have to outperform David de Gea on Saturday, as will their team captain Harry Maguire, but to quote Cold War historian John Lewis Gaddis, a successful strategy is “the aligning potentially limitless ambitions with necessary limited capabilities’. Ten Haag was dealt a tough hand, but he’s playing it in the best way possible. The United manager said he believes this squad is capable of playing the style of football he wants, but will need United to make smarter moves in the transfer market to realize his more immediate plans. Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson after the club’s most recent title triumph in 2012-13, every permanent United manager has felt like a response to the failures of his predecessor, without properly examining what made each of them successful at previous teams. Rudimentary short-term fixes and muddled mid-term decisions have led to long-term malaise. Corners have been cut to the point where United fans are left with a small, unsatisfying circle. a feedback loop of mediocrity and chaos. Ten Haag has a keen tactical mind, but risks turning inside out if he continues to follow this style of play with this starting line-up. It is not enough that United “back the manager” through raw finances and trying, with varying degrees of success, to bring in every player they want. He also needs to be supported by surrounding him with football minds who can cover any weakness, amplify his strengths and act as a suitable sounding board in difficult times. Two games shouldn’t ruin a season, but to quote Gaddis again, “Assuming stability is one of the ways ruins are made. Resilience accommodates the unexpected.” United are a team bereft of stamina on the pitch and an institution plagued by dysfunction off it. (Top photo: Getty Images)
