That was particularly important in this game, which is saying something for a game that saw a side of Brentford’s stature race 4-0 up against Manchester United after just 35 minutes. It’s not just a humiliation. It’s not just a bad start. It’s not just adapting to a new system, but also the inevitable setbacks that will come with it. It’s a crisis. Full judgment. Just a week into what was supposed to be an optimistic new era, Ten Hag must find problems that go far beyond two bad losses. It must get in the mood of the shocked players, whose deflated behavior was actually much more than this embarrassment. Figures familiar with United’s squad speak of a group that at this point has too much, that is too beat up. They have now suffered so many humiliations in full media glare that they are a damaged team. One phrase that was used, straight from the raw language of the locker room, was that they have a form of “football PTSD” (post-traumatic stress disorder). That could be seen in David de Gea’s heartbreaking reaction, which would have felt even worse because he’s been in this situation so many times over the last year. Speaking to the media afterwards, he seemed conscious that he wasn’t just repeating the same old platitudes, before offering a remarkably honest assessment of his own disastrous display. Now, his manager has to find the right words. The first big story of the Premier League season will be whether Ten Haag can pick this team, but he may have to do the same for himself first. It remains to be seen if he has the gift. This may sound like a cliché, but that’s because there is a truth to it. His former club Ajax are simply not on the same scale of club as United, which makes it all the more ironic that they have a far superior football structure. This of course shows the real problems at Old Trafford, which is ownership and so many connected problems that eventually collapse into one another, but it doesn’t rule out problems in that. In the immediate future, Ten Hag has to adapt to a new scale of work, but also to the huge jump from the Eredivisie to the Premier League. This is why many senior executives in the ‘big six’ are warning against direct appointments from the Dutch league. There have been many notable failures. It should not be overlooked that Tottenham passed on Ten Haag in the summer of 2021 because they did not feel he had enough charisma. Where Spurs are now makes it all the more remarkable that United themselves have moved on to Antonio Conte. The Italian is so used to such jobs that he has all kinds of demands. Within this game, there were moments where Ten Haag looked frozen by the ferocity of the beating. He was standing there with surprising passivity at a water break when some of the players were clearly looking to him for more direct guidance. Manchester United were humiliated by Brentford (AFP via Getty Images) It was the same at the press conference after the match. Ten Haag looked somewhat shocked, hesitating to answer twice and sometimes repeating the same phrase in a way that suggested he just wanted the questions to go away. One of those phrases was “that’s a conclusion” when asked various questions about the team. Perhaps most important was whether these players really fit his system. This may seem remarkable given that it is now a fairly standard modern approach, but it should not be overlooked that this United team had very little ground to it. Jose Mourinho had them work on a system from 2004. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had them work on a system from the Norwegian league. It was a part of the job that shocked Ralph Rangnick, whatever his failings. He felt that almost no one in the team had the “ball-driven press” concept that is now common among senior professionals. His influence was evident throughout this game, in how Brentford beat them in almost everything. This is what both managers meant by “hunger”. It was really one side extremely experienced in modern pressing and the other not. Instead, United were reminiscent of Chelsea’s old low-block line trying to learn a high line under Andre Villas-Boas, or Frank de Boer making Crystal Palace play from the back in a way they simply couldn’t. That doesn’t mean Ten Haag will suffer the same fate as either of those two, but he’s already in a losing battle, quite literally. The very technical mechanics of this game showed that he has so much work to do with this team. So many of them have to get used to new roles, especially the goalkeeper. If it all starts there and De Gea is so nervous playing the ball out, how will it end? There was a moment after the dreadful second goal when De Gea was ready to play it, only to fire it because he couldn’t trust himself to overcome the Brentford press. You can go through the group. So many players have to learn a new role. This would be fine if Ten Hag were in mid-table with some insulation, as is arguably the most obvious step for an Eredivisie-winning manager. There is more space. There is none of that at United. It’s already facing a glare worse than the sun in Saturday’s blinding conditions. It is already in full crisis.
