Erik ten Hag can’t ignore his dossier of disasters after Man United’s humiliation at Crystal Palace, where his team were run ragged, writes CHRIS WHEELER… Casemiro and Eriksen should be first out the door
- Man United’s players were thrown into turmoil during a night of humiliation at Crystal Palace
- Erik ten Hag has no excuse for this horror show after yet another damaging result
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As Manchester United walked through the Selhurst Park tunnel humiliated and humiliated, the home fans were waiting for them. “You’re f****** s***” they sang as the United players disappeared from view one by one. A young girl, visible among the mob of hate, held up a sign asking for a shirt.
That’s United. Still a big draw wherever they go, and yes, it’s hard to argue now, also kind of s***.
And that makes evenings like these so uncomfortable. A great club and a proud name being ground into the mud by a team like Crystal Palace, who were playing fantastically but are well entrenched in the bottom half of the Premier League.
“The players had a lot of fun playing football,” said their manager Oliver Glasner, rubbing salt into the wounds.
Palace became the latest opponent to bombard United with shots this season, with a few shots on target. Like a heavyweight champion who can no longer defend himself, stumbling around the ring, trying to regain his senses, they look sad these days.
Man United’s proud name was ground into the mud by Crystal Palace on a night of humiliation
The Red Devils looked like a boxer stumbling around the ring trying to regain his senses
It’s hard to see where Erik ten Hag goes from here after completing his disaster file
Once upon a time, great players like Casemiro and Christian Eriksen had been abandoned by younger, fitter men. They should be first out the door this summer and keep the door open for some of their teammates who, quite frankly, aren’t fit to wear the shirt.
Then there are players like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, youngsters who represent the future of this club, but are damaged when they play in a substandard team. They look around for leadership and find none.
Not a single player emerged from the 4-0 defeat, United’s biggest defeat of the season, with an ounce of credit. They let their club and their manager down, not to mention the thousands of United fans who stayed until the end to somehow applaud the team for their efforts.
And what about Erik ten Hag himself? He observes the destruction unfolding before his eyes and still talks about plans and processes when all we see is chaos and carnage.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were thrown into turmoil at Selhurst Park and should be the first to leave
Where does he go from here? Ineos continues to say that no decision has yet been made about the future of Ten Hag. He could still get the chance to prove himself in the new structure they are building at United.
But just when you think he can still be that guy, something like this happens. Or Istanbul. Or Copenhagen. Or Chelsea. Or wolves. Or on the other side of London, at Wembley, where Coventry almost subjected the Dutchman to an even worse humiliation than a few weeks ago. He’s put together quite the disaster file this season.
Yes, Ten Hag can point to a crippling injury list or the off-field distractions involving Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and of course the strategic overhaul that has left his fate in the hands of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos. .
It’s been tough, but let’s not pretend that other clubs aren’t dealing with their own problems. Even taking the mitigating factors into account, there was no excuse for United’s humiliating debacle at Selhurst Park on Monday night.
Ten Hag is a great coach, but has no excuse for the debacle that took place in South London
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group are preparing to decide the fate of Ten Hag this summer
Ten Hag is a good coach, who had a great record at Ajax and achieved much more in his first season at United. If reports are true, Bayern Munich are considering him as a possible replacement for Thomas Tuchel.
Ten Hag is also a good man. You can see why Ineos might want to give it another try; to improve the squad significantly this summer and give him the tools to try and do the job well.
But on nights like these, when teams like Crystal Palace are having ‘fun’ against you and the home fans are happy to tell you to your face that you’re a s***, his new employers have to wonder whether they can take that risk.
