If Erik ten Hag “did not already appreciate the task he has taken on, he does now”, said Chris Wheeler in the Daily Mail. Last Sunday, the Dutchman’s tenure as Manchester United’s manager got off to the worst possible start, as his side slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Prior to the match, there was a “carnival atmosphere” at Old Trafford: ten Hag received a standing ovation when he “emerged into the afternoon sunshine”. In the nine years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, a similar wave of optimism has greeted each managerial appointment at United. Yet so far, all have proved “false dawns”. While it’s too early to say if ten Hag will prove another (even Ferguson lost his first match in charge), the “horror show” that unfolded on Sunday suggests he has his work cut out. Afterwards, even he admitted as much, describing the task facing him as a “hell of a job”.
When the former Ajax manager arrived at Old Trafford over the summer, he wasted little time in unveiling a strict new behavioural code, said Jonathan Wilson in The Guardian. He banned drinking alcohol during match weeks; he promised to drop any player who arrived late for training; and he culled the squad’s personal chefs “in an effort to improve nutrition and refocus minds on the club”. Such measures may have improved fitness, but so far they haven’t discernibly affected performance. Against Brighton on the opening weekend, United’s “pressing was no better than it had been in the worst days of last season”, and their defence lacked all structure. Meanwhile, several squad members seem desperately short of confidence – none more so than Marcus Rashford, who remains “a shell of the player” he was a couple of seasons ago.
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Ten Hag also has a very big Cristiano Ronaldo problem, said Ian Whittell in The Daily Telegraph. The Portuguese star desperately wants to leave Old Trafford, so he can play Champions League football this season. But the fact is that until United sign another “proven finisher”, the 37-year-old – initially left on the bench against Brighton – remains the best out-and-out striker they have. It was only when he was introduced in the second half that the team began to look as if they had a “focal point”.
Ronaldo, though, isn’t the real issue, said Henry Winter in The Times. Whether he stays or leaves, what’s clear is that the squad needs a substantial overhaul – and the real question is whether the club’s owners, the Glazer brothers, will give ten Hag the “control and resources” needed to effect it. In recent years, they’ve instilled a culture more focused on “making money” than on “making footballing memories”. Ten Hag is a fine manager – but if he is to transform United, he needs the Glazers to “help him do it”.
