Righto, our match report is ready, which means we’re all done here. Thanks for your company and comments – peace out.
Some post-game chat from Ten Hag, striking a defiant tone …
"We know we have a lack of goals at the moment, it's not a good start" 🗣️
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 6, 2024
Erik ten Hag reacts to Man United's 0-0 draw against Aston Villa 🔴 pic.twitter.com/iQzq4ZoayA
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I mentioned it at full time, but it bears repeating: United have scored five goals in seven league games!
Chelsea and Forest have drawn 1-1. The former stay fourth on 14 points, above Villa on goal difference, the latter ninth, two above United.
You’ve got to laugh. In the studio, Dimitar Berbatov says everyone bar Evans should be ashamed to see him win the award, and he’s right.
Evans says United were better than the last few games and against a good team, but their passing wasn’t good enough and they couldn’t find the moment of quality they needed. He feels like he still plays the game he always had and still has pace in the legs to get him out of trouble. He wasn’t expecting to get on to the pitch against Porto and is just enjoying every moment of action he can get. Even though United aren’t good, he accepts, it’s still a privilege to play for them – especially given the love the supporters show. He’s also pleased to put in a performance for the manager, who was hurt by what happened in midweek, and accepts what he thinks is his first ever POTM award.
We started today wondering about Ten Hag’s future, and we end it none the wiser. Another humiliation and the pressure might well have been too much, but a respectable point doesn’t necessarily change things, given any decision will be based, not on today but on everything he’s done at United so far. The board could definitely get away without sacking him, but there’ll be concern that if things don’t improve soon, another season will have disappeared and with it the immediate improvement Ineos will have wanted.
FULL TIME: Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester United
A result that both sides will accept. Villa stay fifth, four points off the lead with 14, while United languish in 14th with eight points – the fewest they’ve ever had at this stage of a Premier League season. They’ve scored five in seven, their lowest ever at this stage – after 72-73, in which they were relegated.
90+7 min We move into added time of added time, De Ligt just about robbing Duran with Evans out of position having gone to the ball. But when Rogers finds Barkley inside the box, a lofted, dug-out finish sails beyond the far post.
90+5 min Carragher names Evans player of the match – the right call in mine, for the little that’s worth. He’s made some crucial interventions, absurd though it is that he’s being picked on merit at this point in human history.
90+4 min United counter and Garnacho shrieks away at inside-right! He’s got Fernandes in the middle and Antony over one more, but instead manages to direct a simple pass into the legs of the covering defender the consolation prize of a corner quickly wasted.
90+3 min Villa work it well, moving from centre to left, and when De Ligt slides in to block the low cross, cunningly allowing the ball through his legs, it looks for all the world like Duran will score. But though Dalot turns his back on it, he manages to impart the block, congratulating himself like he’s just done Bobby Moore on Pele.
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90+2 min Finally, we set sail again, United clearing the free-kick.
90 min We’ll have six additional minutes – but probably more, given we’re still not ready to resume.
89 min And still, a lad running around the touchline with a box. I know it’s a ludicrous suggestion, but how about we put the game before the tech and just get on with it? No one fell in love with football because of its robust decision-making process, so the bid to improve correct decisions from 90-something% to 90-something-else%, in the process compromising the greatest feeling known to mankind – the scoring of a goal – is to satisfy who, exactly?
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87 min The ref’s VAR gear issn’t working, so there’s a break while he gets it sorted.
87 min Lindelof shoves Duran and escapes punishment, so to make sure he sythes through Duran and is booked. Free-kick Villa, down the left, a few yards deeper than the corner of the box.
86 min Bit of United possession in the Villa half, the first for a while. But no one feeds Zirkzee, then Lindelof flights an aimless cross directly into Martinez’s gloves.
86 min Soon to get under way:
84 min Change apiece: first, United send Casemiro on for Mainoo, then Villa try Maatsen for Digne.
82 min I daresay both managers would accept a draw here – lucky for them, given neither side looks to have the quality needed to score.
80 min Villa have struggled to isolate Lindelof, and when Tielemans sets Digne at him, the cross is easily blocked. United then counter, the move foundering at the feet of Zirkzee – whose easy touch of just a few of games ago seems to have deserted him.
80 min Another poor delivery, United clearing easily – which tells one all one needs ta kna.
79 min Duran moves through centrefield and ignores the exhortations to shoot, instead finding Watkins whose cross is blocked behind. But before Tielemans can take the corner, the ref has to intercede, Torres and Evans scuffling in front of Onana.
77 min Antony beats his man on the turn and does his one thing, a looping curler easily claimed by Martinez.
76 min Again, Digne’s kick is poor, his shot soaring way over wall and bar.
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74 min De Ligt, a front-foot defender if ever there was one – one reason he and Martinez don’t pair well – comes around Watkins to insert a foot. It looks a fair challenge but the ref appraises a foul, so Villa have a free-kick 25 yards out, just left of centre.
72 min Eriksen sweeps out to Garnacho who goes on the outside and drills low and hard across the box, Carlos sliding in to poke back to Martinez. He looks to have hurt himself, but is alright for now
71 min Fernandes sets Zirkzee away, but with no support and even less pace he has to check … then gets the ball caught under his feet.
70 min Barkley leans inside, Lindelof swaying similarly, then sets Rogers away on the outside only for the cross to sail over the bar. Villa have been very poor today.
68 min Fernandes curls over the wall, seeking the near side-netting … and hits the face of the bar! De Ligt then shanks the rebound wide, and that’s the closest either side have come to scoring – though perhaps Martinez makes the save if the shot’s lower.
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67 min Fernandes wastes a decent situation – not for the first time – following nice, quick passing. He’s been very poor so far this season, having carried United through the second half of last, and they need him to find himself. He’s behind the free-kick, 25 yards out, just left of centre…
65 min De Ligt wins two important pokes, then Rogers moves by Mainoo … who responds with an important challenge.
64 min Two changes for United, Antony and Zirkzee replacing Hojlund and Rashford. I’m not certain what the former has done to earn the shout ahead of Amad; my gusss is that his ball-holding ability is what Ten Hag is after.
63 min Villa send on Duran for Bailey, then send the free-kick into the box, Watkins eventually hooking a slice well over the top.
61 min Duran has been called back and will soon be with us, then Bailey diddles Rashford on the outside via stepover. So Rashford lazily dangles a leg, trips Bailey, and is extremely lucky to avoid a second booking. If he’d not been carded before, he’d for sure have got one for that.
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60 min Tielemans and Digne fake the cross twice each, then go down the line and United clear.
60 min Cash gets away from Rashford, who runs through him and is booked. Another chance for Villa to swing a free-kick into the box…
59 min “Funny how the mind plays tricks,” says Adam Webster. “I remember that 1984 Villa v Man Utd game, but I could have sworn that Didier Six got a hat-trick that day. It was so exotic seeing a foreign player playing in England.”
57 min Evans misses a challenge and Rogers finds Watkins, who lashes over the top. Villa have taken control of midfield here – and of course still have the cheat code that is Jhon Duran on the bench.
55 min Villa are coming, picking some space in the United box when Barkley slides a gentle ball down the side of the box for Cash. But his square-pass is poor, Dalot heading behind, and again the corner goes short, this time to Bailey, who finds Tielemans, and his shot, though powerfully struck, is turned behind by Onana easily enough, and this time the kick comes to nowt.
54 min Noni Madueke has made it Chelsea 1-1 Forest.
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53 min Rogers gets a chance to open his legs, dashing through centrefield. But a heavy touch allows De Ligt to step in, Evans completing the job.
51 min …which Tielemans cuts back for Cash, who swipes wide. On the Villa bench, Austin McPhee, the set-piece coach looks befuddled; perhaps he’s just passed a reflective surface, because he looks like he’s just woken up after 67,043 years.
51 min Villa move from one end to the other, winning a corner of their own…
49 min From the corner, Eriksen’s looks for De Ligt, but he’s crowded out, then Garnacho pulls a shot wide of the near post.
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48 min Mainno sees a shot charged down then wins a loose ball, turning and spreading to Rashford who comes across the face of the box, feints the shot then clobbers one, Martinez tipping behind.
47 min Also going on:
47 min Elsewhere, Chris Wood has put Forest 1-0 up at Chelsea.
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46 min “I thought your River Island call was a good one,” says Adam Roberts.” Whenever I see this horror story of a third kit, I expect to see the Ralph Lauren polo horse rather than a cartoon too-big devil.”
46 min Off we go again. Lindelof is at right-back, which should interest Philogene. Villa should be getting him on the ball at every opportunity.
It’s De Ligt who gets the shout to replace Maguire, not Martinez. He’s not done anything to justify that, so we can only assume it’s his profile Ten Hag wants – more physical power and a bit more pace over the first few yards. Oh, and Mazraoui is also going off, presumably injured, so Victor Lindelöf comes on for his first appearance of the season.
I do, though – partially at least – agree with the point on the reffing. United players seem to have been booked for infractions that might’ve been fairly punished with a free-kick, while Villa’s have been excused similar offences.
“Sometimes I feel like I am watching a different match to everyone else, especially when watching the MBMs,” says Andy Donald. “I’m not a Utd supporter by any description but they seem much better than Villa here. There also seems to be no mention of the very cynical fouls Villa are not getting called out on. I guess my point is that very often commentators ignore what is happening in front of them when a team is on the rise outside of the context of a match happening. Case in point: a headline on another publication reads ‘United holding firm at Aston Villa’. It makes it sound like they are holding back this almost unstoppable tidal wave of dominance by Villa when it’s not comparable to what I am seeing with my own eyes.”
I think “much better” is a stretch. It’s been a fairly even half and I think the “holding firm” line is there to tell people United are defending well, which they are.
Half-time email: “Is it that surprising that Ugarte hasn’t played that much so far?” wonders David Wall. “He arrived late on the last day of the transfer window, so only a month ago. Plus he’d played no football since the Copa América, arriving late back from that to PSG and then not being involved at all with them. He’s unlikely to be match fit having had no pre-season and no season before he arrived. Hardly an ideal situation to chuck someone into a new side, let alone one that is really struggling.”
I agree, but given the state of United’s midfield, and his status as a young athlete at his physical peak, I’d expected to see him more.
Half-time entertainment from on this day in 1984:
HALF-TIME: Aston Villa 0-0 Manchester United
Neither side has offered much going forward, and both will feel they can improve enough to pinch a win.
45+2 min Evans goes in the back of Bailey, and again Digne’s delivery is poor, picking out Big Bruno Fernandes, who heads away. Then, when the ball comes back, it misses everyone, and Maguire limps away with jiggered quad; that looks like being his afternoon done, De Ligt preparing to replace him – but they’ll take a view during the break.
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45+1 min Hojlund outpaces Diego Carlos, coming form behind to steal possession. But as blind-side shove goes unpunished, to his consternation.
45 min We’ll have three added minutes.
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44 min Hojlund picks up a loose ball after Torres loses it in his feet, but with Fernandes waiting for a pass in the middle, he instead opts for a scoop down the side of the box, which predictably runs behind.
44 min Garnacho gives away a free-kick down the left, and again, it’s bent directly into Onana’s gloves.
43 min “Personally, United’s kit puts me in mind of the natty number that Egypt wore at the 1974 African Cup of Nations,” writes Kári Tulinius.
42 min Mainoo beats one man then, with nowhere else to go, slides into a challenge with Carlos. He’s booked, somewhat harshly.
40 min It’s so good to see Ross Barkley back playing well. In 2013-14 he looked the nearest thing to Gazza we’d seen in a while, his strength in possession while moving through the middle of the pitch marking out an unusual talent. But he never quite developed his football brain and looked to be on the way out, so his renaissance is as surprising as it is welcome.
39 min Dalot clips into Rashford, who uses a thigh to lay off for Garnacho, backing him up. But the curling shot, though hit with venom, is too close to Martinez who fists away on the dive.
38 min Digne whips directly into Onana’s midriff.
36 min Watkins isolates Maguire out wide, saunters by on the outside and is immediately introduced to grass. Maguire is booked and Digne will now swing in a free-kick from just outside the box, right-hand side…
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35 min Digne swings in a decent ball from the left but at the back post, Bailey opts to go with foot not head and can’t make decent connection.
34 min “Two of the best, in my humble opinion, kits of the season on show here today,” returns Matthew Lysaght. “Such a pity they’ll be forgotten about by this time next year. Oh for the two-season kit use of yesteryear.”
I’m not sure that ever existed. For as long as I’ve been watching football, United have had three – in the mid-80s it was red home, white away and blue third for Southampton and Sunderland. I do, though, agree that Villa’s colours are great. The below is one of my all time favourites.
33 min Fernandes heads Digne’s corner away, then Eriksen gets rid when the ball comes back and Hojlund wins free-kick release.
31 min United, growing in confidence until they shrink in confidence, knock it about nicely, Garnacho then retrieving possession inside the Villa box before being crowded out. But they come again, Diego Carlos heading Rashford’s cross clear, then Evans again averts the counter. But not for long, Tielemans’ cross blocked behind by Evans – so far the best player on the pitch – for a corner.
28 min In co-comms, Carragher notes that Rashford is narrow, explaining that United are keen to force Villa wide. But it may also be the case that they want him closer to goal than he has been – though in the meantime, here come Villa, Fernandes’ ill-advised flick finding barkley. He moves through midfield and spreads to Bailey, but when the return cut-back arrives, his first touch is heavy, and again Evans slides in to win the challenge.
26 min Villa haven’t started especially well – they’ll have dumped a load of energy, physical and emotional, on Wednesday night, which perhaps explains it. But here comes Rogers now, easily shrugging off Eriksen, so Evans hurtles in to win a useful challenge. He the limps away, holding his left knee, but should be fine.
25 min United’s kit looks like it was sold in River Island, c.1997.
23 min United counter and Fernandes wins a free-kick, hit long towards Maguire on the far side of the box. His header hits Rogers’ arm, but it was too close to the ball to yield the kind of ludicrous penalty handed over in the 2023 FA Cup final.
22 min Kobbie Mainoo is a fantastic talent, but he needs to improve – and United need to improve – at getting him on the ball. I’m not sure he’s touched it yet.
20 min Philogene wanders in off the left and, with no one closing down, waves a right foot at a wobble-ball that flies a yard or two wide of the far post.
19 min “Like other non-Utd football fans, I’m enjoying Manchester United’s current run of hopelessness and misery” says Yash Gupta. |But I can’t get my head around why they refused to hire Pochettino? Even at Chelsea Pochettino showed he can sort mess out.
From the outside it looks like Man Utd need a coach who can play exciting football which maximises talent available at their disposal and also promotes academy talent. And United generally give their managers enough time which was one accusation thrown at Poch that his project usually took time initially.
Anyway Pochettino is now off to USMNT. So let’s bring in Southgate for more fun.”
I guess they didn’t employ Pochettino because he’d (arguably) proven himself just a bit less good than the managers he’d have to catch, and we’re now a few years away from the best of him.
17 min Excellent from Dalot, who spins away from goal then slides a decent reverse-pass into the inside-left channel for Hojlund, who times his run well. But a heavy touch allows Diego Carlos to intercede, and this has the look of a classic game between a good side and a side with good players: close until it isn’t.
15 min United win a free-kick 40 yards from goal, send the big men forward … and Eriksen passes square to predictable avail.
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14 min Maguire wins a decent challenge and passes into misfield, Hojlund laying off for Fernandes, who sticks one in behind for Garnacho. He looks offside but the flag stay down even when the ball goes into touch – but Villa soon win it back.
13 min “Rogers missed the shot but he just exposed the slow ponderous Evans and Maguire in a single play,” reckons Mary Waltz. “Oh dear, poor, sad lads.”
My personal bugbear with that chance is how easily Villa passed through the lines, but we’ve no need to choose.
12 min Diego Carlos replaces Konsa.
10 min Konsa is down following a challenge from Hojlund and that’s bad news for Villa, who already have injury issues at the back. As soon as he went down, he was holding his hammy and beating the ground, so he’ll soon depart.
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9 min “I agree that there doesn’t seem to be a clear style of play under Ten Hag,” writes Karen Asad. “That’s why the excuse of ‘not being integrated’ for dropping Ugarte doesn’t really wash; you want to tell me the rest of the team is completely integrated? That and the fact he’s presided over a lot of questionable transfers don’t exactly scream keep confidence.”
In general, Ten Hag is quite circumspect with new players, young players and those returning form injury, but I’m amazed by how little Ugarte has played given the circumstances.
8 min Again Konsa easily passes into Rogers, who finds Watkins, accepts a return, and shifts the ball away from Evans, creating a shooting lane before whamming into the near-post side-netting. Behind the goal, plenty think it’s in, but Onana had it covered – theoretically speaking, at least.
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6 min There’s a calm, focused intensity about Villa – they believe in what they’re doing. their confidence and composure on the ball giving different vibes to United’s wilder, more desperate passing.
5 min Rashford robs Cash and immediately has his collar felt sets off from halfway, kinking inside Barkley – had he fallen over the leg extended into his path, he might’ve earned a penalty – before thrashing a shot that Martinez beats away. He’s looking better on the ball these last few games – but the problem during them has been his work out of possession.
4 min Digne picks out Dalot, who heads clear and Villa start again.
3 min It’s been a slow start, but then Konsa feeds a nice pass into Rogers, so Eriksen trips him and is booked. Free-kick Villa, 30 yards out and well right of centre.
2 min United look to be pressing high before sitting in a mid-to-low block. I have no knowledge of what Ten hag’s instructions are, but I’d be certain the game-model demanded of him stipulates a high defensive line.
1 min By the way, is the Holte the best end in English football? My contention is that it is.
1 min Away we go!
Our teams are tunnelled …and here they come!
“Just on De Ligt,” says Matthew Lysaght, “I’d say there’s a reason as to why both Juventus and Bayern Munich have been happy to sell the guy after a couple of seasons, particularly as they are both clubs who tend to operate at the business end of their respective Leagues. Although Bayern have a habit of foisting their unwanted players onto Utd, and Utd have a habit of gladly taking them.”
They do, though it’s fair to say De Ligt did pretty well for both those clubs and that circumstances are also important. The problem at United is there was no call for a centre-back of his characteristics.
“There needs to be some perspective here I feel,” writes Rick Harris. “United have had one day fewer recovery and travelled to and from Portugal so Villa have to be massive favourites given their excellent start to the season, their home advantage and their easier calendar.
Why is the Guardian trying so hard to get Ten Hag sacked? You did it with Solksjaer and here we go again. Arsenal kept faith with Arteta and are now reaping the rewards, so United should give Ten Hag until the end of the season and review the situation then.”
I don’t think Villa are relevant here because we’re not evaluating Ten Hag on the basis of a match we’ve not seen yet, rather than after more than two years, his team are still a mess with no firm identity. Even when Arteta was losing, the plan was clear – this is not so of Ten Hag – and as a team of writers, all we can do is say what we see: that his team are inexcusably appalling.
We should also note that we’ve not yet mentioned Manuel Ugarte.If reports are to be believed, he was not the manager’s choice, which perhaps explains why he’s been offered so few minutes – though his performances so far haven’t demanded them. Thing is, United desperately need someone in his position, and Villa will be excited to explore the space in between the midfield and defensive lines.
We should, though, say in Dalot’s defence that he’s playing out of position and behind a midfield without the legs to protect him.
Email! “Could I put forward Dalot as a bigger issue with the United defence?” beseeches David Flynn. “I can think of at least five goals this season where he has been absent at the back post. Again against Spurs for the first last weekend and all three midweek goals came from or where scored on his side. I don’t know whether he’s been told to remain high up but it’s exposing the nearest centre-back, which destabilises the middle in turn.”
I agree he’s had some terrible moments this season, the failure to track back for the Johnson goal particularly egregious. I also agree that when he inverts, he can leave a space down the wing , but I can’t excuse De Ligt’s charging about, nor his ability to allow strikers to run off him. Happily, there’s lots of blame to go around and no need to be sparing.
There is something fairly weird about a manager dropping two centre-backs he signed for big money for two he did not, one tried and found wanting at the top level, the other almost a decade past his best. Thing is, De Ligt was a strange signing by Ten Hag – and it’s strange the board sanctioned it – given his rashness and lack of pace are exactly the things Martínez’s ideal partner needs to temper. It’s no surprise their partnership has been disastrous – though of course it’s also fair to say the former needs time to settle in a new league.
United, meanwhile, presumably plan for their three midfield technicians to keep the ball away from Villa and look for early long passes out to the wide men. They’ll also have to find a way of serving Højlund, who suffered in that aspect last season; Garnacho playing on his natural side might help with the crosses and cut-backs he needs, because he’s more than enough pace to go at Lucas Digne on the outside.
Where is the game? Villa will, of course, look to exploit United’s lack of pace at the back, while outmuscling and outrunning them in midfield – in fairness, my 11-year-old daughter’s team would fancy themselves to manage that. I’d also expect Bailey to target the hole left by Diogo Dalot when he inverts, while Jaden Philogene will back himself to have too much power for Noussair Mazraoui.
The problem United have – and have always had under Ten Hag – is a lack of control. Højlund’s hold-up play is unlikely to help them retain possession, while the wide players are focused on going for goal – likewise Bruno Fernandes behind them. This may or may not lead to the spamming of hopeful passes to no one…
Otherwise, United go with the wide players deployed to exploit Spurs’ high line last weekend. Perhaps their starting positions will be conducive to that tactic – Rashford in particular was too deep and too wide – and perhaps that won’t be the sum of the strategy as it it seemed to be then. But with Højlund preferred to Zirkzee, chances are United hope to target Villa in similar fashion, because all of their front three like space in behind.
As below, the big news for United is the omission of Martínez and De Ligt. The idea, though, that they’ve not been dropped, is hard to believe given how poorly both are playing – and a question that might be asked is whether the rashness of the latter is exacerbating the faults of the former. Either way, though, Ten Hag has swapped two young(ish) centre-backs with no pace for two older centre-backs with no pace, against a team with loads of it and, let’s be real, the selection smacks of a manager hoping to force a one-off result and hang in there, rather than build for the future as per his brief.
Ten Hag tells Sky that he’s rotating, hence the defensive changes, saying it’s nothing to do with external pressure. He believes his players are ready for the game, and everyone in the club is calm and composed; they just have to improve their process.
Villa will play as they always do, but will particularly miss the presence of Onana in midfield – especially given United’s weakness at defending set-pieces. Konsa, meanwhile, isn’t as suited to combating the physical threat of Rasmus Højlund as Diego Carlos, and i’d not be surprised to see United target him.
Erik ten Hag makes four changes: Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martínez, Casemiro and Amad are left out, with Jonny Evans, Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho coming in.
Unai Emery makes three changes to the side that beat Bayern so memorably in midweek: Diego Carlos, Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey drop out, the latter two missing from the squad entirely due to injury; they’re replaced by Matty Cash, Ross Bailey and Leon Bailey, with Ezri Konsa moving from right-back to centre-back.
Let's have some teams...
Aston Villa (4-4-1-1): Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Pau Torres, Digne; Philogene, Barkley, Tielemans, Bailey; Rogers; Watkins. Subs: Gauci, Nedeljkovic, Maatsen, Carlos, Bogarde, Swinkels, Buendia, Young, Duran.
Man United (4-3-3): Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Evans, Dalot; Eriksen, Mainoo, Fernandes; Garnacho, Højlund, Rashford. Subs: Bayindir, De Ligt, Lindelof, Martinez, Casemiro, Ugarte, Amad, Antony, Zirkzee.
Referee: Rob Jones (Merseyside)
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Preamble
In real life, it’s considered bad form to enjoy the misfortunes of others, but happily we have football to redeem us from such woke nonsense. And, over the last decade or so, there’s been no more reliable source of that pleasure than Manchester United, such that we are all now experts in what it looks like when their latest manager is finished.
For David Moyes it was Everton away in April 2014, a tenure of entirely predictable ineptitude crystallised by as dreadful a display as could possibly be imagined and the Goodison crowd singing “Stuck with Moyes, stuck with Moyes Man United”. He was sacked the next day.
Next was Louis van Gaal and football so bad it left all who witnessed it with scarred eyes and scorched soul. His regime collpased on Boxing Day 2015 via humiliation at Stoke and a performance of epochal awfulness which ensured a third straight defeat – the other two having come against the powerhouses of Bournemouth and Norwich. He was sacked just over five months later, the day after lifting the FA Cup.
So José Mourinho was engaged and, with his otherworldly magic now consumed by pubescent paranoia, the end became apparent in August 2018 when Ed Woodward backed his own footballing acumen over that of an indisputable all-time great, then bragged about it to the press. But it was not until five months later that on-pitch events made dismissal essential with unseemly defeat at Anfield. He was sacked the next day.
The game that should’ve signalled Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s demise was a 4-2 defeat at Leicester in October 2021, his defence conceding goals faster than his attack could score them. He was sacked just over a month later, allowed to sneak in the valedictory gifts of a a 5-0 home thrashing by Liverpool, a home derby outclassing from Manchester City and a 4-1 undressing at Watford before accepting his carriage clock.
What unites these multifarious incompetencies, travesties and debacle is the absence of hope: before them, there was a little, after them there was none. Which brings us to The Beleaguered Erik ten HagTM, the most thoroughly backed managed of the Post-Fergie Wilderness YearsTM but in whom it became impossible rather than implausible to believe following last Sunday’s abomination against Spurs. Though he survived to preside over a second consecutive midweek mess, he must now fear that regardless of what happens today, the imminent international break will mean curtains.
Nor will he find Aston Villa accommodating opponents. Unai Emery’s outfit are so much of what Ten Hag’s are not, a collection of excellent individuals deftly forged into a coherent, physical and unobliging unit that accentuates strengths and minimises weaknesses. Before you watch them play you know what you’re going to see, after you watch them play you’re pleased you saw it, and they arrive at this game having first beaten Bayern Munich then enjoyed a day’s more rest than their opponents. They also owe United, having lost to them twice last season – first in embarrassing circumstances then in devastating circumstances – and need to keep pace with the league leaders. They will fancy this.
All of which should mean an entertaining afternoon – but perhaps not for the just-about-current Manchester United manager.
Kick-off: 2pm BST
