As the Manchester United hierarchy reflected on yet another defeat, there was scarcely a thought of blaming Erik ten Hag. That means they certainly won’t be making any “knee-jerk decisions” about his future. United are committed to the Dutch coach. The overriding feeling is that Ten Hag has faced an almost impossible number of injuries, to go with more off-field issues in a short period than almost any manager has ever faced.
The latter may not be a complete coincidence in the context of the overall future of the club. There is a sense that a decade of issues from the ownership post-Ferguson have started to finally come together, which has caused everything else to come apart. So much has gone full circle, right down to comparisons now being made between Ten Hag and Louis van Gaal. The Dutch great was one of many who warned them. It's still a hierarchy that knows how to spend the club's money, but doesn't know how to spend with real football insight. Investment has not been made in deeper football intelligence. A crumbling Old Trafford has become a visual metaphor of all that.
