After Erik ten Hag’s first season yielded Champions League qualification and the Carabao Cup, plus an FA Cup final, this was the year Manchester United would be title challengers. That was the focus in the Old Trafford boardroom and at Carrington where, in his office overlooking the first-team training pitches, Ten Hag plotted to ensure his second campaign would truly elevate United. Manchester City’s hegemony would be threatened as this smart Dutchman delivered what the congregation has craved since Sir Alex Ferguson departed a decade ago: a team that could take the title race into May.
But, no – not so far anyway, as they have picked up six points from their first four matches with a goal difference of -2. The opening month has left supporters pleading, instead, for a quiet hour or two due to the farce and crisis that have engulfed their club via a series of missteps, sour luck and bad management.
