Aditya Bose
Jamie Carragher thinks Erik ten Hag and Manchester United will drop out of the top four this season
According to The Telegraph, the former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher makes a grim prediction about Erik ten Hag led Manchester United as far as the current season is concerned.
Even though they have won their last three games, the Red Devils are playing stale football with little inspiration. More so, a few of Erik Ten Hag‘s acquisitions are performing inconsistently, and players like Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire—who the manager was willing to cut loose last summer for the right price—are back in the starting lineup.
In his second season, Ten Hag was expected to kick on and take United to the next level. However, issues regarding the team’s direction and the manager’s true football vision remain pertinent fifteen months after his hiring at Old Trafford.
Rather than building up, Ten Hag’s side reminds Carragher of a side that is reaching the end of it’s cycle. It is troubling to see a side in regression when the manager in charge of rebuilding is just into his second season.
“Manchester United resemble a team reaching the end of a cycle, not one still rebuilding under a relatively new manager.”
“Despite winning their last three games, the football is stale and the symptoms of regression are visible; there is a lack of style and panache, few of Erik Ten Hag’s signings are consistently performing, and players such as Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay – who the manager was willing to discard last summer for the right price – are back in favour.”
“United are not a title challenger this season, and on the basis of the first three months it will be difficult to repeat last year’s top four finish”
It’s true what Carragher wants to imply, regardless of how we feel about it. United have so far failed to impress and despite the amount of money the club have spent to get in new players, lacks direction or a definitive playing style.
Since July 2022, Ten Hag has spent £400 million on signing sixteen players. In any case, a manager can completely revamp a team with that, regardless of how unpopular the club’s owners may be. Even if we might have missed out on some top players, Ten Hag should be getting much more out of the players at his disposal.
The Manchester Derby is up and next and it provides us with an excellent opportunity to rally behind the manager and get our season back on track. Games like these make or break seasons and it remains to be seen if our three-game winning streak has helped build momentum or not.
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- Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana defended Alejandro Garnacho over the now-deleted post with potential racial connotations
Ten Hag did not just break our trophy drought last season but also led us to some memorable victories against top teams. It is imperative that those moments don’t just become fleeting moments of joy in an era of inconsistency and underachieving.
