The infelicitous timing of Erik ten Hag\u2019s Manager of the Month award stood out conspicuously like an elephant in the room as it was only 24 hours later after posing alongside his players in a desperate attempt to cast a few droplets of oil into the seething cauldrom of disunity beginning to brew out of control at Manchester United, when the final whistle sounded like a new death knell after their historic horrific defeat to Bournemouth.<\/p>\n
This time the Dutchman was pictured motionless all alone on the touchline, a picture of despair, unable finally to proffer any silly excuses for the inexcusable trouncing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stands out is the way we are working,\u201d Ten Hag had said when conferred his award. \u201cThe way we are developing and progressing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for him, the 73,000 at Old Trafford now have probably made up their own minds regarding this as they are further compelled to contemplate the continued misadventures of a team whose trajectory is decidedly earthbound rather than upward.<\/p>\n
This time there\u2019s no masking anything for the Dutchman as under him United have just lost at home to Bournemouth for the first time in club history, a fitting punishment for the former Ajax manager\u2019s obduracy as well as for his players\u2019 refusal to take ownership on the pitch.<\/p>\n
Unable to ride out the continually raging tempests, the mood is tipping perilously close towards mutiny for Ten Hag with his brooding buccaneers. The United boss and his pathetic mob were greeted with loud boos around the ground after Marcos Senesi headed in Bournemouth\u2019s third, with numerous red seats already empty.<\/p>\n
Of course, United\u2019s tactical ineptitude does not come as a surprise anymore, after all. What\u2019s a gross affront to fans is that some players do not even bother to mask their indifference. Hence the disgust as in the case of Anthony Martial, whose replacement by Rasmus Hojlund was greeted by an odd mix of irony and sarcastic cheers. It is already clearly a sign of the times when the United have no choice but to lavish affection on a 20-year-old Dane yet to score in 12 Premier League games as at least Hojlund bothers to show a modicum of effort unlike Martial, whose total contributions against Bournemouth amounted to zero goals, zero assists and zero dribbles, all while conceding possession 11 times.<\/p>\n
Marcus Rashford seems to also have succumbed to a similar malady, with the England winger\u2019s entry to a lost cause after 79 minutes an indictment of how much he has regressed.<\/p>\n
Now, however, it is Ten Hag, who is courting the most immediate danger as at this rate it is difficult to see the manager being able to even last the week. United\u2019s head already being caved in by an uncompromising Bayern Munich at their Champions League fracas, there\u2019s only the Liverpool enouncter looming ominously, besides the greater complication of Sir Jim Ratcliffe\u2019s imminent arrival after purchasing a 25 per cent stake.<\/p>\n
Ratcliffe \u2212 known for a meticulous approach to his sports investments, fond of trying to beat the system through relentless hard work \u2013 can hardly be expected to be forgiving when dealing with gross incompetence.<\/p>\n
Ten Hag of course cannot be solely responsible for United\u2019s long-festering quandary but is unfortunately emblematic of their massive tailspin since Sir Alex Ferguson\u2019s retirement. Being the last one to hold the baton, he needs to shoulder the blame, needless to say. After all, it is his fault that United have been unable to summon a coherent attacking philosophy to tide them over from one game to the next.<\/p>\n
Clearly, Ten Hag is a man standing precariously on the precipice.<\/p>\n
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