“Whenever I see this United team I don’t like what I see,” Roy Keane said after Manchester United blew a three-goal lead at Wembley Stadium to a Championship side team and needed help from the refs and some shootout magic to advance to their second straight FA Cup Final. “It’s getting to the stage that I’m almost disliking them. I see a group with bad habits, they were almost frightened to win the game.”
I’m with Keano on this one. In fact, I’ll go further and say that I’m at the stage where I’m actively disliking this United team. It’s easy to see why.
Simply put, this team is softer than toilet paper and weaker than single-ply. If they give up one goal late in the second half, you can be sure they’ll probably ship another two or three. You can set your watch to it.
I’m tired of watching our players start panicking worse than a kid who gets to class and realizes they forgot to study for the exam once the other team starts showing the slightest sign of coming back. At this point, opposing teams should just spot United a two or three goal lead and fast forward to the last 20 minutes or so.
I’ve had enough of Erik ten Hag’s chaotic tactics. There’s nothing wrong with managing the match and playing with caution. Say what you will about Jose Mourinho, but there’s a reason why he rarely blows leads.
And don’t get me started on some of these players. Aaron Wan-Bissaka looks like he has no clue how to defend unless he’s one-on-one with a winger. Antony thinks he can do the same move Arjen Robben used to do where he cuts in to shoot on his left foot — only Antony isn’t Robben and doesn’t actually make defenders and goalkeepers nervous. Or Casemiro continuing to prove Jamie Carragher (of all people) right by playing like his legs suddenly turned into concrete over the summer. Or Scott McTominay showing more natural finishing ability than Marcus Rashford.
I’m sick of our fans having nothing to cheer for, so we take pleasure in seeing our rivals fail at doing things that actually represent how far ahead they are compared to us. Like Liverpool not getting a quadruple. Or Man City crashing out of the Champions League quarterfinals. At this point, we’d take either of those results in a heartbeat.
But mostly, I can’t take watching a team that seems just as demoralized as their fans. After Rasmus Højlund scored the decisive penalty in the shootout, he quickly became the loneliest man at Wembley as he celebrated his clinching penalty and then waited in vain for his teammates to run towards him and join in.
Instead, United players looked chastened and humiliated. Maybe they were frustrated at yet another match where they blew a late lead and seemingly had no direction, leadership or knowledge as to how to properly kill off a match.
Or maybe they finally had enough of ten Hag and his chaotic tactics.
Time will tell whether Sunday was the final nail in the coffin for ten Hag as United manager — he certainly didn’t do himself any favors, what with both Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers in attendance. While he can blame the club’s ownership uncertainty and financial problems for their inability to recruit players over the summer, he’s squarely at fault for the team’s tactical woes and injury problems this season.
Perhaps the only thing saving his hide is that there are so many top clubs that are already looking for new managers, so it makes sense for United to stand pat, at least for one more year. Plus, United have already had so much turnover in the post-Ferguson era that yet another sacking would just add to the instability surrounding the club.
Then again, according to reports, ten Hag’s future will depend on the team’s form. So, if he wins the F.A. Cup, then it would be hard to justify sacking him. Let’s see, who are we facing in the Final? Oh crap, it’s Man City again. Oh well. Nice knowing you Erik.
