‘Man Utd didn’t get spanked’ as Ten Hag defended as job ‘difficult to laughable’
Man Utd were rotten against Aston Villa but they pulled a draw out of the hat against the ‘Bayern slayers’. Is that enough?
Send your views to theeditor@football365.com
Looking on the bright Red side
It often surprises me that people who are actually paid to watch football matches can be so limited in articulating events that take place in them.
In this case I’m not talking about insert pundit of your choice, but F365. I know everything you write is painted with an agenda, but come on guys.
Yeah, this weekend United went to Bayern slayers Villa, very much a team with their tails up. And it ended a draw. But the way you describe it is as though no shots were taken, no chances made and spurned or thwarted. Keepers making some good saves. Sadly, instead, the conclusions plod around the narrative not being achieved. United didn’t get spanked. Some players being rested was the best you could achieve, other than some snide swipes. Stopping Villa running amok as many expected is played down simply as them not turning up. Twas ever thus.
In the wider context, a point was both deserved and fine. Chelsea stumble to a draw, Spurs lose. And yet you’re just gutted that Ten Hag doesn’t get sacked this weekend.
Even in your dire efforts you point out that the team isn’t failing to create, being fifth in xG. While we aren’t scoring them, the manager is setting up the team to at least create chances.
Things will get better for United. I know you guys hate to hear it but, irrespective of manager staying or not, the squad is taking decent shape for the first time in a very long while. Ten Hag isn’t United, he’s just the current manager. He’s doing an ok job, through circumstances that have flitted between difficult to laughable.
As Mr Vance pointed out, his win rate is better than ‘others’ that you’ve shown nothing but love for in their first years, plus more silverware to show. It must be a bitter pill that he’s still there. But don’t let that be all you obsess over.
It’s painful that we are struggling, it’s been a long 11 years since Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson left the hot seat, with a few highlights (maybe none more than the last game of last season). But at least we can laugh at the pleasure you guys take at our plight.
Badwolf
(If you think we want Ten Hag sacked then you are a fool; this is box office. Long may it continue – Ed)
That really was rotten
Not long back home from watching the most turgid, boring, astronomically bad game of football ever. That must be in the top 3 of the worst games of all time.
Please, by the grace of God Villa, don’t make me have to do that ever again. As for United, by golly they’re abysmal, how their supporters can put up with that is mind boggling.
Iain, Droitwich
Ten Hag is inconsequential
Ten Hag is a drop in the ocean. No one after Ferguson has succeeded like that, not even him. Club management/owners are the problem, everything else is a consequence.
Rolka Jovanovic
The Mailbox narrative
There was a lovely bit of coincidence in the mailbox over the weekend.
On Saturday there was an email from a Liverpool fan which stated that they felt pity and sympathy with Man Utd and their fans, claiming the likes of badwolf and Garry Vance were decent souls worn down by their team.
Then on Sunday we had both of the named contributors writing in to tell us that we are all idiots and that everything is rosey in the red half of Manchester. Apparently ten hag is as good as klopp and arteta and the summer signings have been great.
Lovely stuff, bravo.
J Belfast
Liverpool were never this bad…
Sorry Gary, but Carragher is right. I won’t comment on Arteta as I don’t remember the ins and outs of Arsenal’s seasons but to say Liverpool were as bad as United at any point is just wrong.
Brentford 4-0
Bournemouth 3-0
Liverpool 7-0
Liverpool 3-0
Palace 4-0
Sevilla 3-0
Man City 6-3
Spurs 3-0
You could go on and list more and more of these results. Quite a few of them were at home. There may have been one or two tonkings for Klopp’s Liverpool but not nearly as many as this. Since Ten Hag was appointed they have conceded three or more goals in a match more times than any other team. Liverpool were never that bad.
Klopp took over mid-season and made 2 cup finals.
1st full season: finished top 4
2nd full season: champions league final
3rd full season: won champions league
4th full season: won premier league
It was consistent progress. You could clearly see year on year improvement. It was clear that everyone in the club, players, fans, staff, were 100% behind Klopp and his vision. That’s is just not the case with Ten Hag, who also started with a much stronger squad than Klopp inherited. Not to mention he has spent more in those first few years than Klopp did.
United look a shambles with no direction, no style and no vision. This is the beginning of Ten Hag’s 3rd season. In Klopp’s 3rd full season Liverpool got 97 points. Do we see United doing that?
Mike, LFC, Dubai
Referee biased against Villa
Nice of the ref to let Rashford off there with the red.
Paul
And Man Utd
A token Villa booking for something Sky didn’t show us to pretend he wasn’t biased.
13 fouls 1 yellow for Villa
11 fouls 5 yellows for United. Duran should have been yellowed for hand in face if he’s consistent but obviously he wasn’t. Cheating tool.
Anthony Fox
On terrible unpunished fouls
Direct response to Johnny Nic AND to Fat Man regarding talk of terrible unpunished fouls:
What Fat Man thought was Johnny Nic’s windup of Everton* in failing to mention Van Dijk’s foul on Hummus Rodriguez was in fact a self-windup of memory spans of Obese Men everywhere, because Fat Man himself then fails to mention Richarlison’s reckless horror tackle which crocked Thiago Alcantara for months. All of this is only to highlight how terrible a match official David Coote was and is; in a league where refereeing standards already border on the comically low, that Coote places near bottom of a deeply putrid barrel (in my (esteemed) opinion) speaks for itself does it not.
Re Johnny Nic’s article though, how has he omitted mention of Christian Romero escaping any kind of censure for that gruesome Cucurella hair pull ? On his best of days Romero is a walking red card as it is, and in fairness Cucurella’s pretty, voluminous barnet does make him ripe for such targeting, but surely that’s worth a sending off when we see reds regularly brandished for far, far less.
*On Everton… in truth, they don’t much need winding up do they ? As Radiohead once sang (no doubt about the Toffees), you do it to yourself, you do, and that’s what really hurts.
Eric, Los Angeles CA
Where are you Barry?
Can whoever pretends to be an actual person called “Barry Fox” please pull their finger out & email the mailbox? Between Trump vs Kamala, ETH vs INEOS and Israel vs Everyone, I’d just like something gentle to chuckle over.
Stewart, Chicago
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