Not for the first time this season, Old Trafford was met with boos at full time. Not for the first time there were so many that they drowned out the final whistle. But this time, for the first time, that quiet, loud hum of discontent came from a floor that was already more than half empty.
From around the 70th minute, pockets of empty red seats began to appear, which developed into large, wide areas by the 80th minute, becoming huge, wide areas as stoppage time approached. Many fans had seen enough and their defection showed that Manchester United’s miserable start to this season had entered a new phase.
If there is a difference between the defeats at the start of the season and the successive 3-0 humiliations of the last four days – first against Manchester City, now against undermanned Newcastle United – it is this and the scrutiny of the players and owners The manager is now also under the microscope.
Forget defending the Carabao Cup in this repeat of last season’s Wembley final, the undisputed highlight of Erik ten Hag’s first year in charge. Last night the United manager simply needed a positive reaction to Sunday’s derby defeat. Instead, for the first time in the 53-year-old’s life, United lost two home games in a row by three goals or more.
There are many mitigating factors in Ten Hag’s favor: a relentless and unforgiving injury crisis, numerous off-field controversies and distractions, uncertainty over the fundamental issue of the club’s ownership and, in particular, the management of the football department itself.
Ten Hag hesitated to use any of these obstacles as an excuse. He knows as well as anyone that he will be judged by his results and that at a club of United’s size these must be delivered consistently, no matter what is going on behind the scenes.
United briefly caught them, winning three in a row before those two defeats, but never while it looked like they were making a habit of it, never believing that a turning point had been reached.
GO DEEPER
Why Manchester United, the most successful English football team, is deep in meaninglessness
“You only gain confidence when you get the right results, and that is only possible when you stick to the rules and principles and are in the game and in the fight,” said Ten Hag in his post-match interviews after that defeat.
Except that its rules and principles are becoming increasingly difficult to define. Ten Hag has always been a greater pragmatist than his popular image would lead many to believe. So far, that has served him well at a club where a curveball is never far away.
United lost 3-0 at home for the second time in a week (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Or perhaps it was one mistake too many, as United’s game has now become so compromised that there no longer seem to be any guiding principles. Ten Hag made seven changes against Newcastle and rotated almost everywhere he could, but in trying to solve old problems he only created new ones.
On paper it was smart to replace the missing Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes in attack, but Alejandro Garnacho and Antony struggled just as much in training. A new, more combative midfield was not as passive and easy to play through as on Sunday, but two-thirds of them saw a yellow card within the first 20 minutes.
The defense was largely untouched – Sergio Reguilon came on for Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof moved back to center half – but played terribly, falling short for all three Newcastle goals.
And what about the manager? “It’s below the standards everyone expects from Manchester United,” said Ten Hag. “It’s not nearly good enough. We have to fix it.”
It should be stressed that there is no sign of United considering Ten Hag’s position and although many are leaving early, he also retains the support of the majority of fans. But such a series – eight defeats in 15 games – raises unpleasant questions.
Ten Hag was asked in his post-match press conference how important it was that he was given time to turn things around.
“We are in a bad situation,” he said. “I take responsibility for it. I see it as a challenge. I am a fighter and I am in this fight and I have to make sure that I share the responsibility with my players and that we stick together and fight together.”
The pressure is obviously growing. But what other choice did he, his players and United realistically see? Who would replace him? Experienced elite managers rarely trade one job for another. The short-term selection of a successor often involves searching for available people.
Who at United would even make such a decision, given that control of the club’s sporting affairs could be in completely different hands in a matter of weeks or months? So far, sources close to the INEOS bid, who remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly, have always pointed out that problems at United do not lie in the manager’s office.
Would United even be able to afford a new date? Remarkably, for a club that announced record revenues of 648 million pounds ($788 million) last week, this could be a relevant question given the shrunken cash reserves, the reduced scope for borrowing, the tight financial fair play -Margins and the associated compensation fees are taken into account.
Then there’s the strongest argument against a managerial change: that it hasn’t worked in United’s last four attempts and that the jury is still completely out on the fifth time.
A club that had long needed a hard, painful restart didn’t show much desire for the hard, painful part, but continued to spend heavily to keep up, and then ended up back in first place.
There is a more than convincing argument that Ten Hag is not the problem. But the idea that there was only one problem to solve at United after the Sir Alex Ferguson era – be it an aging Cristiano Ronaldo, an outdated recruitment scheme, the leak in the roof at Old Trafford or even the Glazer family itself – was one oversimplification.
The problems are diverse. But recent history has shown that if the manager cannot overcome them and build a successful, winning team, rightly or wrongly, he will quickly be viewed as such.
GO DEEPER
Erik ten Hag’s move towards pragmatism has cost Man Utd’s long-term progress
(Top photo: Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)