Disastrous away form, dominated by big teams - it's time to question €450m Ten Hag

Sam McGuire

• Updated: 5 Sept 2023 11:58 BST
• 5 min read

Erik Ten Hag had a forgettable weekend. His Manchester United side took the lead away at Arsenal but suffered a 3-1 defeat. Jadon Sancho then effectively called the Dutch tactician a liar after releasing a statement on social media disputing the claim that he hadn’t been up to standard in training.

It is another talking point in an already drama-filled season for the 2023 Carabao Cup winners.

After four games of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, the Red Devils find themselves 11th in the table with a negative goal difference. It isn’t really what many had envisioned following another €200 million spending spree this summer. United brought in Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat to bolster their squad. It brought the spend under Ten Hag to just shy of €450m in the space of 12 months, with a net spend of €370m.

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United’s two victories have both come in somewhat controversial fashion too.

Wolves felt robbed of a late penalty after Onana got none of the ball and all of the man when trying to clear a cross in stoppage time. Ten Hag’s then men had to come from 2-0 down at home to Nottingham Forest in their last home tie to pick up maximum points.

A lot of the decisions went their way in the end with Joe Worrall sent off at 2-2 for hauling down Bruno Fernandes. The referee felt as though he was the last man but others believe Willy Boly was in a position to cover, so that moment favoured the hosts. Marcus Rashford was then adjudged to have been fouled in the area and Fernandes converted from the spot. It was a call that divided opinion with many believing it was a soft call.

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Sandwiched between those wins was a loss away at Spurs who were still in the very early stages of the Ange Postecoglou project. United will feel aggrieved to have lost having created better opportunities than the hosts on the day, but it was the latest in a long line of underwhelming results away from home.

Since taking over as Manchester United manager, Ten Hag has lost at Anfield (7-0), the Etihad (6-3), the Emirates (3-2 and 3-1), Villa Park (3-1), St James’ Park (2-0), the Amex (1-0) and the Brentford Community Stadium (4-0) to name but a few results on the road.

When Ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford, the narrative was that he would turn the Red Devils into a team with a clear identity. All of the talk was that he would move them away from the counter-attacking team Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had turned them into and instead have them dominating the ball. Yet despite spending money on players who are deemed a good fit for this ball-orientated style, such as Lisandro Martinz, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Onana, United are still a counter-attacking side.

Against Spurs they had 44% of the ball. In the loss to Arsenal, they had 45% of the ball. When Brighton won 1-0 last term, the Seagulls finished with 60% possession. Liverpool had 60% of the ball at Anfield, Arsenal had 57% at the Emirates last season and City had 54% in their home victory.

More often than not, when United come up against a good team, they don’t dominate the ball. It directly clashes with everything published following the hiring of the former Ajax manager. But why? Why is it Postecoglou has been able to put his stamp on proceedings at Spurs in a matter of months when Ten Hag hasn’t been able to make Man United his team despite being at the helm for over a year?

Injuries haven’t helped his cause so far this season but the team that lost to Spurs contained five players signed by Ten Hag. Takeover talk has protected him from real scrutiny but sooner or later, he’s going to be properly put under the microscope and judged on his time at Old Trafford. As things stand right now, if we’re being honest, it isn’t going to be viewed favourably.

Irrespective of what is going on off the pitch, the Ten Hag project is nowhere near where it should be at this stage of his tenure with the money invested in the squad. He got the club into the Champions League but performances aren’t at the level they should be. Eventually, results tally with performances too and this isn’t going to be a positive for the Dutch manager.