Man Utd must reconsider Ten Hag stance after Bournemouth humiliation

Tom Weber

Updated: 9 Dec 2023 17:07 GMT
3 min read

Erik ten Hag, Man Utd, pressure — © ProShots

Manchester United club chiefs need to seriously reconsider their stance on Erik ten Hag's future.

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"You're getting sacked in the morning" chants once again echoed around an otherwise silent Old Trafford as Bournemouth put Man Utd to the sword. Just as Newcastle had done earlier in the campaign when the same chants were heard, the Cherries comfortably defeated the Red Devils on their own turf.

Andoni Iraola's side ran out 3-0 victors thanks to goals from former Liverpool and Chelsea man Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi, proving what many suspected: that Man Utd's performance against Chelsea was more down to the latter being exceptionally poor than the former having turned a corner.

It was a performance symbolic of the Red Devils' season. Sofyan Amrabat, a player Ten Hag had been desperate to sign in the summer, lost the man he was supposed to mark on the third goal, hammering home the point that he is just not having a good campaign and again raising questions on Ten Hag's transfer decisions.

Ten Hag should be sacked

More so than Amrabat, it was Bruno Fernandes who stole the spotlight for the wrong reason, getting himself booked and thus missing the crucial derby with Liverpool due to yellow card accumulation. Ten Hag had stripped Harry Maguire of the Man Utd captaincy to give it to Fernandes and a player who is supposed to lead by example will now miss a vitally important fixture because of a silly booking.

The result will once again ramp up the pressure on Ten Hag, and rightfully so. Man Utd club chiefs must seriously reconsider their stance that the Dutchman is secure in his job and won't be sacked. There have been too many abject performances this term and what should be particularly worrying is the fact that even when Man Utd have managed to get results, they rarely played convincing football.

If the current club hierarchy won't sack Ten Hag, incoming investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe certainly will, but the damage will be done by that point. United are already out of the Carabao Cup and are staring a group-stage Champions League exit in the face.

The Red Devils have lost 11 out of their 23 fixtures and, though they may be in a respectable 6th in the Premier League, they are playing like a mid-table side, if not worse. Many fans on social media called the Bournemouth result a "sackable offence" and it is difficult not to concur.