That game last night was absolutely embarrassing. Those players should be ashamed of themselves and probably don’t deserve to be wearing the United shirt.
The sad thing is, it wasn’t entirely unsurprising.
Many saw this sort of result coming but more importantly, that type of performance.
Palace were superb and deserved their glorious win and ended up achieving the double over United for the first time in Premier League history.
Hats off to them 👏.
Unfortunately for MUFC though, it wasn’t entirely shocking because we’ve been here before. Several times.
Jose Mourinho’s final game when we were utterly defeated at Anfield, 3–1. One of the worst displays I think we’ve all ever seen was the 4–0 loss at Everton not long after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became permanent manager. Ralf Rangnick’s time ended embarrassingly as well when multiple players were injured and those who weren’t didn’t turn up on the pitch. His final game in charge was funnily enough, away to Palace but saw his team lose 1–0 instead of 4. This was also the first time we saw the newly-appointed Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag as he was in the crowd for that defeat.
That was 2 years ago. Not much has changed.
In fact, one can go back a little further and look at Solskjaer’s last match before getting the sack.
That was also away from home in one of the most humiliating games, ever.
Man Utd went down 4–1 at Watford who eventually got relegated. The performance was pathetic, the players displayed a lack of care yet the fans were brilliant, supporting their team until the end.
This is exactly what we saw at Selhurst Park last night.
The clapping of the fans by the team while they continued to sing was reminiscent of that 4–1 loss at Watford.
That was in November 2021.
2-and-a-half years later, here we are again.
Yes, we have so many injuries it’s ridiculous with our medical department needing to be looked into because 65+ different injuries/illnesses is uncanny, but that doesn’t mean that those on the field shouldn’t give everything they’ve got.
That is unacceptable.
If anything, it should spur the others on as it was an opportunity for them to show the rest of us what they’re truly made of and that despite all the difficulties, they can still perform at a high level and put in a performance that we can all get behind regardless of the result.
In a way though, perhaps this could be a blessing in disguise as it makes things easier for INEOS to see what the true problem is: the players.
Not all of the players are ones that I’d want to get rid of like Diogo Dalot, Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund (although they were terrible as well) but the rest, the rest.
A clear out of the squad is something that many have been crying out for for a while as we can see that it is just not good enough. Some players do have the quality but not the reliability; others are available more often than not but just don’t have what it takes to play at a club like Man Utd; and then there is the real issue: those with the wrong mentality. There are far too many of those.
I don’t know any of those players personally and I’m sure that they’re great guys, but when looking at them on the field, you can see that they just don’t seem to care how they perform, how the team performs nor do they appear to care about the result. It’s almost as if they just want to sign the register to say that they pitched up and then go home, much like one does in college. You don’t pay attention, you don’t learn, you simply sign so that no one can say you weren’t there.
That’s how I feel with a lot of these players.
They don’t get what it means to wear the great shirt of Man Utd. It’s such a shame because what an honor and privilege it is to have that badge on your chest. But they seem to wipe their arses with it when looking at performances like these.
Yes, maybe Erik ten Hag isn’t good enough as well and perhaps he needs to go too, but whether we sack the manager or not, one thing is super clear: many of that squad have to go with him otherwise in a couple of years, I don’t doubt that we will be in this same position again saying the same things just like we have done for the past few managers.
This is where Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team have to come in. They have to start making some big calls. Sir Jim is a Man Utd fan and has been all his life so surely he would be feeling the same as us all? Surely he would be able to see that these players are more of an issue than the manager?
Ralf Rangnick spoke about open heart surgery 2 years ago. One could say that many of those players have come and gone since then and we have brought in a good amount of new players, but when looking at how we got the deals done, the types of players we’ve brought in, the amount of loans or cheap deals to get something for the now, and late decisions to go and get players that weren’t even the manager’s first-choices, that isn’t open heart surgery. That is more putting a bandage around a wound and hoping that you won’t bleed out.
Eventually though, you do. And I think that’s what we’re seeing: United are bleeding out and that surgery is required once more.
The culture is perhaps the biggest issue because no matter how good you were before coming to United, ultimately, you will become absolutely shit. You could have a few good months perhaps even a good season, but sure enough, you will get drastically worse.
Casemiro is a good example of this.
He was my player of the season last year and was superb. He has been arguably the best CDM in football over the last decade and has so much experience and won so many things besides.
Looking at this season however, chalk and cheese.
He is a shadow of his former self and looks nothing like a top-level footballer let alone best CDM in the game. While he is out of position right now, that still doesn’t warrant the fact that he should be dropping stinkers like he is. Casemiro’s basics have gone out the window and it’s probably for the best if he leaves.
If you told me that this would happen to him and our team a year ago, I would’ve asked you what you’re smoking and can I have some of it because that must be some good shit.
Yet, here we are.
There are multiple players who have fallen just like the Brazilian though, and coupled with the injuries, who could have foreseen such a demise?
This is why I would keep Erik ten Hag. I know that probably sounds a little silly after such a game but I don’t think he’s the problem. A problem yes, the problem, no. Nor do I think it’s for a lack of trying from the Dutchman which is more than can be said about his players.
How can he operate in an environment that isn’t good enough when looking at the state of the football club? Add the injuries and players looking out of sorts, it makes an already hard job even harder. No manager could succeed in such an environment. None.
This is even more reason as to why we should retain Erik ten Hag because he at least knows what United is truly like and not something that he will eventually find out resulting in another 2 years wasted when we inevitably get to this same point again.
I believe there is a good coach in there with ten Hag and given the right backing, his players not being injured all season, and removing the players he doesn’t deem fit for the United shirt, perhaps we can start to see some improvement.
Bayern Munich are seriously interested in him and want him to become their new manager (with current boss Thomas Tuchel the heavy favorite to head the other way) and I've no doubt that other clubs would be interested in ten Hag as well should he become available. This season isn’t a fair reflection of the manager’s abilities when looking at all that’s gone on. He’s even had to deal with several off-field matters that didn’t help.
As I’ve mentioned several times, we’ve been here before where the players have let a manager down before he got the sack. Bringing in a new manager didn’t work before and it shouldn’t be the path we go down again.
Otherwise, naught has changed.
Final Thoughts
I feel like I’m slowly falling out of love with my football club. I don’t think I ever will but it just feels that way. It’s a feeling I had 2 years ago under Solskjaer and Rangnick.
I thought it was gone after last season.
It is back now.
When you think of all the greats of yesteryear, not everyone of them were United supporters but they were professional regardless, they played with everything they had week after week, game after game, and absolutely understood what it meant to play for our great club.
I suppose wearing that shirt doesn’t mean anything anymore, or at least that’s the way it comes across. That’s why a complete culture reset is needed.
I hope INEOS can make the changes necessary to restore the once great club that was Manchester United.
Background image: Image credit: Getty Images via Eurosport