Pascal Gross’s double showed the Theater of dreams how quick dreams could crumble as they were brought down to earth and to the fact that Erik Ten Hag is but human and no messiah.
How difficult it is to expect different result when you continuously make use of the same tools branded not good enough and has failed you time and again.
Towards the end of the last campaign, former boss Ralf Rangnick promised the club’s faithful to expect mass exodus and at the same time expect massive arrivals in the summer, stating the fans should expect upto nine to ten new signings.
However, as many have utilized the exit door this summer, only three has arrived at the club, despite the obvious need for more players to upgrade on the current crop and boost the squad depth.
Who do we blame for the Manchester United’s shortcomings in the transfer window ?
Surely the players should share the least of the blame now as their incapability has been there to see in recent years but to the management that has chosen not to bring in upgrades should the fans’ frustrations be directed.
To credit the club’s hierarchy, they’ve pushed all summer for the signing of Frenkie de Jong, a player whom Erik Ten Hag considers a priority but to discredit the manager, he was always holding on to a lost cause.
The Barcelona midfielder is surely not looking forward to move to the Old Trafford due to the club’s absence from the Champions League and sees them with no prospect of returning to the competition anytime soon.
The manager however was reluctant to explore other alternatives in the likes of Renato Sanches, Vitinha, Yves Bissouma, Ibrahim Sangaré and Fabian Rui, who were all available and could be convinced to move Old Trafford and become a part of the new project.
This failure surely can not be blamed on the hierarchy but Erik Ten Hag, who appears to already be confident in mediocrity.
For side that failed to win back to back competitve game since February, only two new players different from the crop they had last season started the defeat on Sunday, of which one was played out of position.
Manchester United have become over reliant on mediocre players. Diogo Dalot is a good example of the lot. The last time the Portuguese was sent out on loan, he was deemed good enough to make just ten league starts for Milan in the Serie A.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been casted out due to his ineffectiveness in attack and there has been no concrete reports of any links with a right-back which only means the manager trusted an ordinary squad player in Milan to challenge in a competitive Premier League.
Despite the critics the duo have endured over the past years, it is 2022 yet Fred and Mctominay still remains the main midfield partnership for Manchester United. This asks a lot of questions of the competency of Erik Ten Hag in his few months in charge.
The two were starting to make fans belief again at the start of the preseason games but with time, they began to show true colours, signaling to the manager that they not reliable but too little too late for the opening weekend.
“I am okay with the players I have…” then you should be okay with the result produced by the players you’re okay with. If Sunday’s defeat is a positive result, then an upgrade on McFred should not be expected this summer but if not, a stitch in time could still save nine.
Marcus Rashford is again Marcus Rashford. Albeit he got a couple of goals in preseason, you can only be impressed if you learned the result rather than watch the game.
Speaking after the match, Erik ten Hag; “It is clear to see the second half we were better in midfield with Eriksen down and Ronaldo up. We created and Rashford had two good chances, it is a shame we did not score.”
And of course it was and it is Marcus Rashford. Poor finishing becoming his trademark. Misses that costed United in the 2021 Europa League final against Villarreal, still no improvement despite the hype surrounding the 24-year-old. He appears to be getting worse.
His last league goal when starting came over 400 days ago. Taking one back to the words of Jose Mourinho over five years ago, that the Englishman is not the Goalscorer to take United forward.
As days goes by, Rashford continues to prove Mourinho right. Maybe the time is right for everyone around the club to accept that their golden boy is no longer golden.
With Cristiano Ronaldo, maybe United could learn a thing from their city rivals, Manchester City, who would not close the exit door on any player seeking to move away.
It is obvious that the troubles would not be sorted in a small amount of time so why hold on to a 37-year-old with only a year left on his contract looking to move on ?
Even if Manchester United solve the crisis with Ronaldo in the heart of things, what happens at the end of his contract and he moves on ? You restart the same phase you should have passed over again.
The activities in the last few weeks of the transfer window will be decisive and just like Chelsea, United will have to accept that they will have to overpay for some signings but they need to start making the moves.
The club is already failing in the market and in order to avoid the looming disaster, Erik Ten Hag and everyone needed have to be high on heels and get deals over the line before deadline.
On his first official assignment as the new Manchester United manager, Brighton earned their first ever win at Old Trafford. A record he will look back to, and feel disappointed.
It was Aston Villa last season, Arsenal the season before and now Brighton have all earned rather unusual wins at Old Trafford and what was a Theater of dreams for the host now turns that of nightmares.
While visitors feast and leave their host to starve. The United fans are not known to be too patient and if the summer doesn’t see more incomings before it closes, the manager will sure feel the heat if poor results persist before the opening of the next transfer window.
It is unacceptable that Manchester United have started a new season with a squad predominantly of players that has failed them over the years and expected to celebrate in the end. It is never done that way nor will it ever work.
Ten Hag becomes only the second manager to lose their first official games as Manchester United boss since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, joining his countryman, Louis van Gaal on an unwanted list of record.
A trip to Brentford, who came from two goal down to earn a point against Leicester City, is next for Manchester United and before that game, the atmosphere around the club might become hostile if there haven’t been positive moves in the window.
The management knows and surely Erik Ten Hag will know he needs better players to achieve his purpose at United. He needs to show that purpose and bring in better players. United fans eagerly awaits more incomings. More and more because that was the promise, and the fans awaits fulfilment of the promise.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
