New humiliation for Manchester United. On Wednesday evening, the Red Devils were defeated at Old Trafford against Newcastle (0-3), for the round of 16 of the English League Cup. Erik ten Hag (53 years old) had also taken advantage of the opportunity to rotate his squad somewhat, with the absences of Marcus Rashford (26 years old), Rasmus Hojlund (20 years old) and Bruno Fernandes (29 years old), ultimately entered to change the course of the meeting. But that was not enough to turn the tide against Eddie Howe’s flock, who took their revenge after losing the final of the previous edition against their evening host (4-2 for MU). The Magpies thus offer themselves a new prestigious success after having eliminated the other Manchester club, City, in the sixteenth.
However, this new rout for the men in red was far from going unnoticed on the other side of the Channel, not helping the case of the Dutch technician, once again in the sights of English observers. Nevertheless, the former coach of Ajax Amsterdam wanted to take his responsibilities at the microphone of Sky Sports. “We know it’s not enough. We have to take responsibility for it, I have to take responsibility for it. We are not good enough and I feel sorry for the supporters. We fell short and we need to put things right. (…) The players will stand up, they stick together, you saw it, they tried. You have to be disciplined and show solidarity. Everyone must take responsibility, be accountable and cooperate. That’s the key word.”
“Schoolchildren, U9s!”
And if Ten Hag’s motivational speech still does not seem to convince the residents of the Théâtre des RĂŞves, observers across the Channel did not hesitate to add another layer after what is the second defeat in a row after the Manchester derby, on the same score (0-3). Starting with former Three Lions international Paul Merson (21 caps between 1991 and 1998). “Personally I think the manager has lost the players. There are ways to lose football matches, and everyone loses matches, but they were completely beaten tonight after being 1-0 down like they were last week (against Manchester City, 3 -0). The face I see every week is the gum-chewing, stone-faced Ten Hag. This is all I see and something needs to be done.”
The former glory of MU, Gary Neville, did not spare his training club, whose colors he defended 602 times between 1992 and 2011. Indeed, the consultant Skysport did not appreciate the copy proposed by the Red Devils, who have shown no signs of improvement since the start of the season, even accusing them of a “kids” attitude. “The Man Utd players, meanwhile, are not sure how Ten Hag galvanizes them for the weekend because Sunday’s Manchester derby was poor and tonight only confirmed what we saw at over the last few days. There aren’t many ideas and Ten Hag really needs to think. As soon as the free kick was awarded, all five players turned around to attack the referee while Newcastle were playing, it was like a schoolboy, U9 thing!”
Anthony Martial targeted
And if the British media highlighted the mediocre performance of the Red Devils, one player in particular took particular offense after the defeat: French international Anthony Martial. Holder at the forefront of the attack in place of the usual Hojlund, the ex-Monegasque will not have greatly worried the Toons defense, except for a countered strike in the second half (53rd) before leaving his place for the Danish striker shortly after the hour mark. A new match without being decisive for the native of Massy, ​​who worsens his record in Manchester, with only 89 goals scored in 311 matches played since his arrival in September 2015 against 60 million euros. According to ex-MU striker Andy Cole, the Blue with 30 caps will not succeed in recovering from the downward slope he has been experiencing for several seasons.
“It’s a difficult situation, because he’s been here for nine years now,” explained the former striker at the microphone of Sky Sports. When you play for Manchester United and they don’t score enough goals. I wonder if he can get them where they need to be. He’s been here for nine years and he hasn’t done it, so there’s little chance he’ll do it now.”. Neville also had some unflattering words for the OL-trained player: “I don’t think we’re tough enough. The failure of the football and recruiting department is absolutely incredible. The reality is that he has no chance of being the leader of any competition. (…) I feel a little sorry for him.” On and off the pitch, Anthony Martial will therefore not leave a real mark in the history of Manchester United…
Players dropped Ten Hag
Eight defeats in fifteen matches between the Premier League – where the club is in eighth place in the standings, the Champions League (third in group A behind Bayern Munich and Galatasaray), and recently the EFL Cup, Manchester United is having a start very mixed exercise, and the results do not help the relationship between Erik ten Hag and his squad. According to the latest information from Manchester Evening News, some members of the Mancunian locker room would have let go of their Batavian coach and doubts would even be growing, particularly with regard to his tactical vision, clearly not bearing fruit since his induction on the bench at Old Trafford. Ten Hag will have a major new task to breathe new life into a red team, but with anger…
