Over the last few days, social media has been blowing up with vitriolic postings from incandescent Manchester United fans who still can’t believe how tame United were in their 4-0 loss to Brentford on Saturday evening.
There’ll be a few who would say that after last week’s loss at home to Brighton, that the signs of a recovery looked slim but not even the most pessimistic of fans or pundits would have predicted how badly Manchester United would have played against a rampant Brentford side that spotted and exploited the weakness of the visitors to great effect on a hot summer afternoon at the Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford, West London.
United as they did against Brighton a week earlier huffed and puffed, passing the ball sideways and forwards without any real intent while their opponents sat back and waited for opportunities to spring an attack. Two silly mistakes from David de Gea and United suddenly found themselves scrambling to equalise. Gone was the game plan and the more they surged forward in numbers, the more they became vulnerable to quick breaks. In the end, Brentford were good value for the 4-0 score they inflicted on their illustrious visitors.
That defeat by an unfancied Brentford was quite frankly the outcome of several issues that have beset the club in the last decade. The club is in a rut that stems from the top where the Glazer family have invested without a cogent plan geared towards achieving success on the pitch. Their transfer strategy over the years since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club has been anything but methodical. They are far behind the likes of neighbours Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in the recruitment of young players to join their academies, they’ve lost their identity as a side that that plays the kind of attractive football which in the Fergie era left fans on the edge of their seats and perhaps more frustratingly, they now look like a side in the glare of headlights even at Old Trafford which had traditionally been a fortress.
New manager at the helm Erik ten Hag is only a few months into his tenure and it might seem a bit unfair to be questioning his decisions so early but there is no doubt that he shares some culpability. His insistence on waiting for Frenkie De Jong who is clearly hesitant on making the move from Barcelona to United seems terribly naïve and there is absolutely no defence for the delay in acquiring the services of a striker or two at a time when there is a definite dearth of strikers at the club. Ronaldo’s insistence on leaving has been well documented throughout the summer and while it might be laudable that he is keen to give an erratic Anthony Martial a chance, you’d think that a more astute manager would have made signing a striker priority this summer.
Next up for United are Liverpool who have not quite set tongues wagging with their performances and results so far this season but are likely to be favourites when both sides meet this weekend at Old Trafford and there is no doubt that anything but a win for the home side will reinforce the perception that they are in a rut that might last for a really long time.
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