The manager is not managing very well
United are handing out chances as if they were heading for relegation, and Erik ten Hag doesn't think it's a problem
FIVE ASIDES Premier League: Brentford 1, United 1
This can’t go on. United keep making the same mistakes. They keep being cut open in midfield. They keep conceding just after they’ve scored. They keep being amazed to find an opponent waiting for a cutback. They keep handing out chances like a team heading for relegation. If they do it against Liverpool on Sunday, they will be asking for another 7-0.
Erik ten Hag seems powerless to fix these glaring flaws. When quizzed about the volume of chances conceded, he doesn’t even acknowledge that they’re a problem. Come on, Erik – that way madness lies. You’re not going to cure an ailment if you can’t even diagnose it. Brentford, who came into this fixture in dismal form, were allowed 85 touches in the United box. That’s more than Man City or Arsenal, or any other Premier League team, have had in a game this season, or last, or the one before that. It was as if United were trying to instil hope in all their remaining opponents, even Sheffield United.
The manager keeps getting simple things wrong. Kobbie Mainoo had had a draining week with England, then fell sick. So why start him at Brentford? He had some deft touches, as always, but he couldn’t pull United out of chaos mode and that was perfectly understandable. Happily, there was a midfielder on the bench who brings calm, who is used to raucous nights in west London, and who had just returned to form as a sub against Liverpool. Yet Ten Hag didn’t think Christian Eriksen was worth a single minute. Alejandro Garnacho had had an even tougher week with Argentina, involving less publicity, but more jetlag. He too was picked from the start when even Antony might have been a better bet. Ten Hag’s game management is hit-and-miss, and to be fair there was another hit here when two of the subs he did use, Casemiro and Mason Mount, combined for United’s goal. But his squad management is consistently poor. He’s far too keen on having a first XI and sticking to it. He makes players who are needed feel unwanted. Never mind the world’s most sought-after managers, who will surely choose Anfield or the Allianz Arena over Old Trafford in the summer: this group of players would be handled better by Michael Carrick or Kieran McKenna.
Ever since he pulled on a United shirt, Rasmus Højlund has been all or nothing. A powerhouse in the Champions League in the autumn, a passenger in the Prem until Christmas. Then, suddenly, a star in the Prem, until he got injured – but since his return he’s been the invisible man. Against Brentford he had only one shot, while his opposite number, Ivan Toney, had nine. Yet he was kept on for the full 100 minutes, even though Ten Hag now knows that Scott McTominay or Bruno Fernandes can fill in for him. And that would have allowed Eriksen to come on and give United a chance of taking control. Aaron Wan-Bissaka looked lost on the left, so why not swap him with Diogo Dalot, whose confidence is high, and give Marcus Rashford the wingman he sorely lacks when Luke Shaw is injured?
There were a few crumbs of comfort. First, André Onana was immense, saving United from the drubbing they deserved. Secondly, Mount got his United career going at last with a classy first touch and a clinical finish. Not bad for a man who is there to pass the ball and, thanks to injury and rust, has done so only four times (out of five attempts) since 11 November. Thirdly, Lisandro Martinez was back in action – even if one of his passes was a shocker. And finally, Ten Hag won his first point at Brentford. A draw on the road is seldom a disaster, but United have to snatch victory from the jaws of draws to make up for blowing what should have been comfortable home games against Palace, Bournemouth and Fulham. This disappointment leaves them simply having to get their act together when they return to west London on Thursday. At least Chelsea are as flaky as they are.
Tim de Lisle is the editor of United Writing and a sportswriter for The Guardian, where he will be live-blogging the Chelsea game.