Manchester United’s start to the Premier League campaign is as dismal as it was in the 2013-14 season when David Moyes was sacked.
The Red Devils have won two, drawn one, and lost three of their league fixtures this campaign – precisely the start Moyes got off to after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson.
United were obliterated 3-0 by Tottenham in front of a booing Old Trafford crowd on Sunday, submitting a performance which Gary Neville branded ‘disgusting’ and ‘pub football’.
Erik ten Hag has insisted he does not fear the sack and that the entire club is pulling in the same direction but, after the fate Moyes suffered, he will know he needs a quick turnaround.
After a stuttering start, Moyes won eight of his next 13 Premier League games until the New Year and only lost two – the sort of response that Ten Hag will want to see from his players.
Erik ten Hag has matched David Moyes’ start to the 2013-14 season with Manchester United
Moyes won two, drew one, and lost three of his first six games – exactly what Ten Hag has done
Encouragingly, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had seven points after six games in 2020-21 but eventually led them to second that season
He can take encouragement from the fact that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also had seven points at the same stage of the 2020-21 season before leading United to second.
United were behind within three minutes against Tottenham when Micky van de Ven charged through half the United team to set up Brennan Johnson.
Things got worse minutes before half-time when captain Bruno Fernandes was shown a straight red card for a high tackle on James Maddison – a decision that has courted controversy.
Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke put the nails in the coffin with their second-half goals and in truth Spurs could have had more after peppering Andre Onana’s goal with 24 shots.
United have sunk to 12th in the Premier League table and have only found the net five times in six games.
Gary Neville told Sky Sports: ‘The Man United fans boo the ref but that’s not even half the story. The big story was that first half. They have chosen to put in their very worst performance.
‘It was a disgusting performance in effort and quality, and a lot of questions to answer from that group in the next week.
‘It’s one of the worst performances I have seen under Ten Hag – and that’s saying something. Awful, atrocious, disgusting, it was all those things in the first half.
United were behind within three minutes when Micky van de Ven charged through half the United team to set up Brennan Johnson
Former United captain Gary Neville blasted United’s performance as ‘disgusting’
United – who had captain Bruno Fernandes sent off – have suffered back-to-back 3-0 defeats against Spurs and Liverpool at home in the Premier League
Johnson found Dejan Kulusevski in the area who poked it past Onana to double the lead
Dominic Solanke contineud his rich vein of form as he put the nail in the coffin on Sunday
‘The pressure is going to get ramped up this week – it’s going to be brutal. It has been a bad day for Ten Hag, really bad.’
Fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp added: ‘I’ve watched a lot of performances when managers suddenly lose their jobs, and that’s the sort of performance that gets the manager the sack.
‘When your club are actively looking for another manager, you’re in a massively untenable position because the players know that you’re not the man. You cannot keep the manager after looking for other managers. They’re playing like they’re lost.’
