by At a game earlier in the season, an executive from a Premier League rival was chatting with a colleague at Manchester United and the ongoing tumult surrounding them was surprising.
“How do you handle this?” the person asked. “We all have the same issues you have here – players who have had problems with the police, players who have fallen out with the manager and are training with the academy or on their own, internal issues but no one gives s- — About us.”
There are only a handful of clubs in the world where the spotlight is as intense as United’s and woe to Erik ten Hag and those who could settle for a few weeks without another crisis due to the almost daily dramas in the M16, yes there are no signs of things slowing down.
From Mason Greenwood and Antony to Jadon Sancho and now, again, Marcus Rashford, United have been unable to escape the quagmire of controversy and negativity.
In fact, there is only one “noisy neighbours” team in Manchester these days, and it’s not the Treble winners down the road.
Ten Hag said he inherited a “bad culture” when he arrived at United but, 21 months on, his pursuit of a level of discipline and respect that hasn’t really existed since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure seems as determined as ever. restore a building. shy attack of the team.
When Rashford was knocked out against Wolves just over a year ago after being a few minutes late for a team meeting, Ten Hag were operating from a position of strength.
He had won his battle with perhaps the most high profile person in football, Cristiano Ronaldo. The results were good. All the fans were on side. The first trophy in six years was just around the corner. United looked like a club that had found order again.
There is now chaos, on and off the pitch, with Ten Hag – his own future uncertain and Ineos on the verge of taking full control of football operations – no longer on solid ground but constantly watching the ground run away from his feet . .
After the episodes of Greenwood, Antony and Sancho – none of which were solved, mind you, they only managed to kick the line – Ten Hag could really have done without Rashford giving his authority for the second time in three months.
In late October, Rashford was reprimanded by his manager and said his behavior was “unacceptable” after he was sent off early in the 3-0 win over Manchester City in training later that morning. This time, Rashford is said to have done the same – this time he is said to have had two consecutive nights out in Belfast and then said he was too ill to train the next day.
There are two distinct areas of concern here. At first, Rashford thought he could behave that way again and get away with it. And, secondly, that a player who has always given the impression that he is a good and responsible professional should choose to act like that.
It certainly helps explain why United are increasingly concerned about Rashford’s off-field issues and other possible factors.
None of them particularly help Ten Hag, of course. If results don’t improve, starting at Wolves on Thursday night, there won’t be any standards to implement at Old Trafford before too long, and even if they do he could face a battle to convince on Ineos that he is the right manager to lead the. club forward.
Ten Hag’s handling of Sancho’s situation has certainly left the manager between a rock and a hard place as he tries to impose some authority on Rashford and the rest of the squad. Sancho was banned from social media and effectively accused Ten Hag of lying about the reasons for his absence against Arsenal in September.
The forward said he had been made a “scapegoat” and privately it is thought the player – now on loan at Borussia Dortmund – felt there were significant inconsistencies in the way Ten Hag applied certain rules to him compared to his teammates.
Ten Hag’s apparent iron fist has certainly reduced where Rashford is concerned now and the messages feel rather opaque. Would Sancho have been in the squad to face Wolves, for example, if he had committed the kind of indiscretions for which Rashford has now been fined twice?
Not that the answer would ever be to exile another player. Viewed against the backdrop of United’s ongoing control issues, Ten Hag’s stance on Sancho has done little other than reduce the player’s transfer value. And since Antony, already grotesquely overpriced at £85million, is still the subject of police investigations over allegations he assaulted an ex-girlfriend, which he denies, the last thing United need is a third forward becoming damaged goods .
What United would bring for a brief period under the radar.
