{"id":297315,"date":"2023-12-06T15:24:39","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T15:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=297315"},"modified":"2023-12-06T15:24:39","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T15:24:39","slug":"man-utd-boss-erik-ten-hag-should-be-seriously-concerned-as-whispers-cause-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/man-utd-boss-erik-ten-hag-should-be-seriously-concerned-as-whispers-cause-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag should be seriously concerned as whispers cause chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten Hag demands improvements from Man Utd squad against Chelsea<\/h3>\n

There is an uneasy feeling that things are unravelling for Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford. The optimism of the Dutchman\u2019s first season, which ended a six-year trophy drought at Manchester United, has been replaced by pessimism and rancour. The mood music has turned darker, the criticism more pointed.<\/p>\n

\u200c<\/p>\n

Worse, for Ten Hag, there is a sense that he is losing control. Events are starting to spiral. After a listless performance at Newcastle in what was United\u2019s tenth defeat of the season, tonight\u2019s home game against Chelsea has an uncomfortable look about it.<\/p>\n

The Premier\u2019s League\u2019s Hall of Mirrors derby pits two sides against each other that are warped mirror images of each other, given neither resemble what they should look like for the millions spent on them.<\/p>\n

Chelsea haven\u2019t won at Old Trafford in the league for a decade. They are even worse off than United this season, three places below them in tenth. But they have talented players with the capacity to destabilise a brittle United.\u200c<\/p>\n

There was a sign of the pressure building on Ten Hag with the decision to ban four journalists from United\u2019s pre-match press conference on Tuesday. Their collective \u2018crime\u2019 was apparently to fail to ring the club to hear their side of the story before writing well-sourced articles revealing splits in the United camp and concerns over the direction of travel under Ten Hag.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The picture painted though was of a club – and manager – lashing out having lost control of the narrative. There is only one way to win that back – win games. All football managers are control freaks and Ten Hag is no exception. He will have been seriously riled at the leaks.<\/p>\n

But instead of shooting the messenger, he should be seriously concerned that players are briefing against him just as Sir Jim Ratcliffe is about to arrive. If the INEOS chief is to have control of football operations at United, as has been speculated, Ten Hag\u2019s future is in his hands.<\/p>\n

This season\u2019s Premier League sacking amnesty officially ended with Sheffield United parting company with Paul Heckingbottom. There is a danger for Ten Hag that a fresh pair of eyes on United\u2019s problems may leave him fatally exposed.<\/p>\n

Ratcliffe will want to know whether his tactical acumen is up to the job but just as importantly his man management. Has the disciplinarianism, which was widely praised in ridding United of Cristiano Ronaldo last season and in sidelining the rebellious Jadon Sancho this season, started to wear thin?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n