da bet7： The Dutchman has lost 13 matches already in 2023-24 but is still clinging onto his job in the Old Trafford dugout
da gbg bet： Manchester United's season had already been littered with crushing lows, with the cataclysmic defeat at home to Bournemouth ranking among the must brutal. But Red Devils fans learned long ago that the mantra 'things can only get better' is a total lie and they always can, and often do, get worse.
And so it was that United travelled to play West Ham in their final game before Christmas, and after failing to put decent chances away, fell to a disheartening 2-0 defeat. It means United have lost eight of their 18 Premier League matches this season, and have been beaten an astonishing 13 times in all competitions.
It is the first time United have lost as many games before Christmas since the 1930-31 season, the year they finished bottom of the old English First Division. Most managers that have presided over a season as horrendous as this would be long gone, yet Erik ten Hag's job, somehow, remains safe for now.
GettyFans can no longer bear it
United supporters pride themselves on not turning on their players as quickly as other fanbases do, but the sight of fans leaving Old Trafford or away grounds early has become all too familiar this season.
When Marcos Senesi headed in Bournemouth's third goal in their shock 3-0 win at Old Trafford, thousands of disgruntled United supporters immediately headed for the Old Trafford exit doors, prompting Bournemouth's visiting contingent to gleefully chant "Is this a fire drill?" By the time the full-time whistle sounded, there were barely any Reds left in the ground.
And after Mohammed Kudus scored West Ham's second goal at the London Stadium in the 78th minute, scores of travelling fans started filing out of the away end. Who could blame them for wanting some respite from the nightmare unfolding in front of their eyes? It was far from the first time they have seen their team let them down this season.
AdvertisementGettyFrom fortress to free-for-all
The loss at West Ham – made more painful by the fact it was against former United boss David Moyes – was United's sixth away defeat of the season in all competitions, and they still have not beaten a top-nine team away under Ten Hag. But their home form is even worse.
United have lost seven matches at Old Trafford and let in three goals in five separate games there. They have conceded the first goal in six of their nine league home games, and only bottom club Sheffield United have let in more opening goals.
United's dismal home form is a far cry from last season, when they turned Old Trafford back into a fortress and won 27 matches there, beating Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Barcelona. This season, their one-time fortress has turned into a free-for-all.
Getty ImagesHistory repeating
United have lost eight out of 18 matches in the league, three more than both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had lost when they were sacked in December 2018 and November 2021, respectively.
The points total is pretty similar too. Ten Hag has averaged 1.5 points per game compared to Mourinho's 1.5 and Solskjaer's 1.4. Louis van Gaal, meanwhile, had averaged 1.7 points per game when he was sacked at the end of the 2015-16 season despite winning the FA Cup.
United are currently eighth in the table, two places below where they were when Mourinho was fired and one below where Solskjaer and David Moyes were when they were dismissed.
And unlike his three predecessors, Ten Hag does not have his Champions League record to fall back on. Mourinho and Solskjaer had taken United to the verge of the knockout stages when they were sacked, while Moyes had reached the quarter-finals.
But Ten Hag and his players crashed out of the Champions League and finished bottom of Group A, leaving them without the Europa League as a consolation.
Getty ImagesGlazers still onside
So why is Ten Hag still in the job? Despite the alarming recent results, the Dutchman still has the backing of the current United hierarchy. It is a situation quite unlike Mourinho's, whose relationship with then-chief executive Ed Woodward soured when he was not backed in the transfer market in the summer of 2018.
Executive co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer have entrusted Ten Hag to lead a cultural reset after years of falling standards and increased player power. When justifying his decision to banish Jadon Sancho from the squad in September for speaking out against him on social media, Ten Hag revealed he had been encouraged to enforce discipline.
"Strict lines is the point," he said. "It's what the club asked me to do, because there was no good culture before last season. So to set some good standards, and that is what I did."
The low levels of discipline were laid bare by Nemanja Matic recently, and Ten Hag has made it his mission to clean United up. The spate of dressing room leaks last week regarding a rebellion against him suggest he has not quite completed that task, but the fact that the club's response to those leaks was to temporarily ban the journalists who published the stories from press conferences suggest they are standing by him.