United and Ten Hag in disarray

The damage done to Manchester United, to the reputation of Erik Ten Hag and to the faith of Manchester United fans after their 3-0 humiliation by Tottenham Hotspur is immeasurable.

As the game ended the crescendo of boos was later accompanied by supporters protesting outside the game and attacks on social media with comments such as “Sack Ten Hag now!”…”Get on the phone to Thomas Tuchel and rid us of Ten Hag!”…”This clown is out of his depth.”

After finishing eighth in the league last season, poor by United’s historical standards, the Red Devils saved some grace by winning the FA Cup and it also saved the coach his job.

In the last year United have suffered four 3-0 home losses and it is only four weeks ago they lost 3-0 to bitter rivals Liverpool.

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United were linked with several replacements: Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Gareth Southgate and Kieran McKenna. In the end and after an internal review, the new INEOS management, under Sir James Ratcliffe penned a new contract extension which runs until 2026. That arrangement is now proving to be a big mistake. United are nearer to the relegation zone than they are to a Champions League place.

Earlier this week I heard an approach to Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is being prepared given his difficulties because of in-fighting at the club. Another possible candidate is Simone Inzaghi who has done well with Inter Milan in Serie A and he has achieved at domestic and international levels. As a temporary measure Ruud van Nistelrooy is standing by and he has great respect within the club.

Ten Hag says he is not worried about his position, commenting: “No, not thinking about this…We all made a togetherness, this decision, to stay together as an ownership, a leadership in the summer. And we made the decision from a clear review, what we have to improve as an organization and how we want to construct a squad. They are all decision making in togetherness.” However, the fact is United have won only six of their last 20 league games and conceded at least three goals in a game for the 23rd time under Ten Hag. Their summer spending reached a massive £625.43 million so these failures are hard to accept.

Arsenal’s Wonderkid Nwaneri

17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri was first spotted by Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta when he was only 12 years old. Arteta now says, “The boy is ready” and the boy is the real deal.  In midweek he played against Bolton Wanderers and scored in the 37th and 49th minutes. His skillful display playing behind Bukayo Saka was an impressive 90 minutes and earned him a cameo role against Leicester providing some of the most enthralling moments of the match as he ran through the Foxes defence time and again. His transformation from a 12-year-old playing for the Under 14s and scoring on his debut for the Under 18s and appearing in Arsenal’s Under 21s at age of 15 marks him out as somebody who is very special! He then went on to score three times for England in an Under-17 European Championship. It was Sporting Director Edu who initially alerted Arteta to this fantastic new talent. The Arsenal coach made Nwaneri the youngest player ever to appear in a Premier League match aged only 15 years as a 92nd minute substitute against Brentford. Against Leicester it was the players who convinced Arteta to play the youngster and you could feel the respect shown by senior players as Timber, Rice and Saka all fed him balls. Martin Odegaard’s injury has opened the door for Ethan and he is grabbing it with both feet.

Maresca wants everyone at the game

Chelsea are on the rise but not every coach can work with such a rich selection of players. Coach Enzo Maresca has told his players who are not selected and do not make the match day squad that they must attend games to support their teammates and the club. Maresca said, “I want all of them there including the ones not playing or in the squad. You have to behave like a team.”

Stones believes he can replace Rodri

It is no secret that Pep Guardiola relies on Rodri to run his midfield but with the world’s best out injured for probably the season (he underwent knee surgery this week) the coach said to us and slightly irritated, “Guys, I’m going to tell you – I know you are going to ask me all the time – of course we’re going to miss Rodri, his physicality and his presence. But he’s not available so I’m judging Mateo (Kovacic), Rico (Lewis) and Bernado (Silva). I would love Rodri to be here and Oscar Bobb to be here and Kevin (De Bryune) and Nathan (Ake) too. I would love it. But it is what it is.” 

*** John Stones has made a passionate plea to Pep Guardiola trying to convince the coach that he can step into Rodri’s shoes. Given the midfield genius’s absence this season, Stones believes he can move forward out of defence, up the pitch and into Rodri’s shoes. Guardiola admitted he has to find a solution to his midfield challenge having tried Rico Lewis there last weekend, a move which did not work very well. 

In Stone’s favour is the fact that he has played upfield before and done very well and that is the argument he is taking to Pep.­­­

Howe was wrong to play injured Isak

I found it difficult to believe that Newcastle boss Eddie Howe played Alexander Isak with a broken toe at Fulham last weekend. Isak lasted 80 minutes but could not tolerate the pain in his foot. He will miss the game against Everton this weekend. Howe claims playing him was a “risk worth taking”. He said, “It was a case of him either being out until after the international break or carrying on playing as normal if he could tolerate the feelings and effects of the injury.” Then much to my astonishment Howe continued, “There is a chance he could be fit for Everton if everything falls into place. Then we have a decision to make. Does he play in that game or do we leave him knowing that he’ll be ok two weeks afterwards when the international break is over.” To my way of thinking, Isak should definitely not play. Risking possible further damage and pain is not worth the risk despite the Swedish international being a vital part of the Baggie’s attack.­­­­­