'This felt like the end for Ten Hag - if not now, very soon'

Manchester United manager Erik 10 Hag wore the haunted, hunted look of idiosyncratic reaching the extremity of the roadworthy aft Tottenham Hotspur inflicted abject embarrassment astatine Old Trafford.

Since United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the club's restructured hierarchy yet chose to support religion with Ten Hag successful the summer, helium has been placed successful a presumption wherever helium is lone 1 atrocious decision distant from a situation and unforgiving scrutiny.

By that measure, the 54-year-old is moving retired of clip aft a United show that was arsenic shambolic, incompetent and indisciplined arsenic immoderate helium has presided implicit successful his tenure.

Winning the EFL Cup 18 months agone and past season's melodramatic FA Cup last triumph against Manchester City, which efficaciously kept Ten Hag successful a job, person been the highs among galore lows – but it does not get overmuch little than this.

Ten Hag's Spurs counterpart Ange Postecoglou has been nether the microscope himself aft an indifferent commencement to the season, but Sunday's 3-0 rout was different outstanding measurement connected the roadworthy to rehabilitation, a 4th consecutive triumph since losing the northbound London derby astatine location to Arsenal.

United, successful the sharpest of contrasts, were a shambles – a rabble.

The large question looming implicit Old Trafford arsenic the rainfall lashed down connected thousands of reddish seats vacated by supporters who had stuck admirably by their broadside was this: tin Ten Hag survive? And if truthful for however long?

This is simply a manager who is looking progressively retired of his depth. He has pulled backmost from the precipice before, astir notably successful the summer, but is backmost determination again.

If determination had been tiny signs of betterment defensively this campaign, that felt a region distant astatine Old Trafford connected Sunday. This felt precise overmuch similar the extremity - if not now, past precise soon.

From the archetypal whistle, Spurs were each implicit United similar a rash, the code acceptable successful the 3rd infinitesimal erstwhile the magnificent Micky van de Ven raced similar a achromatic flash from wrong his ain half, leaving a succession of United players successful his slipstream earlier mounting up Brennan Johnson's elemental finish.

United started dreadfully and went into a accelerated decline, someway surviving until half-time arsenic Spurs carved them unfastened connected countless occasions but could not adhd a second.

Ten Hag claimed the reddish paper shown to skipper Bruno Fernandes 3 minutes earlier half-time "changed the game". It did not. United's manager is deluding lone himself if helium believes this. It made United's task adjacent harder, but Spurs were threatening to tally riot adjacent earlier Fernandes' dismissal.

If it was decided to signifier a satellite straw-clutching championship, Ten Hag would person a bully accidental of winning with that one.

And let's not hide this was a Spurs broadside stripped of their injured talisman Son Heung-min. Son's replacement Timo Werner really spared United further punishment, confirming helium remains a consenting trier but a thoroughly unreliable finisher, doubly shooting lamely astatine United keeper Andre Onana erstwhile cleanable through.

It was a pugnacious time for Ten Hag's latest signing, Manuel Ugarte, who got obscurity adjacent the Spurs midfield, portion Joshua Zirkzee, hooked astatine half-time, arsenic yet shows nary motion of adding immoderate of the cutting borderline helium was bought for astatine a outgo of £36.54m.

United present prevarication successful 12th successful the Premier League having mislaid 3 of their archetypal six games, the figures adding to the increasing content that the extremity crippled is looming into presumption for Ten Hag. They are ominous.

With memories of the 3-0 nonaccomplishment to Liverpool inactive fresh, United person present mislaid consecutive location league games without scoring a goal.

The past clip this happened the manager, successful that lawsuit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was sacked soon aft losing 5-0 to Liverpool and 2-0 to Manchester City successful November 2021.

United were wide unfastened connected Sunday, failing to property Spurs to immoderate effect. Dejan Kulusevski unsocial created 9 chances, the astir by a visiting subordinate successful a Premier League crippled astatine Old Trafford since records started successful 2003-04.

And the wide diminution - not lone successful Ten Hag's reign - tin beryllium underscored by the information United person present mislaid 23 Premier League matches by 3 oregon much goals successful the past 424 games. This is much than they did successful 1,035 league games nether Sir Alex Ferguson, erstwhile it happened connected 22 occasions.

United's existent full of 7 points is their associated fewest aft six games of a Premier League play and they person lone scored less goals erstwhile astatine this signifier - 4 successful 2007-08 - than they person truthful acold this term.

These statistic prevarication similar wreckage astir Ten Hag's feet.

One aged manager erstwhile stated that you tin odor a nine successful occupation erstwhile you locomotion into the stadium. There is surely a precise worrying stench astir Old Trafford.

The brutal reality, oregon truthful it has seemed, is that Ten Hag is efficaciously manager by default aft Ratcliffe and his sidekick Sir Dave Brailsford could not find a suitable successor successful the summer. There are nary signs of immoderate discernible improvement, oregon grounds to marque a lawsuit for further religion successful Ten Hag.

It was not simply the information Spurs were successful a antithetic people with quality, pace, intent and organisation. It was much troubling than that.

There was nary signifier to United. They lacked absorption and leadership. There is nary identity, thing to clarify what strategy Ten Hag has and, arsenic telling arsenic everything else, determination was a hopeless deficiency of subject wrong the team. At times they looked retired of control.

Fernandes had conscionable been sent disconnected erstwhile Mason Mount emerged arsenic a substitute conscionable earlier half-time. His archetypal publication was a senseless situation that flattened Rodrigo Bentancur, earning him a yellowish paper that enactment him nether contiguous pressure.

Lisandro Martinez was nary amended erstwhile helium cynically scythed down the fantabulous James Maddison arsenic United unravelled.

If Ten Hag emerges unscathed from this humiliation, 1 that volition trial the patience of United's leadership, the task does not get immoderate easier with a travel to Porto successful the Europa League connected Thursday earlier a sojourn to Aston Villa connected Sunday.

Spurs fans taunted Ten Hag with the time-honoured "You’re getting sacked successful the morning" chant. This remains to beryllium seen.

This was a dark, hopeless time for Erik 10 Hag, 1 that had each the feeling that the credits mightiness soon beryllium rolling connected his clip successful complaint astatine Manchester United.