United’s Palace thrashing provides to Ten Hag’s file of disasters

As Manchester United headed down the tunnel at Selhurst Park, humbled and humiliated, the home fans were waiting for them. ‘You’re f****** s***’ they sang as the United players disappeared from view one by one. Visible among the hate mob, one young girl held up a placard requesting a shirt.

That’s United. Still a big draw wherever they go and, yes it’s hard to argue right now, also rather s***.

And that’s what makes nights like these so uncomfortable. A great club and a proud name being ground into the dirt by a team like Crystal Palace, who played superbly but are well ensconced in the bottom half of the Premier League. 

‘The players had a lot of fun playing football,’ said their manager Oliver Glasner, rubbing salt into the wounds.

Palace became the latest opponent to pepper United with shots this season and hit the target a few times. Like a heavyweight champion who can no longer defend himself, stumbling around the ring, trying to regain scrambled senses, they cut a sorry sight these days.

Once great players like Casemiro and Christian Eriksen being run ragged by younger, fitter men. They should be the first out of the door this summer and hold it open for some of their teammates who, frankly, aren’t fit to wear the shirt.

Then there are players like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, youngsters who represent the future of this club but are being damaged playing in a sub-standard team. They look around for leadership and find none.

Not one single player came out of a 4-0 hammering, United’s biggest defeat of the season, with a shred of credit. They let down their club and they let down their manager, not to mention the thousands of United fans who stayed until the end to somehow applaud the team for their efforts.

And what of Erik ten Hag himself? Observing the destruction unfolding before his eyes, still talking about plans and processes when all we see is chaos and carnage.

Just where does he go from here? Ineos continue to say that no decision has been made over Ten Hag’s future. He could yet be given the chance to prove himself in the new structure they are building at United.

But just when you think he can still be that man, something like this happens. Or Istanbul. Or Copenhagen. Or Chelsea. Or Wolves. Or across London at Wembley where Coventry almost subjected the Dutchman to an even worse humiliation than this a few weeks ago. He has compiled quite the dossier of disaster this season.

Yes, Ten Hag can point to a crippling injury list or the off-the-field distractions involving Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and, of course, the strategic review that has landed his fate in the hands of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos.

It’s been tough but let’s not pretend that other clubs don’t have to contend with problems of their own. Even taking into account the mitigating factors, there was no excuse for United’s humiliating debacle at Selhurst Park on Monday night.

Ten Hag is a good coach who had a great record at Ajax and over-achieved in his first season at United. If the reports are accurate, Bayern Munich are considering him as a possible replacement for Thomas Tuchel.

Ten Hag is a good man too. You can see why Ineos might want to give him another go; to improve the squad considerably this summer and hand him the tools to try and do the job properly.

But nights like these, nights when teams like Crystal Palace have ‘fun’ against you and the home fans delight in telling you to your face that you are s***, must make his new employers wonder if they can take that risk.