The famous Italian journalist, Fabrizio Romano, has quashed any concerns about Erik ten Hag’s immediate future at the club.
The transfer guru claimed in his Daily Briefing today that he has faced a bombardment of questions about the Dutchman’s future at the helm of the club.
There had been a tad of optimism around the team after three straight narrow victories but the chastening 3-0 loss at home to their cross-city rivals was an all too familiar wake up call.
Some of the manager’s pre and in-game decision making has come under fire from the wider fan base. Romano explains that there were “raised eyebrows” by the choice to opt for Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans over Raphael Varane or Victor Lindelof at the centre back position.
Moreover, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher slammed the style of football under the Dutchman as “underdog football”. The former Liverpool defender also claims that this Red Devils side are “shocking” playing out from the back and are the only top team that play a long ball counter-attacking system.
Damning criticism of a manager who once upon a time played such free-flowing football at Ajax.
Yet despite all of these thunderclouds appearing over Old Trafford, Romano confirms that according to his sources, the manager still enjoys the support and trust of the United hierarchy, although he adds:
“Still, it’s also true that everyone at Manchester United knows the situation has to change – results against the big teams can’t continue like this, but for now it’s important to say that the club are still supporting and backing Ten Hag.”
The Italian journalist goes on to assert that the problems at the club go much deeper than the manager and the players. In his own opinion, the length of the ownership situation has taken “so long to resolve” and is an “an important piece of the story”.
There is also a depressing comparison to Manchester City’s situation. In a post-match interview the Citizens’ boss, Pep Guardiola, indirectly highlighted the stark differences between the two Manchester giants’ club structures.
The Catalan lavished praise on his own bosses by claiming that there is complete clarity behind the scenes and how everyone at the club was going in the same direction. Not even the most bright-eyed optimistic Manchester United fan could say the Red Devils were in a similar boat.
Romano finishes by stating that there is an immense need to bring clarity to the ownership situation. Something which every supporter of the football club is also desperate to see.
While it is true that there are a multitude of issues on the red side of Manchester right now, none seem realistically fixable until the muddled ownership situation is dealt with, one way or another.