FIRST, the easy part — Erik ten Hag must go and Erik ten Hag WILL go before long.
Perhaps as soon as Sunday’s visit to Aston Villa and probably at some point during October.
The home thumping by Tottenham was the TENTH time Manchester United have been thrashed by three goals or more in just over two years of the Dutchman’s reign.
Ten Hag’s United don’t just lose consistently, they are thrashed consistently.
Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford are among the teams to have demolished his outfit.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s most famous three-word team talk — “Lads, it’s Tottenham” — could now be turned on its head by Ange Postecoglou or several other Premier League bosses.
United are trounced on a Sunday afternoon, Gary Neville and Roy Keane rant on the telly, everyone speculates on the manager’s future on a Monday.
Managers come and go, many players linger for too long, and United continue to be largely terrible.
Man Utd reveal first pics of redeveloped 100,000-capacity Old Trafford in ‘biggest regeneration scheme ever seen’
Yet under Ten Hag — who offers little as a coach or man-manager — the bad days are even worse.
Advertisement
It was the wrong decision for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos crew to keep faith with the former Ajax boss after last season’s FA Cup win.
And then to have signed another tranche of overpriced Dutch players.
Ratcliffe will realise that by now, and it is only a matter of time before Ten Hag is gone.
So now for the hard part. Who, realistically, takes over?
Advertisement
And, more pertinently, who would want to?
Emery wouldn’t take United job – he’s not stark raving mad
This is a mid-table squad at an underachieving club, with a lot of unwanted players on big money.
And Ratcliffe is an instinctive cost-cutter who may not pay top dollar to the next manager.
If this club wasn’t called ‘Manchester United’, it wouldn’t be an especially desirable job.
Advertisement
The good news for United is that their new sporting director, Dan Ashworth, is a very decent judge of a manager.
He has been instrumental in three previous managerial appointments — Gareth Southgate for England, Graham Potter for Brighton and Eddie Howe for Newcastle.
None were wildly popular at the time, all were conspicuous successes. Interestingly, Ashworth’s No 1 choice for the Newcastle job was Unai Emery, who turned him down to stay at Villarreal but has since proved that judgment right by excelling at Aston Villa.
Not many options
Emery may well deliver the coup de grace to Ten Hag on Sunday — especially with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Kobbie Mainoo an injury doubt.
Advertisement
And the Spaniard would be an excellent fit for United — yet there is next to no chance that he would abandon Villa’s Champions League campaign to take the Old Trafford job, not least because he isn’t a stark raving madman.
Howe would be another good candidate to succeed Ten Hag but, although he has become frustrated on Tyneside, the Saudis would surely not allow Ratcliffe to poach Howe, as they reluctantly did with Ashworth.
Potter is available but his Chelsea experience and lack of charisma would make him a tough sell.
Which brings us to Southgate, who remains close with Ashworth and is an excellent man-manager who was seriously considered by United last spring.
Advertisement
Gareth Southgate concern
Yet, despite having led England to two of their three major finals, Southgate’s reputation for over-caution was only enhanced during the Euros.
Mauricio Pochettino, passed over twice by United, is out of the equation having taken the United States job.
Thomas Tuchel would be a popular and gettable option but, despite being a fine coach and a very engaging man, he is considered something of a loose cannon.
Likewise, Roberto De Zerbi, now at Marseille after his brief Brighton stint sparkled then fizzled out.
Advertisement
Kieran McKenna — a gifted former United coach who has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town — is an intriguing candidate but the imminent vacancy may come a year or so too soon.
Marco Silva, the extremely under-rated Fulham boss, has been on United’s radar and should not be discounted.
Replacement needs to succeed
Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim, last season’s ‘next big thing’, was passed over by West Ham as well as Liverpool this summer and is not an easy man to pin down.
Zinedine Zidane, who has taken over from Alan Curbishley as a 20-1 shot for every Premier League job, is a “figurehead” manager and not an Ashworth type.
Advertisement
Ruud van Nistelrooy, the former United goal machine who joined Ten Hag’s coaching team in the summer is the bookies’ favourite. Simply because he’s in the building and he’s Dutch.
So, yes, getting rid of Ten Hag is the easy part.
For Ratcliffe, Ashworth and the rest of United’s new management structure, the hard part is what happens next.
And it is a decision they desperately need to nail.
Australia’s men and women booked Pacific Cup final places by beating New Zealand in a double-header in Christchurch.
Zac Lomax scored two tries for the Kangaroos in a 22-10 win over an understrength New Zealand at Apollo Projects Stadium, their first meeting since the Kiwis’ 30-0 triumph in last year’s final.
In the women’s match, the Jillaroos became the first team to prevent the Kiwi Ferns from scoring, a fine try by full-back Tamika Upton the highlight of a 14-0 victory.
Australia’s men and women are guaranteed to finish top of their three-team groups and will contest the finals on 10 November against the runners-up.
Advertisement
For the men, that will be New Zealand or Tonga, who meet on Saturday.
The women will take on New Zealand or Papua New Guinea, who play on 3 November.
Ilia Topuria likely has a familiar foe awaiting him for his second title defense.
After becoming the first person to knock outMax Holloway in a stunning performance to cap off UFC 308 on Saturday, the reigning UFC featherweight champion came face-to-face with the man he beat to win the belt. Alexander Volkanovski made his way into the cage following Topuria’s win and the former opponents shared a few kind words for each other in anticipation of an expected rematch.
While UFC CEO Dana White typically doesn’t like to play matchmaker on the same night of an event, he says it’s almost certain that Volkanovski gets the chance to run it back with Topuria next.
“Listen, Volkanovski’s one of those guys, we’re not going to say no to Volkanovski,” White said at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “He’s been that guy for us. Any time we needed him. He was on this run like [Israel] Adesanya, like Alex [Pereira] is on right now, when things don’t go our way, and you’ve got to call a guy, Volkanovski’s always been that guy. He really was.
Advertisement
“I don’t think anybody’s in this room going ‘oh this is ridiculous or crazy’ and who wouldn’t want to see it again?”
Volkanovski hasn’t fought since he suffered a knockout loss to Topuria back in February in the fight that cost him the featherweight title. That actually served as his second consecutive knockout loss after Volkanovski fell to UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in similar fashion after he accepted a short-notice fight with hopes of winning a second title.
Instead, Volkanovski ate a brutal head kick in the first round that ended his night. Four months later, Topuria dished out the same result. Afterwards, Volkanovski was told he could get a rematch when he was ready to compete again and it appears the UFC is following through on that promise.
There’s no timeline when the fight might happen, although Volkanovski was pushing to return at the upcoming UFC 312 card scheduled for Australia in February. Prior to his win on Saturday, Topuria shot down any hope that he would defend his title in enemy territory so it remains to be seen when or where the rematch against Volkanovski happens.
Advertisement
With a perfect 16-0 record that now includes wins over two of the greatest featherweights of all time in Volkanovski and Holloway, Topuria is already entering rarified area when it comes to his career. A second win over Volkanovski would separate Topuria even further from his peers at 145 pounds.
“We were just talking in the back. As you start to clip off legend after legend after legend, you eventually become a legend,” White said about Topuria. “Both guys looked great tonight. Max came in with the right game plan. I think the early calf kicks added up and took their toll later in the fight. Those things are so devastating when people throw them the right way. He couldn’t have fought a better fight.
“[Topuria] took some big shots himself. Has the chin, kept coming forward, incredible performance by both guys. But Topuria did something that nobody’s ever done before.”
“We definitely believe the goal can give us some momentum – 2-1 compared to 2-0 is a big difference and it could be a very important goal.
“I am glad to have been the one to put it away and hopefully we can put a few more away in Cardiff on Tuesday.”
Morgan said Wales’ players were frustrated with a performance that Wilkinson described as the “worst” in her time as Wales boss.
Advertisement
“It’s obviously disappointing for us as a team, we felt prepared coming in and we didn’t get the result that we wanted,” she said.
“Slovakia were aggressive and we knew they were. Maybe we didn’t react to what they were doing and challenge them enough and compete at their level.
“We will review the game, watch it individually and show where we need to be better and hopefully we can put it right on Tuesday, which I know that we can.”
George Russell has suggested he would be in favour of Mercedes compromising the rest of this Formula 1 season to gain an advantage into 2025 as the team deals with the fallout of several high-profile crashes.
Mercedes’ repair costs have been mounting up of late after Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Monza practice crash, the Austin shunt sustained by Russell in qualifying, and his latest prang in Mexico’s FP2 session.
This led Toto Wolff to tell Sky Germany of his fear that Mercedes would struggle against the budget cap with further crashes.
Given the situation, Russell said he would be happy to stick with his current car specification – now running Miami-spec parts after his crash – to save cash for next season.
Advertisement
“There’s no concerns with budget cap because we’ve always got a bit of margin and you’re always weighing up what you put into this season versus what you put into next season,” Russell said after securing fifth on the grid for the Mexican GP.
“We may have to compromise over the rest of this season, which to be honest I’d probably be in favour of because we’re not fighting for a championship.
“I’d be more than happy staying on the old floor if that gives us a better chance into next year.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Advertisement
“But I think we’ll be able to repair the floor from Austin. I think that’s the plan. It wasn’t as bad as we initially expected and that should be out in Brazil.”
Russell was surprised that he was able to qualify fifth with older components and that the team was taken aback by its pace from FP1 before the Briton’s incident during the second Friday session.
Recounting the FP2 incident, he explained: “The last two years, I’ve been using that kerb every lap. In FP1, I did four laps using the kerb, and there was no problem and then suddenly I hit it and it was like I was a kangaroo.
“That was really disappointing. For the last two weeks, I’ve put so much pressure on the team now with the lack of spares and it’s been pretty unnecessary.
Advertisement
“But we don’t really know why it’s happening. It’s not through sort of overdriving. It’s just the car bites.”
Read Also:
ALPHONSO DAVIES has broken his silence over a transfer to Manchester United.
The Bayern Munich star, 23, has been widely reported to be considering his future in Germany.
The Canada international’s contract expires next summer, and after joining the Bavarians in January 2019 from Vancouver Whitecaps it seems he may want to pursue a new challenge.
Reports suggest that Man Utd transfer chiefs have started gathering information on Davies ahead of a potential offer.
However, Real Madrid are known to be long-term admirers and are one of the main teams to be linked with his signature.
Despite this, he has continued to play regularly under Vincent Kompany this season with six Bundesliga appearances under his belt ahead of the club’s trip to VfL Bochum on Sunday afternoon.
Advertisement
Regardless, in early October Davies made his feelings clear about his future.
He told ESPN: “As of now, my full focus is to stay healthy and to play the game with the club I’m with right now.
“I’m not focused on what’s going on in the future.
“I’m just focusing on staying healthy and helping my team win. My team make me feel valued.
“The whole Bayern community make me feel valued. I see that each and every day.”
Davies has an estimated transfer value of £42million ($50m) as per Transfermarkt, but will able to speak to clubs from January over a FREE transfer due to his contract expiring in the summer.
Jose Mourinho reveals he’s still holding out hope of winning Premier League title with Man Utd
Davies is seen as one of the world’s best left-backs.
Advertisement
It is a position Man Utd has struggled with over the last two seasons with the long-term injury of Tyrell Malacia and the ongoing fitness troubles of Luke Shaw.
Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui and Toby Collyer have all lined up there at various points this season.
Meanwhile, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who was sold to West Ham in the summer, lined up there at times last season.
Made an outstanding double save in the 37th minute to keep two attempts from Youssef En-Nesyri out.
His defenders could’ve done much better to prevent Fenerbahce’s goal.
Advertisement
Diogo Dalot – 5
Failed to track back at times and had his blushes saved in the first half by Ugarte, who made a crucial tackle on Dusan Tadic to prevent a goal.
Matthijs de Ligt – 6
Made some good blocks during the first half to keep Fenerbahce at bay.
Advertisement
Missed a few chances from set-pieces after the break.
Victor Lindelof – 4
Failed to follow En-Nesyri for Fenerbahce’s opening goal and made no attempt to win the ball.
Hauled off in the 54th minute.
Advertisement
Lisandro Martinez – 5
Like Lindelof, he did not apply any pressure to En-Nesyri for the hosts’ first goal. Poor communication from both.
Christian Eriksen – 7
Broke the deadlock for United with a great strike into the top-left corner from the edge of the box.
Advertisement
Manuel Ugarte – 6
Won the ball in the build-up to the first goal and saved Man Utd from conceding with a fantastic last-ditch tackle in front of goal in the 22nd minute.
Was lucky to avoid giving away a penalty after the break.
Noussair Mazraoui – 6
Advertisement
Didn’t look too out of place starting in the No10 position. Played a role in the build-up to the goal, passing the ball to Zirkzee who got the assist.
Eventually moved into left-back, allowing Martinez to move central.
Marcus Rashford – 5
Played out of preferred position and started on the right as opposed to the left.
Advertisement
Didn’t make too much of an impact on the game.
Alejandro Garnacho – 6
Played a key role in the build-up to Erikson’s goal by making a direct run into the box.
Challenged Dominik Livakovic a few times and looked lively.
Advertisement
Joshua Zirkzee – 5
A poor overall performance from the striker despite providing the assist for Eriksen’s opener.
Failed to make much of an impact and was hauled off in the 54th minute.
ABU DHABI – Magomed Ankalaev may have finally been granted his title shot after UFC 308.
Unbeaten in his past 13 fights, Ankalaev outpointed Aleksandar Rakic (14-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) to earn a unanimous decision win on Saturday’s main card at Etihad Arena.
Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) has been chomping at the bit for his shot at UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, telling him to “stop running” in his post-octagon interview. Dana White was asked about Ankalaev’s performance, and the UFC CEO was impressed.
“He looked good,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie at the UFC 308 post-fight news conference. “He absolutely looked great.”
Advertisement
Ankalaev was passed up for a title fight when Pereira drew No. 8 ranked Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 earlier this month. Pereira retained his belt with another knockout finish, and poked at Ankalaev prior to UFC 308 by telling him that he’s rooting for him to beat Rakic so he can make him wait longer. He also dubbed his style as boring.
But Ankalaev no longer has to worry since he now has White’s word that he’s next in line.
“I would have to say yes,” White said when asked if Ankalaev is No. 1 contender.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login