Ten Hag faces awkward Van Gaal scenario as Man Utd boss heads towards FA Cup final with stars unable to hold a lead
ERIK TEN HAG faces a Louis van Gaal scenario as he heads towards an FA Cup Final and the sack.
It was back in 2016 that his fellow Dutchman led United to silverware at Wembley with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace only to be dumped a few days later having finished fifth in the Premier League.
Manchester United probably won’t even finish that high but will be favourites to reach Wembley with Coventry in their Cup semi-final.
The problem then is it will be either Thursday night’s opponents Chelsea or Treble winners Manchester City in the final.
The result may not make a difference with new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe present at the club’s latest implosion on Thursday night when they conceded twice in injury time to lose 4-3 at Chelsea.
Ten Hag admits the late aberrations his side is experiencing are proving expensive and he is set to pay the ultimate price.
They have thrown away five points in six days, conceding three goals in injury time.
That is four points gained from the last 15 available in the league now and the win was against relegation-threatened Everton.
Not good enough.
Ten Hag says he continues to search for consistency.
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But consistency is not the problem.
In the previous ten seasons, the club have finished an average 22 points behind the league winners.
Today they sit 22 points behind table-topping Liverpool who they face on Sunday.
Surely after conceding in injury time against Brentford to draw last weekend, work will have been done on how the team needs to keep their composure to see a game out.
But game management is not something this Manchester United team seem to do under Ten Hag.
United led with 99 minutes 17 seconds on the clock at Stamford Bridge, the latest any team has been in that position and lost.
It goes beyond that as panic sets into this team when they seem in control.
Take the Champions League where they inexplicably finished bottom of their group to go out.
They were 2-0 up and cruising away to FC Copenhagen and then conceded twice in a minute at the end of the half.
They would lead again through Bruno Fernandes but shipped two goals in four minutes in the 83rd and 87th to lose 4-3.
Chelsea vs Man Utd highlights
READ the best of the fallout from a bonkers night at Stamford Bridge.
- Blues fans praised Enzo Fernandez as ‘proper Chels’ after he clashed with former team-mate Mason Mount
- Mount was targeted by an X-rated chant from the home fans – with one holding up a ‘Judas’ shirt
- The entire United team were blasted for ‘falling asleep’ at a corner before Chelsea’s winning goal
- Fuming Harry Maguire was booked after the full-time whistle as the Red Devils set a dire new record
- Chelsea hero Cole Palmer was awkwardly asked about being a MAN UTD FAN
- Fans spotted another Blues star tried to take the crucial injury-time penalty off him
- Erik ten Hag infuriated Utd fans with his claim post-match as they asked ‘did you watch the game?’
- The under-fire manager also BLASTED TNT Sports host Jules Breach for her ‘ridiculous’ question.
Twice in four minutes they conceded in the first half away to Bayern Munich to be 2-0 down before going on to lose 4-3.
While they would go on to beat Liverpool in the FA Cup 4-3, they conceded twice in two minutes at the end of the first half to be 2-1 down.
Away to Wolves they were 3-1 up and coasting but conceded twice in five minutes right at the end only for Kobbie Mainoo to rescue them in injury time.
It used to be United who did these things to other teams.
They still can use Fergie time to their advantage as we saw in that Wolves game, with two stoppage time goals at home to Brentford and with Amad’s goal in that FA Cup game against to Liverpool.
But when that board goes up with that added time, their fans are just as nervous as the opposition now, if not more.
To emphasise what a crazy United team this is they have been involved in five 4-3s this season, a 3-3 and a couple of 3-2s but have still scored fewer Premier League goals than Bournemouth or Fulham and the same number as Luton.
Ten Hag said: “For me personally, I have to manage the game and I have to manage the team.
“We have qualities. We have great players. We can play to very high standards. You can see against Liverpool and Chelsea. We can compete with them, we can beat the best teams in the Premier League.
“When you do it in the Premier League, you can do it across Europe. But we need to learn now how to win games.
“It was an example against Chelsea, Saturday was an example, how you win big games. It’s an example of how to get a big game over line and get three points. We have to step up. We have to make better decisions, individually and as a team.”
Marcus Rashford was benched for this game but came on in the 66th minute.
His commitment was questioned once more by fans with a posting on ‘X’ highlighting him ambling around the pitch.
Ten Hag once again had to defend him.
Marcus Rashford’s work rate during the game last night.
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If I was a United fan I’d be absolutely fuming with this… Unacceptable.pic.twitter.com/bszpdFOrTt
He said: “Lately his form is progressing. He has a big motivation because he wants to be successful with us. He wants to win trophies and score goals. But he wants to win and to contribute and we have a chance with the FA Cup. He wants to fight for a Champions League spot and the Euros are coming. So his motivation should be high. Before Brentford he scored, three goals in three games.”
Ever the optimist Ten Hag tried to emphasise the spirit in his team, bizarrely using Thursday’s late night horror show as an example.
When it comes to clutching at straws that was a massive grab.
Ten Hag said: “We will keep fighting and I’m sure you see, our team, they have character. We have seen an example here as well, they are resilient and I’m sure they will be there on Sunday, to be in the fight against Liverpool.”
The word ‘resilient’ was not the word on every United fans lips as they left Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.