da pixbet： The Dutch coach already appears to be on borrowed time, but the Red Devils' most glaring problems are deep-rooted

da pinnacle： Manchester United are in crisis – again. Erik ten Hag's side just about managed to avoid humiliation against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, but their weaknesses across the pitch were laid bare once again during the 4-3 defeat at Allianz Arena.

The Red Devils have now lost four of their opening six matches in 2023-24, which marks their worst start to a campaign across all competitions in 36 years. They've also conceded three or more goals in three consecutive games for the first time since 1978, and 14 overall – more than any other Premier League side.

Ten Hag's first season at Old Trafford was deemed a success after United followed up winning the Carabao Cup by finishing third in the league, but they have gone backwards since then, despite spending over £200 million ($246m) in the summer transfer window.

It is a continuation of the vicious cycle that no manager has been able to break in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, with temporary waves of optimism quickly giving way to despair and frustration. Ten Hag certainly deserves the same level of criticism that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal and David Moyes received after recent results, but he has also been fighting a losing battle in the dressing room.

Getty Images'No good culture'

Ten Hag has done his best to stamp his authority on the United squad since arriving at the club, dropping Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho when they failed to meet his high standards.

"It is my job to control the standards," the Dutchman said of his hard-line approach last week. "Strict lines is what the club asked me because there was no good culture before I entered last season. Of course, it is never someone only makes one mistake, it is a whole process before you come to a certain outcome about strict lines. If staff or players or whoever, there is a structure to cross lines so you have to be strong."

The problem is, it no longer appears to be working. Ten Hag's comments came on the back of a public row with Sancho, who has been exiled from the squad for the second time in the past year for his supposed underperformance in training.

The rest of the players failed to react in a positive manner, losing 3-1 at home to a Brighton side that cost a fraction of the malfunctioning one assembled by Ten Hag. That result was no more of a surprise than United's latest defeat at the hands of Bayern.

AdvertisementGettyToo easy to play against

United did at least go down with a fight against Bayern, but the Bundesliga champions were far from at their best. They scored four goals – and could have added at least one or two more – without ever really getting out of second gear.

Ten Hag's team are simply too easy to play against. The former Ajax boss said as much after a 2-0 loss away at Tottenham on August 19, telling reporters: "They [Spurs] were nowhere, nothing, and then things happened in the game, then they got distracted, not doing their jobs anymore. They didn't run. Or they run in the wrong moment, too late. Especially the front [players] didn't recover."

That lack of running was also one of the main reasons for United's downfall at the Allianz Arena, and indeed against Brighton last weekend. Their defensive discipline has gone out the window.

It's painfully evident that the players are no longer giving their all for Ten Hag. Bad luck with injuries has played a part in United's poor form, but that is no excuse for anyone to be downing tools.

Getty'Bugs in the dressing room'

There have been regular reports of discontent behind the scenes at Old Trafford in recent years, leading to question marks over whether certain players have been guilty of leaking information to the press. The likes of Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard were accused of being dressing room moles amid Ralf Rangnick's ill-fated spell as interim manager, but the leaks have persisted since their respective departures from the club last year.

Indeed, after United's latest Premier League loss to Brighton, reported that four players were involved in a heated bust-up. It was said that Bruno Fernandes confronted Scott McTominay, while defensive duo Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof pointed the finger of blame at each other over defensive errors.

The club has reportedly denied these claims, but United legend Gary Neville is worried that the situation will only get worse. He appeared to suggest that Ten Hag might have inadvertently brought it on himself, too, with his handling of Sancho and Maguire – who was stripped of his captaincy duties in July.

"How popular are Sancho and Maguire in the dressing room?" Neville said in his latest podcast for . "He's got some bugs in there that we don't know from the outside, what discomfort and uncertainty is being created on the inside.

"You've got a player at the moment who is probably changing in the first-team dressing room but obviously over with the academy. You've got Maguire, who has been captain of these players 12 months ago, now almost alienated as third, fourth, fifth centre-half. He's got some situations in there I don't know the damage that's having.

"I don't think Ten Hag will change. What I'm hoping at the moment is it's just a difficult start to the season and it's not a repeat of what we've seen previously. We've seen it becoming challenging for Jose Mourinho, for Louis van Gaal, for David Moyes, for obviously Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. So I hope it is not the beginning of that."

Getty Images'Disease of modern football'

There are plenty of parallels to be drawn between the start of Ten Hag's second season at United and Solskjaer's last, which saw him lose his job after just 12 games. The Norwegian seemed to be heading in the right direction after a runners'-up finish in the Premier League and a Europa League final appearance in 2021-22, which he followed up by signing Sancho, Raphael Varane and Ronaldo.

But collective performances then took a major nosedive, and the board were forced into action after a shocking 4-1 loss against Watford. If Ten Hag is not careful, he could share a similar fate to Solskjaer, who has spoken out on the weak mentality of the squad.

"Some weren't as good as their own perception of themselves," the former United boss said in an explosive interview with . "When you have a group you need everyone to pull in the same direction. When things didn't go right, you could see certain players and egos came out."

Solskjaer added: "Some players felt they should’ve played more and weren’t constructive to the environment. That’s a huge sin for me. When I didn’t start games I wanted to prove to the manager he’d made the wrong decision. Now, a lot of players aren’t like that. Agents and family members get into their heads and tell them they’re better than they are because they have a vested interest. It’s a disease of modern football."