The vultures are circling! The faith reserves are dwindling! Eric Ten Hag's career is on a knife's edge!
On a personal note, my faith in the manager has been tested one too many times. It was that dispassionate performance against Fulham that really did it for me, and I gave up on him. However, after I had calmed down and chatted with a few members in the HiveFPL discord, I came to the conclusion that I had probably overreacted.
Maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time. Maybe what I was watching was the culmination of close to a decade of poor ownership from the top.
The push for quick wins rather than following a distinctive plan has left Man United with one of the most unbalanced squad possible.
The Problem
What immediately stand out to me is that Man United have an aging core of players through out the spine of the team, like Casemiro, Varane, Eriksen and Evans. It is no surprise then that midfield and defense is where we have had most of our injuries this season.
These players have struggled to stay fit, and when they have played, the game seems to pass them by. I am haunted everyday by Casemiro's slide tackles that either end up missing completely or as a red/yellow card offence. He can't keep up with the pace of the game anymore.
From aging players we shift to the opposite extreme. Man United have a host of young talents who have had to come in because the older players can't hack it anymore. Kambwala, Mainoo, Garnacho, Hojlund, Diallo, and Omari Forson have all had to play significant minutes due to the absence of the more experienced players.
Of the six, Garnacho has played the most minutes and it is no surprise he is burning out. You can see the sharpness in his game vanish from game to game. Ten Hag even had to haul him off at half-time against Bournemouth to keep him fit.
Which brings me to tomorrows Semi-Final against Coventry.
Will the players give it all for Ten Hag?
In some ways, Coventry is probably the worst draw Ten Hag would have wanted.
Coventry City are 8th in the Championship with only 3 games left to go. They essentially have nothing else to play for this season. Because of that they will be relishing this match-up against a faltering Manchester United, who will undoubtedly offer up many chances at goal for Coventry to take advantage off. They will really like their chances of reaching the final of the FA Cup.
On the other hand, going out at this stage to this opposition will be suicidal for Ten Hag. It feels like even the staunchest of Ten Hag's supporters wouldn't be able to stomach a defeat to Coventry.
Even if Sir Jim Ratcliffe wanted him to be at the club next season, it would be difficult to have the fans rally to his side. He genuinely would have to sack him because there would be nothing left to play for.
I like Ten Hag. Even after loosing faith mid-season, I really want to see how he does with a support structure and a concrete transfer policy in place.
I only hope he is able to pass this final, most crucial test to save his job. He cannot fail now!