As a Manchester United fan, there is not a single day of peace and quiet. Not one!
Source: Telegraph
But from the many negative stories I would only like to focus on Jadon Sancho's fall out with Ten Hag. If there is anybody who is surprised with this outcome, then they haven't been paying attention.
If you fall under that category, maybe it would help if we took it from the top, from where it all begun!
Signing Jadon Sancho - 21/22 Season
Despite Man United signing Sancho in the summer of the 21/22 season, it is important to remember that the club were in for him the previous summer window before Dortmund pulled the plug. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have to wait another year in order to get his man.
The club and the manager at the time were convinced they were getting one of the most versatile forwards in the world. Yet it didn't take too long to see that something wasn't completely right with Sancho. He struggled to fit into the squad and many chalked it up to Ole's lack of tactics and player development skills.
So, when Ole was sacked that season, everybody was expecting to see Sancho kick on. Despite playing 38 games, he only managed 5 goals and 3 assists across all competitions. His underwhelming numbers were yet again excused by fans due to the whole team being dysfunctional under the stewardship of Ralph Ragnick.
With the arrival of Ten Hag, fans were eager to see how the successful Ajax manager would shape Sancho in his own image. After all, the player possessed all the necessary qualities to thrive under Eric Ten Hag.
Sancho Sent to the Mountains
This was one of the most unexpected events last season.
Sancho had deleted most of his Instagram posts and the speculation was that he was having mental health problems. Ten Hag would then send Sancho away from the team for the better part of last season. It was later confirmed that Ten Hag had sent Jadon Sancho away to train and ultimately match the manager's fitness demands.
On returning to the club, Sancho had indeed improved. He seemed sharper and was a useful deputy to Rashford once he was injured.
Hope was building that next season (22/23) we would see the best of Sancho.
The Fallout
The new season began with much expectation for Jadon Sancho.
Since the club had not signed a striker at the time, Sancho was used in the pre-season friendlies more or less as a false 9 where he thrived. Fans were all convinced by what they saw. Sancho looked sharp and ready for the season.
It then came as a surprise when Ten Hag, instead of playing Sancho in the false 9 position in the first game of the season (Wolves), he played Rashford as the striker instead. So, in a way I understand Sancho's anger towards Ten Hag.
However, any time Sancho was brought on as a substitute this season, it looked like he didn't want to be there. He looked disengaged, especially out of possession.
Either he feels that no matter what he does Ten Hag won't give him a chance, so he has checked-out mentally, or he just doesn't like running around very much.
I think it is a combination of the two. There is no doubt Ten Hag doesn't seem to favor him very much. Also, some of the training videos that we have seen seem to prove Ten Hag's point.
That said, Ten Hag is absolutely right to lay down the law with Sancho. For so long at Man United we have had too much player-power. As a result, players could lay down their tools and effectively have their manager sacked. That strategy may have served clubs like Chelsea but at United, all it has led to is a group of players who are only in it for the money due to their lucrative contracts.
Ten Hag must be allowed to set the standard at the club. Everything he says goes. Players at Man United must know that the manager will outlast them. Ten Hag has started laying the foundation for future success at the club if he is given the time.
It's a shame he has to do it by crushing yet another fan favorite.