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On a grey Sunday afternoon in Manchester, numerous members of the crowd certainly had faces like thunder as Manchester United were humiliated once again by the bitterest of rivals, Liverpool.
When the referee blew the whistle to put the team out of their misery after a 0-3 defeat, much of the home crowd had already left the ground, unwilling to sit through even more pain.
Cameras naturally tried to capture the mood at Old Trafford and some of the most striking images caught were that of United’s new sporting department.
After completing a pretty successful summer window on paper where they have captured numerous young and talented players to bolster the squad, they will have been incredibly deflated by what they witnessed.
Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell can also be seen with pained expressions on their faces but the most noticeable look of anguish and rage is on the face of the part owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Hand held in face, Ratcliffe encapsulated the mood around Old Trafford and all United supporting households perfectly.
One man who will be very worried by the sporting department’s reaction is that of Erik ten Hag, who famously only held on to his job by a whisker in the summer.
After an infamous meeting in Ibiza this June, it was confirmed that Ten Hag would remain manager but it must be remembered Ineos spent weeks talking to other managers and you simply do not do that if you are one hundred percent behind your current choice.
Finally, he was told he would remain in his job and he has been backed generously once more in the transfer window.
Nonetheless, the faces of United’s decision makers yesterday afternoon were not of people confident in their choice. A pretty poor start to the season has left many United fans outraged to why Ten Hag was kept on as manager after an eighth placed finish and continue to be perplexed by his excuses.
Before the match he claimed that United have been the second best team in England since his arrival and continued to confuse fans by claiming the side’s structure was good and only individual mistakes were to blame for the defeat, despite pretty strong evidence to the contrary.
While it is unlikely the sporting team will take the decision to remove Ten Hag right now after so publicly showing faith in him this summer, seeds of doubt will surely be creeping in and will only continue to grow unless United return from the international break in a winning mood.
Dropped points to Southampton and Crystal Palace would do little to brighten the gloom around Old Trafford right now.
Managers do not tend to lose their job so early in a season but there have been examples. Paul Sturrock was brutally axed after two games as Southampton manager back in 2004. Kenny Dalglish was sacked after just 12 days at the start of the 1998-1999 season as Newcastle United manager.
More recently, Frank de Boer was sacked after just four games and four defeats to open the 2017-18 season as Crystal Palace manager. A defeat to Southampton for United would certainly heap massive pressure on Ten Hag.
Some of the most discussed options to replace the Dutchman are ready and available. An unpopular choice with fans, but Gareth Southgate is still frequently discussed as a potential United manager and he is currently available after leaving the England job after the Euro 2024 final loss to Spain.
It has been speculated that assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy agreed to join the club as he could be given the chance to replace Ten Hag as manager should he depart as Ineos view him as Ten Hag’s long-term successor.
The lethal former United forward would certainly be a more popular choice than Southgate among the fanbase.
Thomas Tuchel, who was interviewed by Ineos during Ten Hag’s audit, is still unattached to a club and The Daily Mail reported in July that the German would be “first in line” should they sack Ten Hag later in the season.
It is also well known that Ineos are admirers of former assistant manager Kieran McKenna’s work at Ipswich Town and consider him future managerial material at Old Trafford.
There are still many games to come, and they will thick and fast after the international break as United play in three competitions in the month of September.
If Ten Hag is to have any future at the club however, he needs to win and win quickly or Ineos will need to prove how ruthless they can be in search of success at United.
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