Support for Erik ten Hag has evaporated after the lowest moments of his Man United tenure

Louis van Gaal lasted two years, Jose Mourinho two years and five months before leaving at the end of 2018. He also signed a new contract earlier that year. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed for two years and 10 months. He signed another contract a few months before he lost his job. What now for Eric ten Haag after two years and a few months as Manchester United manager?

Sunday was a low point under the Dutchman, worse than the 4-0 loss to Palace in May last season. Then, his side was ruined by injury, not now. Sunday's 3-0 defeat means United have lost consecutive Premier League matches without scoring at home for the first time since November 2021. These defeats were Solskjaer's last two home games in charge of the club.

Ten hag? Following a summer review, his contract was extended by a year until 2026 after the FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City, but this season has started horribly. His injury concerns were valid last term when his defense was particularly wrecked, but now he's shaping a side that is made up almost entirely of his own acquisitions. Like the directors before it, it cost millions of pounds to put together.

And, like all his previous managers, United are far from mounting a title challenge two years after taking the reins. Forget the title, the current team is capable of dominating a single Premier League game. And when United meet a team of the quality of Liverpool or Spurs, they can quickly fall apart. Opponents know that Manchester United can get away from the opening seconds.

The manager takes praise and criticism, but his players are also to blame. It's rarely the manager's fault they're missing the chances they create, but the players have a lot of power. It did for all the previous managers who didn't have enough to keep going. Side meetings are called between players, WhatsApp conversations reveal doubts or worse. And it's getting to the point where it's easier to sack one or two than to sort out the whole team, even if every manager believes they've left the club in a better place than they found it.

For their part, players have a right to feedback. They are not planning to fire every boss. An hour after the FA Cup final win, I spoke to half a dozen of them outside the dressing room and asked them about the manager. Sound is not being recorded. No one said the manager should be fired outright. And no one said he had to stay at all. Yet there were clear issues between player and manager over his style.

“You can't have teams in the relegation zone like Sheffield United and Burnley coming to Old Trafford and exposing us,” said one. United changed their style after that humiliating defeat at Palace, to reach and win the cup final. Then Ten Haag listened to the coaches around him. Realism wins and wins. But now we see individuals — Spurs' Mickey van de Ven and his compatriot Bert van Rooj of Twenty — carving United open.

At Wembley, I felt that all the players respected Ten Haag as a person and as a coach, but the mood was not harmonious, even after that victory. It rarely is. Most United players, even the biggest names, respected, adored and still feared Sir Alex Ferguson. But as he built up so much credit and won so many trophies, what he said came true. There is only going to be one winner when he is challenged.

I ran a poll after the cup final: 60,000 voted and 85 percent wanted the manager to stay. In the United We Stand feed this Monday, 73 percent think the manager's time is up. Fan sentiment can – and can – swing wildly with the outcome It's only been a month since fans have been praising the summer transfers with their anticipation of how each new player will improve the team. If only it were simple – if only every transfer worked. United have a poor record in the transfer market.

I stood outside the away end after the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace and three different fans said to me: 'That's our best game all season'. But it was still just a draw. There should have been plenty of goals against Twenty in midweek, but another draw felt like a defeat. Sunday was a defeat, the third in six league games. There's no end to the statistics about how this is the worst start since X, which has stretched into the post-Ferguson hangover.

And the cycle continues. You get a new boss, determined to change the culture and players of billions of people. Some fans supported him to get rid of 'The Deadwood' and cheered him out the door. There are always dissenting players – or if not their agents and advisers. They do what is right for their client, not the football club. But can United's problems be pinned down to one or two, or even three or four players and will a clean sweep be selected?

It's a movie we've all seen before; Groundhog Day every two years at Old Trafford. Managers and their staff are paid salaries that cost the club a fortune and directly affect the club's ability to spend on players. Like a new best mate, managers come loaded with hopes and expectations. Personally, they say that serious changes are needed, root and branch. Literally every single manager since Ferguson has said it within months. They come up with some highs, even amazing football, runs and trophy wins and then it turns *** and they're gone.

Manchester United are not united. Not the players, but the fans. The media landscape is more extreme than before, discontent can turn a profit. My phone rings a lot more when United lose than when they win – some outlets have started apologizing for doing so. And it fills the news cycle for days. You will find ex-players who advise managers despite having patchy managerial records themselves. They will manage to eat United alive, because that's what happens. Everyone nods and says it's not good enough, but what is the solution?

We don't know how long Ten Haag will keep his job. Jason Wilcox, as Technical Director, and Dan Ashworth, as Sporting Director, are watching his work every day. They were appointed as best in class at their jobs and they are much closer to seeing the manager in action than any fan. Maybe they'll see something fans are struggling to see and stand by it. Either way, they will feed chief executive Omar Berada and Sir, Dave Brailsford and Jim Ratcliffe. Maybe they will support him in this difficult time and redouble their decision to keep him and be vindicated by that loyalty. After all, the season is still young. Maybe they'll say enough is enough. They, too, will now be at the forefront of decision-making about the pros and cons that come with it.

Regardless, fan support for the manager has evaporated. This support was followed by an epic FA Cup final win, seen as one of the most important results in United's history, a new ownership structure and well-received activity in the transfer window, both incoming and outgoing. Online reaction was almost uniformly negative, but fans of the game were supportive, just as they were with every director. Even as bad performance repeats, they have a breaking point. If it was Casemiro's fault at Liverpool's home ground, what was the solution at home if Spurs didn't play?

United are huge, the pressure is intense, but they are not the only soccer giants in the world who are under pressure to win every game. Hansi Flick came to a struggling Barcelona and led them to victory in La Liga. Other managers have come into rival clubs and made an impact – just as Ten Hag did in his first seven months when he seemed to be genuinely getting United back on top. The high point, two games against Barcelona in February 2023, now seems a long way off.

Ratcliffe has often asked fans to be patient. It's a fair shout, but he's been in the room for five minutes. For those who survive through this repeating cycle, you find more frustration than patience. And no easy answer.

(Photo: Catherine Iville – AMA/Getty Images)