Erik ten Hag’s far-fetched approach sees ‘spineless’ Man Utd equal 93-year-old record

If Sunday was the worst day of Manchester United’s season, then what was Wednesday?

The Manchester derby loss, while appallingly poor, did at least come against the Premier League and European champions, and a side honed by the greatest mind in world football. But Newcastle United’s line-up at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup fourth-round tie consisted of five full-backs, no striker and included seven players who haven’t started a Premier League match this season.

This was a game United should have comfortably won, yet Eddie Howe’s ragtag XI overwhelmed a Red Devils side that featured a five-time Champions League winner and the world’s most expensive centre-back. It’s the sort of ‘lost-the-dressing-room’ display that managers habitually lose their jobs for. This was spineless, lacking inspiration and simply pathetic from a group of players that should have had added motivation to impress.

Ten Hag changed all of his front six after the derby, but none of those introduced to the side had any impact whatsoever. Casemiro was hooked at half-time, Hannibal should have been sent off inside the first 15 minutes, none of Alejandro Garnacho’s four dribbles were successful, £85m Antony lost his individual duel to Lewis Hall, who has barely played over 1000 minutes of senior match in his career, while Anthony Martial’s listless approach out of possession was almost comical.

The 3-0 battering means United have lost eight of the opening 15 matches in all competitions this season - the worst start since 1972/73 - and have now been beaten in five of the first 10 home matches of a campaign for the first time since 1930.

This is dire, and Ten Hag knows it. The United boss said he is a ‘fighter’ after the match, but admitted he can ‘understand’ why there is so much criticism from the outside. That the Dutchman led this side to third place last season and collected silverware is staggering.

Yet, had United managed to beat Newcastle, they would have entered the quarter-final stage as third favourites to win the Carabao Cup, with Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa already eliminated. If last season’s win over Newcastle in the competition was Ten Hag’s acme at United, there is a dark irony that Wednesday’s Carabao Cup meeting with the same opponents may be his darkest hour so far.

As the Independent’s Richard Jolly tweeted after the match, United had more captains (3) on Wednesday night than shots on target (2). Ten Hag’s side didn’t even test Martin Dubravka in the second period, as they chased the game. Instead, it was Newcastle who were the side creating chances, with Joe Willock’s jaunt through United’s entire middle another remarkably easy goal for an opposition side to net at Old Trafford this season.

So was the opener, as Tino Livrament managed to carry the ball almost from one box to another, squeezing past the challenges of Mason Mount and Hannibal in the process, before shifting it to Miguel Almiron, with Diogo Dalot seeming to forget the Paraguayan’s existence.

United were gutless, clueless, and totally hopeless. At present, the thought of them not losing every game by at least three goals seems far-fetched. So too, does the thought that Ten Hag can get a tune of a group of players who look like they’ve thrown the towel in. Previous United managers will relate with that.

Winning at Fulham on Saturday would at least be a start for Ten Hag, but November’s two- week international break - the last until March - has an ominous feel to it. Something needs to change, and quickly, or the United boss could find himself following the same treacherous path trodden by all managers in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.