Manchester United's three major suspects exposed! Ten Hag did not control the dressing room, and Marcus Rashford was affected
At United's pre-match press conference over Burnley, Ten Hag was asked directly about dressing-room leaks. To this, the 53-year-old Dutchman firmly denies: "I know my players."
Ten Hag replied: "I don't know if there was a dressing room leak, but I know your point of view and I know my players. Everyone can contribute their opinion, and we think that's fine."
Initially, it was thought that the ghost in the dressing room was Mourinho's patent, but unfortunately, after the coach left class, Solskjaer, Rangnick and Ten Hag experienced similar rumours within the team. Ten Hag has been in charge for more than a year, and despite the frenzy of bringing in his own cronies, he still does not seem to be in control of the team.
More than a year ago, United suffered a 4-0 defeat at the feet of Brentford in the second round of last season, with only two new players, Lisandro Martinez and Eriksen. De Gea, Harry Maguire, Fred, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho all started that game and the Reds' squad was clearly not what Ten Hag wanted. So, even with a 7-0 defeat to Liverpool, it is still believed that one of the reasons for the defeat was that Ten Hag had no available players and had to adjust his tactics.
However, the same cannot be said this season, with most of United's squad being brought in by Ten Hag himself, as well as Bruno Fernandes, who he awarded the armband, and Rashford and Diogu Darlow, who he renewed his contracts.
Such a United do not play at the peak level of Ten Hag when he was in charge of Ajax, and there are signs similar to those of the past when the team collapsed. Ten Hag's own players, such as Onana, Lima and even Casemiro, are also in no form than last season.
Marcus Rashford is a threat attackingly, but his tactical discipline has been criticized, and while he has rushed back to win possession, he has been more slow to return. The same was true of Fee B, who threatened to score and scored the winner with a volley from the 1-0 Nick Burnley match, but he made too many mistakes, losing 4-3 to Bayern Munich with 13 errors in 46 passes, one of which led Bayern to strike back and score.
Ten Hag did not name names, but he has publicly criticised the attitude of Manchester United players to make it easy for opponents to enter the box. At the time, the players who made it easy for Bayern winger Sane to get up were Marcus Rashford and Eriksen.
The players who were thought to have dragged down Manchester United in the past have long since left, with De Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo already leaving, while Harry Maguire and Sancho are not playing. As a result, many fans have put the blame for the sluggish form on the manager, with the media even asking Ten Hag directly if he must also reflect on his job.
Ten Hag received huge support from Manchester United, spending £400 million on signings. Of course, he didn't get everything he wanted, such as Frankie de Jong and Harry Kane, which left the club without a real playmaker and upfront fulcrum.
However, the British media believe that one of Manchester United's problems lies in the atmosphere of the players in the team, which may be affected by rumored ghosts. Who is what Gary Neville calls a "pest" inside the locker room? The finger is directed at the Red Devils' "Great British Gang". Sancho, Maguire and Scott McTominay are currently under suspicion.
After Sancho joined for £73 million, United made him wear the number 25 shirt, which in Cantonese means "two or five" for a traitor. Currently, Sancho is the team's public controversial figure. He was ejected from the first-team dressing room after arguing openly with the manager and refusing to apologize.
The British "Daily Express" reported that since last season, many incidents that should have been kept secret in the dressing room by Manchester United have been exposed to the British media for reporting. It's entirely possible for Sancho's team of agents to do so, as is Maguire and Scott McTomina.
Maguire's public statements have been very appropriate, but how the agent operates behind the scenes is unknown. Scott McTomina, on the other hand, has been criticised for his sluggish performances in recent matches, his return to the Bayern game and his poor performance against Burnley. At the same time, the former scrappy "new team soul" is now only eye-catching in the Scotland team, so it is also considered a potential candidate for the inner ghost.
Scott McTominé had hoped to leave United in the summer window, but Ten Hag refused to let him go, marking him a hefty £50 million. After staying at Manchester United, the Scottish titans played just seven minutes at the start of the season before being reused after the international break.
Manchester United also have more British faction players such as Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford. The former is out for a long time due to injury, while the latter is not at his best this season. Marcus Rashford is an absolute workhorse of the team and will certainly not oppose manager Ten Hag, but he is friends with the likes of Jadon Sancho and has even praised his "scapegoat" speech.
Both Reds fans and Marcus Rashford are well aware that the 25-year-old England star will slip significantly if he is distracted or in a bad mood. Master La himself admits that he can only play at his best when he is happy. Therefore, the difficulties faced by many companions undoubtedly affected Rashford.
Manchester United also have more potential ghost candidates, such as the French demon king Anthony Martial, who is by no means good at the manager and agent when there is a problem with the team's position, and has had many open and secret battles with Jose Mourinho.
Add to that United's many injuries and Anthony's off-field scandal to a picture of uncertainty and instability that the structured control advocated by Ten Hag cannot achieve. Luckily, the likes of Varane, Amrabat, Mount and Kobe Meno have returned to training and should ease soon.
Manchester United also have a more modest fixture schedule ahead, with results leading to mood shifts, defeats increasing pressure and winning improving the atmosphere. Both Liverpool and Arsenal have also experienced pain before Klopp and Mikel Arteta's results.