A s When Erik ten Hag helped his new team win the FA Cup in February after a six-year drought, it looked like the regal Manchester United of old had returned.

There was no longer any memory of the hard work put in during the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, the stultifying football under Louis van Gaal, the turbulent times under Jose Mourinho, or the tactical naivete of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Before this season began, fans were certain that we were finally on the cusp of a long-awaited title run. This football powerhouse has instead stumbled into a downward spiral from which it may never recover.

Manchester United are in crisis off the field as well as on it, despite Ten Hag’s attempts to downplay the severity of the situation. Despite having the most expensively assembled squad in the world, United are so far behind their loud neighbors Manchester City that the champions are barely visible.

It’s the club’s own fault that they’re off to the worst 10-game start to a season since Ron Atkinson’s United in 1986–1987.

Nearly a year after the Glazer family put the club up for sale, its future ownership is still up in the air. Every home game has been met with demonstrations from fans who want United to break free of the Americans’ 18-year monopoly and their hundreds of milliоns in debt. The fact that two serious bidders are on the sidelines—billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was born in Manchester, and a Qatari consortium—is causing a lot of anxiety among fans.

Standard Sport has learned that the delay is due to the hopes of Joel and Avram Glazer to remain in the area in some manner. The standoff will persist so long as the other four siblings also want to go.

Since the public views the Glazers as having neglected the team and its dilapidated stadium, they have become public enemy number one if Todd Boehly prefers a more hands-on approach. United, in contrast to City, who have a system of top-level sporting directors that have allowed Pep Guardiola to dominate, have been playing catch-up ever since they finally appointed persons in similar roles.

The season’s gloom has been compounded by the responses of those senior leaders to a number of critical challenges. United did not release Mason Greenwood on loan to Spanish club Getafe until August 2022 after completing an internal inquiry over his arrest in January 2022 on charges of attempted rаpe and аssаult that were dropped in February. His continued employment has been the subject of much criticism.

Antony, a Brazilian forward who has been accused of аssаult but who rejects the allegations, has also recently returned from a leave of absence. After Ten Hag criticized England striker Jadon Sancho for bad performances in training, Sancho was benched despite his public denials. Standard Sport is aware that Sancho needs to issue an apology in order to make amends, but he has yet to do so, and he is still not training with the first team.

United’s transfer record is also problematic, with only a small number of high-priced additions over the past decade contributing significantly to the team’s success.

There are too many unused resources in the team. Donny van de Beek, who cost £40 million, occasionally reminds fans that he exists, Harry Maguire could not be traded this summer, and Anthony Martial keeps receiving chances to prove why he was once the world’s most expensive teenager, to no effect.

Even if a championship run is out of the question once again, Ten Hag has players that are capable of better.

United appeared to escape their recent trend of transfer catastrophes last season. Finally, Casemiro provided sufficient quality in the middle of the field; Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane developed a central defensive pairing that threatened to rival that of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic; and Christian Eriksen appeared to be the deal of the year.

All of these things look like they were thrown off a cliff. Ten Hag cannot escape responsibility, though, because his team’s performance was below expectations and there were issues off the field. United’s mentаl frailty makes them an easy target even before they on the field, and the blame for this must ultimately rest with the team’s coach. United’s demise after Casemiro’s red card in Tuesday’s loss to Galatasaray summed up their inability to hang onto leads and their tendency to drop heads too easily after falling behind.

Former Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez’s header set up the game-winning goal for the Turkish team, and it was like a hоt knιfe through butter for United. The stars stood helpless as the ball sailed past their heads. That has less to do with skill and more to do with who you are.

United are currently 10th in the Premier League, nine points behind City, and last in a very manageable Champions League group. However, Ten Hag argues that this is simply a temporary setback, and that the club is still committed to his long-term vision. Ten Hag has players that are capable of doing better, even if another run at the title is unrealistic, and he should be given time to build on last season’s League Cup victory.

United are a far cry from their past glory, therefore he must show he can be the revolutionary coach he promised to be last season.