Erik ten Hag: Manchester United’s Free Fall Continues As Fernandes, Rashford and Co Misfire

• Manchester United suffered their second 3-0 defeat, three days apart, both at Old Trafford
• Erik ten Hag's early season struggles continued, with fans making their displeasure known
• The former Ajax manager needs to drop some players in a bid to rediscover their form

Manchester United fans headed into the new season full of hope and optimism after seeing what Erik ten Hag was capable of in his debut campaign in England.

The club finally ended its six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup before finishing third to qualify for the Champions League.

After what looked like decent signings in the summer in the form of Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat's arrivals, many expected the Red Devils to challenge for top honours this season.

But three months in, United have struggled to produce consistent results and even in the games they have won, they laboured to do so. A good case in point was the 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest in August of the 1-0 win over Copenhagen last month.

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They are currently third in their Champions League group and on November 1, they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in an embarrassing fashion as Newcastle United put three unanswered goals past them at Old Trafford.

"I am a fighter and I know it is not always going to go up, but we have a lot of setbacks this season," said ten Hag after the Newcastle defeat," as quoted by the Guardian.

Admittedly, injuries haven't helped the former Ajax manager's course this season. He is currently without the preferred defensive duo of Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, with many other players missing at different stages of the young season.

Jadon Sancho and Antony have also been entangled in off-the-pitch issues, with the former still yet to return to the squad.

Be that as it may, the Dutch tactician needs to exhibit some level of ruthlessness if he is to save Manchester United's stuttering season. The same demeanour he exhibited when dropping Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Sancho, should be incorporated into his match-day squads and starting XI.

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Players ten Hag needs to drop

Top of the list is Rashford, who, despite enjoying a stellar start to the season, has fallen back to his form of the era of Ole Gunnar Solskajer and Ralf Rangnick. Ten Hag needs to accord Alejandro Garnacho more time to provide competition to Rashford and perhaps the England international can spring back to life.

The decision to award Bruno Fernandes the captaincy has so far yet to bear the fruits ten Hag wanted. So much so that Roy Keane called out the midfielder, as reported by ESPN.

Part of Fernandes' dip in form was the signing of Mount, which, in retrospect, was a poor decision. Ten Hag is yet to find a formula that accommodates both players plus Casemiro in the middle of the pack. Fernandes' offensive output this season has been underwhelming. He seems to have lost the Midas touch he had when he joined the club.

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It would be bold to drop your captain, but if last season was anything to go by, bold is part of Erik ten Hag's name.

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The €100m fee paid for Antony last summer elicited sharp reactions, with many fans slamming the club for forking out a huge sum for an 'unproven' player. Despite constant backing from ten Hag, the Brazilian has, time and again, failed to show he is fit to play for a club as huge as Manchester United.

The 23-year-old needs to be dropped and if possible, United should get into the market for a new winger. Pedro Neto would have been a brilliant choice had he not picked up what looked like a serious injury over the weekend.

In the meantime, ten Hag needs to trust Facundo Pellistri or move Mount(still not his ideal position) to that wing, as Antony as an option is not working.

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That said, it would be immature for the board to sack the manager on account of the very lacklustre start to the season. He showed last season he has the wherewithal to inspire success in a club that is in desperate need of a major overhaul.

The signs are worrying, but if he did it last season, he can turn it around again. But he needs to start making the difficult calls.

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