United View: Weathering the storm at Old Trafford

Let’s be completely honest, things are looking pretty grim at Old Trafford right now. Three defeats in the opening five games leaves Erik Ten Hag having to navigate another challenging situation at the helm of Manchester United.

United were comfortably beaten 3-1 against Brighton at the weekend. A second-rate performance and disappointing result but is anyone really surprised? Roberto De Zerbi has transformed the Seagulls into a well-oiled machine and played the Reds off the park. All this despite making six changes to the starting eleven that beat Newcastle in their previous fixture.

Ten Hag deployed a diamond 4-4-2 diamond and for the first 20 minutes, it looked promising. However, De Zerbi was quick to adjust and after Danny Welbeck opened the scoring, Brighton took control.

And as the final whistle blew a chorus of boos could be heard around Old Trafford. Ten Hag has been thoroughly backed by the fans since his appointment, but this was the first sign of unrest amongst supporters.

When asked if his team was in a crisis, the manager said, “No. But we have to be very disappointed and we have to be very annoyed with ourselves. Because at United, the demand is you win games.”

United’s match against Bayern Munich is yet to be played at the time of writing but in truth, a result against the German Champions is unlikely. The Reds have never beaten Bayern away from home and have a poor away record against the bigger clubs under Ten Hag.

Even though it’s a match that United aren’t expected to win, a good result against Thomas Tuchel’s side could significantly improve the mood ahead of a more favourable run of fixtures.

Ahead of the game, Ten Hag said, “We need character, belief, resilience, determination, absolutely.” Conveniently ‘luck’ was missed from that list, something that has adverted United this season.

The Red's lack of fortune continued this week. Aaron Wan Bissaka looks set to miss out on two months of football with a muscle injury, joining the long list of players currently unavailable for selection.

United’s start to the season would be like if a marathon runner tied their shoelaces together right before the starting pistol. Issues off the pitch have hampered what many expected to be a positive start, whether that be through injuries or player’s personal issues.

That being said there is finally some good news, with Mason Mount and Raphael Varane returning to first team training this week. Kobbie Mainoo and new signing Sofyan Amrabat also trained individually as they look to make their first appearances of the season.

Perhaps United’s season will truly kick on when the squad is fully fit. Until then though, the team needs to show some improvement and pick up results. Not only to ease the mounting pressure but to quieten the cries of discontent.

Manchester United is a team with deep-rooted issues and a turnaround in fortunes was never going to be swift. The highs of last season made it seem like the team would continue on its upward trajectory, but success isn’t linear.

Look at Klopp’s Liverpool or Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, both endured a troublesome period before beginning to flourish. And Ten Hag will have to withstand this negative phase before any real change happens at United.

For me, I think Ten Hag is the man to take the club forward and whilst things currently aren’t good enough, the manager still needs the backing of the fans and the board. It’s still very early into the season and things could optimistically change for the better soon.

United next travel to Burnley on Saturday before a home tie against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.