Manchester United struggled to find form under the Dutch manager. When 20 rounds have been played in the Premier League, and the season is more than half played, there are as many as nine points up to the top four in the series, which will qualify for the Champions League. There are a whopping 14 points ahead of rivals Liverpool in first place. – If I had received 1 million odds on United winning the Premier League, I would still have refused to bet on them, says news’s expert Kristoffer Løkberg. Although the club recently progressed in the FA Cup, there is little to suggest that ten Hag has found the long-awaited formula for success. The last five Premier League games have produced a disappointing three losses and only one win. EXPERT: Kristoffer Løkberg is news’s football expert in addition to being an elite series player for Viking. Photo: Carina Johansen / NTB And after 20 Premier League rounds, they have only scored 22 goals. – It’s terrifying! It is nowhere near what one expects, sighs Løkberg. United are in a provisional eighth place in the table and there is now speculation about manager ten Hag’s future at the club after a disappointing season. – He is gone for the next few months, former United captain Roy Keane confirmed on ITV last weekend. CRITICAL: Roy Keane believes ten Hag will be sacked during the season. Photo: NICK POTTS / AFP On borrowed time Norwegian football experts, on the other hand, are not entirely in agreement with the Irishman. – Ten Hag will probably survive in the job, if not week to week, then month to month. His role will probably be discussed throughout in English newspapers throughout the rest of the season. One of the points of appeal against ten Hag has been that the development was not what one could expect over time, says Løkberg, and asks a rhetorical question: – Who has been better at United and developed to become the next really good player? The news expert singles out the academy product and star shot Kobbie Mainoo as an exception this season. The star Marcus Rashford, on the other hand, has had the opposite curve. THE EXCEPTION: Kobbie Mainoo (on the right) has climbed from the United academy to the elite team. Photo: AP – It is disturbing that no one has been very much better for a long, long time. United have missed out heavily in recent years, notes Løkberg. He thinks ten Hag will be able to keep his job until the end of the season, but: – I think he will last the season, so there will soon be a change of coach after that. Unless something big happens this spring. TV 2’s football commentator Øyvind Alsaker is also convinced that ten Hag can stay a little longer: – I think he can stay. Mostly because United have failed so many times now. What do you think? Vote below: Will ten Hag be fired before the end of the season? Guaranteed! No, he can stay I have no idea about Show result Declining support from supporters After Sir Alex Ferguson resigned in 2013, the club has had seven different managers with varying degrees of success. Ole Gunnar Solskjær was United manager for almost three years and is the person who has been at the helm the longest since Ferguson. Ten Hag and United had a good season last year, but this season the club has, to put it mildly, faltered in terms of performance. – Throughout the season, there has been one step forward and two steps back. There have been neither long periods with a steady streak of results, nor, most worryingly, that the performances vary greatly, says Løkberg and elaborates: – In comparison, several other coaches in the Premier League have achieved important development in the teams they coach. Ange Postecoglou has made a big impact on the Tottenham team. He has come in and transformed Tottenham and made the collective flourish. I miss that in ten Hag’s United, where there is not as common a common thread in the way the team plays. SUCCESS: Ange Postecoglou has impressed in his role as Tottenham manager. Photo: AFP Madelene Stolpe, who is chairwoman of Manchester United’s Scandinavian supporters’ group, tells news that the manager still has broad support among supporters, but that skepticism increases in line with poor results. – We have some unofficial polls every now and then to get a feel for the atmosphere and there was more unison support for ten Hag a few months ago than now. Then there were around 90 per cent who wanted to keep him as coach, while in the last poll it was around 70 per cent. STUDENT AND TEACHER: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Sir Alex Ferguson in 2019, when the Norwegian coached United. Photo: AFP Outdated structure But should ten Hag be entirely to blame for the team’s failure? – The entire infrastructure has been far too bad. They have lacked a sporting manager with expertise, Alsaker points out. Both he and Stolpe think there will be a mirror in the squad. – The player group gives the impression that it has been bought by several different coaches, says Stolpe. – There is a stew in that dressing room, with signings from Mourinho, Solskjær, van Gaal and ten Hag. The problem with that is that many of those players are too bad to play there now. They have had that problem since Ferguson, says the TV 2 commentator. COMMENTATOR: Øyvind Alsaker. Photo: TV 2 He thinks it can be solved with a better sporting management. – I have seen time and time again with various trainers that things seem to be going well, then they implode. There is a pattern here – which I think is about wardrobe culture. The manager is left a bit alone, and has to “deal” with everything. Stolpe agrees. She believes United have an outdated system. – In the past, it was more common for the manager to have more responsibility, there is a bit left in history after Sir Alex. That is part of the explanation in the big picture. “Two trophies to play for” On Sunday, United take on Tottenham at Old Trafford – a game that is important to win in order to continue fighting for a top four position. The much-talked-about United manager, for his part, still believes in league gold. – We have two trophies to play for. We will play for the Premier League and for the FA Cup, said ten Hag last week. – It is excessively optimistic. If we are to have any hope of a trophy this year, we must bet on being as lucky with the draw in the FA Cup as we were this weekend, says Stolpe to news. Last weekend, United won 2–0 over Wigan, who play in the third highest level in England. Ready to pick up an Oscar 00:51 Here he loses control – Pictures from Viaplay 00:09 Even the audience had to call for help 00:53 Struggling with the champagne bottles 00:44 Show more
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– It’s terrifying! – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
