Man United: Romano releases Ten Hag update with ‘alarm bells ringing’.
The Red Devils continued their poor form against Brighton & Hove Albion
To say that Manchester United have made a poor start to the Premier League this season would be an incredible understatement. Everything went wrong for Erik ten Hag after such an impactful debut season last time out.
Five games into the season, the Dutchman has had to deal with injuries to key players such as Luke Shaw, off-field feuds with the likes of Jadon Sancho and results that have matched what he is going through from a blip to full potential- Crisis erupted at Old Trafford.
United have already lost three out of five matches and not even the victories have been convincing. And with that said, Fabrizio Romano has released an update on the future of Ten Hag. What did Fabrizio Romano say? The previous season, Ten Hag successfully led United to the Champions League and even won their first trophy for the club by beating Newcastle United to win the Carabao Cup. So Old Trafford fans could be forgiven for thinking the first few weeks of his second season as manager would be a little better, especially after welcoming back Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund.
However, quite the opposite has put pressure on the former Ajax coach to change things. Things didn’t go much better against Brighton & Hove Albion either, United losing 3-1 at home to the Seagulls. In his Caught Offside column following the defeat, Romano spoke about Ten Hag’s future, saying: “The home defeat to Brighton is obviously going to ring alarm bells for some fans, but I think Ten Hag did excellent work last season because.” The situation he had inherited was complicated.
“Now he needs time and also the return of some injured players, because many important players are not available for various reasons. I would say: keep calm and let Ten Hag work because he is a great coach. No panic.”
Only five games into the season and with his team struggling with numerous issues, it would be quite a difficult decision to sack Ten Hag. However, he is set to be a game-changer at Old Trafford after receiving such support during the summer transfer window. However, things are not easier for the manager. Rather the opposite. The Red Devils will then travel to Germany to face Bayern Munich in the first match of the Champions League group stage. With the pressure against such a talented team, Ten Hag will be hoping his side can get a surprise result to boost their season.
However, if things get worse, Romano’s ‘don’t panic’ verdict could suddenly fade as far as the decision-makers at Old Trafford are concerned.
Of course, patience will be required at the moment, but it will certainly be interesting to see how much time Ten Hag earned himself during his successful debut for Manchester United last season. A mistake quickly turns into a crisis, that’s for sure.
It’s been a tough few years for Everton fans, with their side reaching the top of the Championship in 2020 with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm and now struggling to avoid relegation year after year.
The Toffees have not finished in the top half of the Premier League since the 2018/19 season under Marco Silva, finishing 16th, 17th and 18th in the last three years.
Last season, Everton came close to relegation as they only secured relegation on the final day of the season after a clear 1-0 victory against Bournemouth.
One of the reasons for Everton’s decline is poor recruitment under owner Farhad Moshiri. But fortunately, a new era appears to be on the horizon as 777 Partners has signed an agreement to buy the Anglo-Iranian company’s entire 94.1 per cent stake in the Toffees. Since becoming an initial 49.9% shareholder in 2016, Moshiri has spent £530m on 31 players and by 2022 will have sold £130m worth of players for free.
One of these big flops was Oumar Niasse, who left Everton for free in July 2020 after signing in 2016.
Prior to the striker’s arrival in January 2016, Everton and manager Roberto Martínez had endured a difficult start to the Premier League season, winning just six of 23 matches.
After poor opening games, Everton spent £19 million in the January transfer window, with £13.5 million used on the Senegalese striker, making him Everton’s third most expensive signing at the time, after Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini.
After moving to the Merseyside outfit, the 33-year-old was keen on signing for the Toffees.
He said:
“It’s a big day for me, a big dream to play in the Premier League and a big dream to play for Everton. “Everton is one of the best teams in the Premier League and the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world.”
“I know Everton is one of the big clubs here in England with history, fans and great players, so I’m very excited and happy to be here.”
“I started watching Everton more since the start of October because I heard about their interest. I was interested to see how they play and how they have good young players.
Before joining Everton, Niasse enjoyed an impressive spell with Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia, where he made 40 appearances, scoring 19 goals and providing 14 assists, meaning he averaged a goal every 0, 82 matches.
The Senegalese international has also proven himself in the Europa League, scoring four goals and providing three assists in just six games. This earned him an average couch rating of 7.22, the highest on the team.
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