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Keeping Erik ten Hag last summer ‘looks increasingly ridiculous’ but giving him any transfer input after Antony was ‘madness’. Man Utd are an absolute mess.

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.

Spiderman meme

Anyone else reckon that Ange’s team talk today was “Lads, it’s United”?

Dave (LFC), Galway

Overheard from Old Trafford away changing rooms around 4.25pm today: “Lads, it’s Man Utd.

Mate.”

Chris Bridgeman, Kingston upon Thames

Lads, it’s Tottenham.

Eoin (who’s getting the Utd job?) Ireland

“Lads, it’s Tottenham”.

Anon

Leaked WhatsApp

‘Hi Gareth. It’s Jim. Do you and Steve fancy doing a bit of cash in hand?

Scholes’ Ballsack (not as ugly as Ten Haag’s football)

MORE ON YET ANOTHER MAN UTD DEFEAT

👉 16 Conclusions on Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham: Ten Hag sack, Ugarte nightmare, Kulusevski dazzles

👉 Wasteful Tottenham still left laughing at Manchester United’s humiliation in Old Trafford rout

👉 Gary Neville calls for Man Utd inquisition after ‘absolutely disgusting’ defeat to Tottenham

Football is dead

Well let’s preface the rest of this by saying that Man Utd are sh*t. Absolute dross. You’ve probably got to say it’s the manager but there are a few players there that are stealing a living. Is the new ownership any better? Well that’s a longer term thing but sticking with a Ten Hag looks increasingly ridiculous – and I was very much in the #ETHIN camp before the season started.

Maybe when all the new signings gel and the young players mature he’ll turn out to be the second coming of Fergie. It looks increasingly unlikely though, and the odds were small to begin with.

Anyway, the point is that it’s very hard to watch your team get battered at home (lads – it’s f**king SPURS?!) but it just becomes pointless and futile when you give a red card like that. A foul? A yellow? Of course, it was cynical. A red? Not a cat in hells chance was that a red card if it happened the other way round. There’s too many games now that are getting spoiled by the refs and if anything this referee’s call stuff is making worse. Who’d have thought that sticking with the opinions of people who objectively don’t know what they’re doing was a bad idea? Remember when Havertz was strangled on the pitch and the player didn’t get sent off? Then how on earth was that a red card today. They’re making it up as they go along.

I will not be watching any more premier league football until PGMOL are binned off, they’re ruining the sport. Them and UEFA with their ridiculous European Super Leagues (WTAF). And FIFA with their corruption and obsession with footballers playing millions of games at all times of the year. And the Saudis and 115 Abu Dhabi City battling out a bore draw on a Saturday morning. It’s all sh*te.

And don’t think I’m sat here thinking Man Utd would have got back into the game if Bruno had still been on the pitch (how is it a red?!). Spurs already had the beating of Man Utd before then albeit without any ability to finish their chances. What the red card did was rob us of the chance to see Spurs embarrass Man Utd 11v11 and provide a legitimate excuse for Ten Hag.

Utter sh*te.

Ash Metcalfe

Yes we were poor in first half and Spurs could have been 3 up but 1-0 at halftime and anything could have happened. But no, officials ruin the game again as a spineless Mr Magoo in the VAR room doesn’t correct the horrific mistake made by the ref.

Anything that happens after the red card is irrelevant. Having said that, Bruno can do with a stint on the bench and a kick up the ass as he has been abject for most of this season.

Arsenal for the league to even out these injustices.

Garey Vance, MUFC

I’ve made a huge mistake

Man U fluking the FA cup last season is the worst thing that could have happened to them. Forced them to stick with ETH.

Stuck with a manager who doesn’t seem to acknowledge any of his faults. They are gonna come 6th at most this year. ETH gonna use injuries again as an excuse.

The only thing that could be funnier is if they sack ETH and hire Southgathe. He might actually end up being better but the short term immediate meltdown will be hilarious.

ABU since 98

Anon

Two 3-0 defeats at home in a row. Have Man Utd ever done that before in their history?

Unless I miscounted, Solskjaer (who had to go) lost by 3 goals or more five times over three years. We’ve only started Ten Hag’s third year and that was his tenth defeat by 3 goals or more as Man Utd manager. Six of those were at home, all 3-0 and to teams including Newcastle, Bournemouth and f**king Spurs. Also Liverpool twice in a row. Then there’s the likes of 4-0 at Palace and 3-0 at Sevilla.

Remember when everyone said the 7-0 to Liverpool was a freak result? It wasn’t.

Keeping him on after the FA Cup was just like giving Ole the job permanently because of the PSG game. Letting him have any input into signings after Antony is madness but they signed two more of his Ajax lads summer just gone anyway. I don’t see much difference between ineos and the last crowd at the moment.

Eamonn, Dublin

READ NEXT: Man Utd’s most humiliating Premier League defeats: Liverpool, Balotelli, Keane evisceration, Palace thumping

This is karma for 20 years of believing they would be the best team in the world forever.

And we’re all loving it.

Roll on manager no 7 to continue this gloriously expensive mediocrity.

rojapy

Keane learner

This shouldn’t need explaining but I assume it does to a Mailbox full of Arsenal fans this morning.

Man United being absolutely crap with 10 men (and also with 11 men), does not mean that Roy Keane was wrong to voice his opinion that Arsenal could have or should have been a bit more ambitious with 10 men.

One has nothing to do with the other.

Slightly hilarious, mind.

James, MUFC

Ugarte be kidding

Not a great day for you on Sunday, Man Utd fans.

You could analyse a number of things about it but that first goal, I mean Van der Ven, he just ran straight through that hole in the heart of your midfield, that really shouldn’t happen but it just keeps happening doesn’t it. Dear me.

But on the bright side, it’s just as well you’ve got that Ugarte bloke coming in – as you all keep saying, he’ll sort out that particular problem for you. An upgrade on Casemiro, for sure.

Oh no, wait. Hang on…..

– Andy H, Swansea

Ten Hag lacks emotional quotient

Trying to put my finger on the core of the issues after that non-performance from Man Utd. There are so many candidates for the foundational errors. Bruno Fernandes’s form and frustrations, Rashford’s continuing to flatter to deceive, the continued switching off, of the defence. 7 games in and a goal difference of minus 3 doesn’t augur well for the season. And the most damning thing is that man for man, you’d think Man Utd have a better team than Spurs.

I think Ten Hag’s problem is a bit like Rangnik’s issue as well. He knows the right thing to do, and has tactical ideas. He probably is a good analyst as well. But he’s just not getting into the heads and hearts of his players. Collectively the Man Utd players are switched off. Every action takes half a second to register. Players think of what to do after receiving the ball. Or are on their heels when being played through. Or are running the wrong way relative to the pass. Rangnik also consistently threw the players under the bus, which ETH doesn’t do. But he’s clearly unable to get them fired up. And this is with a core of players that he has managed before. Good managers have to manage both the analytical and emotional / mental side of the game. Having defended ETH all this time, I have to conclude that he is not able to get the players fired up. You can argue that managers shouldn’t need to at this level, but it’s always a key part of the game. At this point, There are at least half a dozen managers at so called smaller clubs in the Premier League who should be able to do a better job.

Bruno got a little unlucky with the red card but I suspect he’s running on fumes, having played himself into the ground for club and country for 2 years now. A couple of games out might actually be good for him. Zirkzee can play in his place. Meanwhile nobody has picked up that Rashford and Garnacho conspired to lose the ball from a position of good advantage for the first goal and Rashford just gave up after losing the ball.

Ved Sen (MUFC)

Hotspurred

Seventy five minutes gone, it’s clear to me that a top four place is beyond the reach of Erik’s abilities. Villa ( by a mile ), Chelsea, Newcastle and Hotspurs are a cut above.

When Sir Alex left, I stated to my United supporting boss, welcome to a new manager every 2 or 3 years. And here we are.

Uff, a third. Great for the travelling fans .

Perhaps Graham Potter might be interested. Looking for an Atleti win in the derby .

Peter. (Barca let in 4 , Ter Stegen being injured is a disaster)

Sunny & warm Andalucia.

MORE ON YET ANOTHER MAN UTD DEFEAT

👉 16 Conclusions on Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham: Ten Hag sack, Ugarte nightmare, Kulusevski dazzles

👉 Wasteful Tottenham still left laughing at Manchester United’s humiliation in Old Trafford rout

👉 Gary Neville calls for Man Utd inquisition after ‘absolutely disgusting’ defeat to Tottenham

All things must pass

Getting in there early, (writing in at 52 mins) but I think our perfect moment is ending, hence another musician title for my email.

Even Calvino and Garey Vance can’t justify this performance (though I am praying that they will somehow as, like most none Utd fans, I am desperate for ETH to stay).

‘Fred, AWB, Scott McT aren’t good enough for Utd, he’s getting rid of the deadwood’ but he’s replacing them with worse players.

It really is that simple.

Anyway, ETH, thanks for the memories. I can take solace that the FA Cup win saved your job and you managed to bring even more of your own players for the next manager to have to get rid of.

David (The fat lady is bellowing) Molby, Shrewsbury

📣TO THE COMMENTS! Should Man Utd sack Erik ten Hag? Join the debate here

Banter club

See, now what Bruno’s red card does is it gives Ten Hag (as well as Man Utd fans) a handy excuse and deflection point as to why they’ll have lost a game they were always meant to, even if they had twelve on the pitch today. Little doubt there will be many letters in tomorrow’s mailbox bemoaning the red as “controversy” but don’t let the deluge nor the deluded fool you, Spurs were winning this fixture from the off.

On Spurs though, I found the recent sentiments from someone who strangely referred to him- or herself as an AI fan (though if I were a supporter of The Tottenham, perhaps I’d also beg anonymity) rather lacking in any awareness or rationale. This person thought it strange Dave Tickner didn’t follow up with an effusive 16 conclusions on Spurs’ midweek Qarabag heroics. Two things here: 1) I actually always thought Tickner was a Spurs fan, but I don’t really know; and, 2) I actually watched much of that game and Qarabag was one of the worst sides I’ve ever seen (truly, and not hyperbole), yet they definitely had their chances and might’ve gotten a result on another day, despite the one-sided scoreline.

AI fans or not, why is it that Spurs supporters believe so piously in the elitism and superiority of their club when any and every factual evidence points so completely to the contrary. This has always mystified me. Is it due to their shoe-horning themselves behind the Big Six moniker ? Too easily I can think of at least five clubs with worthier credentials for their spot in a Big Six, and it’s such a stupid construct to begin with.

Here’s two shouts if I were to don an ill-fitting USA cap for a hot minute: the Los Angeles Clippers are the Tottenham Hotspur of the NBA. The Los Angeles Chargers are the Tottenham Hotspur of the NFL. Both these franchises play in the city in which I reside, and both are definitive banter franchises of the region and of their sport, who’ve long ago traded any chance of winning pedigree with perennial laughingstock status. But occasionally both the Clippers and Chargers will notch a big win somewhere, because such is sport. The unfortunate thing is, an occasional apex moment against a Qarabag yesterday or a crap Man Utd today will not suddenly undo a legacy of long-held, historic sporting failure.

Spurs could win a Carabao, FA Cup and Europa League treble this season and this combination of treble would be the most befitting of themselves. But I honestly don’t think it would move the needle much in terms of removing their deeply steeped premier banter-club status… it’s just been way too long now in the making.

Eric, Los Angeles CA (For a very long time Liverpool were linked with Timo Werner. And for a very long time I’ve said we’ve dodged the bluntest of Bavarian bullets there.)

A couple of things

Two issues to discuss for me after this weekend.

Erik may suck as a coach, but no one on this planet would whip that nightmare of a squad into shape. At the current state you’re far more likely to ruin [enter new player’s name] than he’s likely to fix your problems. You need a purge, and you need it soon.

Tomer, LFC (dark arts, winning ugly yada yada…)

Infamy, infamy

Not looking forward to Monday’s mailbox at all.

All those conspiracy theory emails all over again.

What’s that? Arsenal scored a goal when the ref didn’t give a free kick against them? An Arsenal player wasn’t sent off for a clear 2nd yellow card when the game was 2-2?

Who cares if they had 432 shots, 99.99% possession and 87 corners, it’s the decisions incorrectly given in your favour which have a bigger bearing on the result.

Apologies in the comments or by return please.

Howard (they’re yet to have a 90+ points season) Jones

Unconscious bias and Arsenal

With regards to Tom Leyton’s Mail on Sunday.

I agree with many of his points regarding the dysfunction in the PGMOL and the ‘mates club’ vibe it gives off.

However firstly, when yellow cards can be given for a multitude of one off reasons and accumulative fouling, a yellow card/foul ratio is a pretty poor set of data to base conclusions from. A team that is gobby towards the ref and kicking the ball away may accumulate more yellows despite fouling less. Less unconscious bias more idiotic players.

Secondly, if you are aware of unconscious bias and are concerned about its effects then surely you can weaponise this too? Notice that Villa (like very team) have had contentious decisions that have cost us points yet not once has Emery even mentioned them. Brian Clough told his players to be unquestionably polite to referees for exactly the same reason. Unconsciously, the referee may look forward to taking charge of your matches instead of worrying about your players/fans/managers hysterical reactions. Given the ego on some of these referees do you not think, unconsciously, you are bringing it upon yourselves?

To finish, the defence that everyone else gets away with it does not wash in primary schools or the justice system. It is not the high moral ground many people think it is.

Funstar (how about the arsenal fella that should have get a second yellow yesterday… unconscious bias or conspiracy?) Andy

Corner shop

Further to Ron Jeremias mail published on Sunday, and other previous missives about Arsenal corners, I’ll come straight out and admit I haven’t read actual rules (which would make me no different to most pundits to be fair).

But, surely if it isn’t against the rules to prevent the goalkeeper from leaving his line in order to catch or punch the ball it really should be. Regardless of whether the blocking players move or stand still, they are preventing the goalkeeper from making a legitimate defensive action, which is an obstruction, right?

If Arsenal are doing nothing wrong according to the current rules, then fair play to them as what they are doing, they are doing well. If no offence is being committed then it’s up to their opponents to come up with some other way to counter it.

Adam, LFC, Montreal.

Chelsea’s plan

Sometimes I think what if Chelsea’s plan all along was to sign a load of talented young players on long contracts, throw them in at the deep end during the chaos of the post Abramovic culture change and see which players could handle it. To forge a group of young players in adversity and then see which ones stick together and grow together. To create the bonds and resiliance that will be needed as this squad continues its journey from car crashing into a burning train wreck to the Champions League. What if they are waiting for the new team to fully form before they add a lethal #9? What if they move to Wembley for 5 years while they rebuild Stamford Bridge and sell the extra 7.5 million tickets and boxes for £1 billion?

Then I remember they made Frank Lampard manager and realise I must be dreaming.

Ben

Gordon the diver?

Wrong from whoever in Newcastle.

Everyone else on the BBC updates did it for me.

I have accepted that he’s the league’s biggest cheat, maybe you should too.

Fat Man (+Everton won so a little more sanguine than normal)

Proxy war

After watching the City and Newcastle game the other day I realized I was just watching two oil states engage in a proxy war. Is the future of football, just nation states buying teams to compete against each other? If so this could start to heat up a bit. Could a particular nasty injury to a star player kick off an international incident? I think it would make the premier league a bit more exciting knowing that a last minute winner headed in from Dan Burns could trigger WW3.

Conor Maximus, LFC

An article request

You did one about Potter going to Everton who have no wins.

Everton go on to win over the weekend.

Can you guys please write one about Wolves this week ( we are getting desperate).

Erik ten Hag has been blasted for “talking nonsense”, while Manchester United’s performance against Tottenham Hotspur “will lead to him getting the sack”.

Ten Hag has been heavily criticised after Man Utd produced their worst performance of the season in their damaging 3-0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Red Devils played half of the match with ten men but were on track to lose comfortably before Bruno Fernandes was sent off as Tottenham were well in control. Goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke secured them a well-deserved 3-0 victory.

The Dutchman was under pressure last season, but he kept his job after helping Man Utd beat arch-rivals Man City at Wembley in the FA Cup final.

After Man Utd were linked with several potential replacements, Ten Hag penned a one-year contract extension to commit his future to the club until 2026.

However, Ten Hag is currently among the favourites to be the next Premier League manager sacked and his recent interviews have received backlash.

MORE ON YET ANOTHER MAN UTD DEFEAT

👉 16 Conclusions on Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham: Ten Hag sack, Ugarte nightmare, Kulusevski dazzles

👉 Wasteful Tottenham still left laughing at Manchester United’s humiliation in Old Trafford rout

👉 Ten Hag sack unavoidable but Man Utd players ‘stealing a living’ and Rashford ‘just gave up’

Before the Tottenham match, Ten Hag claimed patience is required with Man Utd as they have focused on signing young players. In response to this claim, ex-Feyenoord manager and midfielder Willem van Hanegem has hit out at his compatriot, claiming he’s “talking so much nonsense”.

“Manchester United are so mediocre, you just don’t believe it. That was also evident on Sunday against Spurs,” Van Hanegem said.

“Even crazier is that Ten Hag keeps saying the strangest things. The money he was allowed to spend to strengthen his team would give a horse the hiccups. But he keeps talking about a young team, young signings and they are still in a process or something.

“I saw the starting XI against Twente, with the ages: Onana (28), Mazraoui (26), Maguire (31), Martínez (26), Dalot (25), Ugarte (23), Fernandes (30), Eriksen (32), Diallo (22), Zirkzee (23) and Rashford (26). That wasn’t the B1 [reserve team] or something, right?

“What a load of nonsense. I wouldn’t dare say it all, that nonsense. Yes, that Danish striker Rasmus Højlund came on. He’s 21, but worth €65m. How is it possible that someone at such a big club can keep talking so much nonsense?”

READ: Scholes questions why ‘dead’ Man Utd signed £43m man after Spurs loss: ‘Give us something!’

After the Spurs matches, Ten Hag boldly claimed Man Utd had enough chances to get back in the game.

Following this claim, former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said Ten Hag has “verbal diarrhoea” and the 3-0 loss against Tottenham “will lead to him getting the sack”.

“Ten Hag has verbal diarrhoea. I don’t know what game he was watching. The lap at the end is a lap for losers,” Sutton said.

He later added: “No finer sight in the Premier League than Angeball played at its best…the pile on earlier on this season was so over the top… for Erik ten hag that’s the type of performance which will lead to him getting the sack.”

Gary Neville believes Manchester United put in an ‘absolutely disgusting performance’ in their 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur, saying serious questions need to be answered by the players and by manager Erik ten Hag.

Ange Postecoglou’s side ran riot right from the very start at Old Trafford, with Brennan Johnson tapping in the opener after just three minutes following an unchallenged run up the left from Tottenham defender Micky van der Ven.

Spurs wasted numerous chances in the rest of the first half as Manchester United were repeatedly half-hearted and sluggish in their defensive efforts, with Johnson hitting the post and Andre Onana stopping two one-on-one opportunities that should have been buried.

Bruno Fernandes was dismissed for a high challenge late in the first half, and Dejan Kulusevski’s volleyed flick over Onana off a deflected cross within two minutes of the restart killed off any remaining hopes of a United comeback.

Ten Hag’s side briefly and belated showed a bit of spirit in response but were unable to find a goal, and Dominic Solanke poked home from close range off a flicked-on corner to round off an excellent day for Spurs – and a nightmare afternoon for United.

Former Red Devils and England full-back Neville said on the final whistle: “Brilliant from Tottenham, and we should talk about that first, because it shouldn’t be lost that we’d be saying pretty harsh words about Ange Postecoglou [and] Spurs if they were on the receiving end of this type of performance today.

“They were outstanding. They played really good football from minute one, they settled into the game and they got really good goals at the right times, and their £60m man (Solanke) gets one as well. Van der Ven was special for that first goal.

“But for Manchester United…the Manchester United fans boo the referee going off in that corner, but that’s only half the story. The story today is that in that first half…you can’t say ‘from nowhere’, because Manchester United have been inconsistent all season, but they have chosen to put in the very worst performance, their very worst possible showing.

“It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half, in effort, quality, everything you want in a football team. There are going to be a lot of questions to answer for that group and the manager in the next week.”

Graham Potter is “ready to return” to management, but where could he go? Here are five possible Premier League destinations for the former Chelsea boss…

Out of work for over 18 months, Potter has taken plenty of time to reset since leaving Stamford Bridge in April 2023.

He’s presumably made the most of this time off by having plenty of lavish holidays funded by the payoff from his five-year Chelsea contract. But he’s got the itch for management again and could foreseeably return before this season finishes.

It has been intimated that the England job could lure Potter back into the game, but his confessed preference for “day-to-day” management suggests he has his eye on another club job when he makes his comeback.

But who could take him? Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur, perhaps? The Big Six pair are among five potential next moves for Potter…

Brentford

Our beloved Tickers was ahead of the curve in predicting Potter’s imminent return as he raised Brentford as a left-field option for the 49-year-old.

While this move could raise a few eyebrows as critics consider whether he could do better than the Bees, it would actually make a lot of sense.

Brentford are unlikely to be without a manager anytime soon as the only way I can see them and Thomas Frank going their separate ways is if the amiable Dane is plucked away by a supposed bigger club.

Pep Guardiola was recently glowing in his praise for Frank, who is said to deserve a “big move”. For whatever reason, the Brentford boss has always been overlooked by the Premier League elite but were this to stop, the London outfit would be wise to turn to Potter.

While the former Chelsea head coach may prefer to hold out for a club with a higher ceiling, few Premier League teams present a lesser risk than Brentford and this move would be sensible as he gets his foot back in the door.

READ NEXT: Big Weekend: Man United v Tottenham, Man City, McKenna, Diaz, German title clash

Everton

Alternatively, Potter could always go the other way and take a risk with relegation-threatened Everton.

The Toffees were one of last season’s surprise packages as they – even with a points deduction – comfortably avoided relegation from the Premier League under Sean Dyche. But their winless start to the season is a cause for concern for supporters in their final season at Goodison Park and this could be the year they *finally* fall through the trap door.

Everton ideally only need to scrape through this campaign without it becoming a disaster ahead of next season’s stadium move as they can look optimistically into the future under new owners, the Friedkin Group.

They could be made to endure plenty of pain in the process and this has pre-emptively seen them linked with former boss David Moyes.

We’ve already given you eight reasons for and against Moyes coming back. The stars could align perfectly for the Scotsman’s return but nostalgia aside, he would be a like-for-like Dyche replacement and the veteran is unlikely to oversee a required seismic change.

Whereas Potter – who is reportedly one of Everton’s preferred alternatives – would forge optimism at the start of a new era by positively overhauling their style of play while the club, for the first time in a while, can look forward rather than purely focusing on stabilising in the Premier League.

Manchester United

While Potter to Man Utd is not quite as dramatic as Vincent Kompany’s undeserved move to Bayern Munich, it would still represent a manager falling upward after a failure.

Potter was one of several managers linked with Man Utd in the summer as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his recruitment dilly-dallied with their supposed post-season review before eventually sticking with Erik ten Hag.

However, Ratcliffe was not overly enthusiastic in his backing of Ten Hag as the Dutchman was only given a measly one-year contract extension and Man Utd’s poor start to the season has their head coach on the plank again.

Man Utd sacking Ten Hag feels inevitable after his frail side made the same old mistakes in their 1-1 draw against FC Twente in midweek and Potter is among the favourites to replace him.

MORE MAN UTD MESS ON F365…

👉 Manchester United certain to sack Ten Hag now worse manager has ‘piled pressure on’

👉 Ten Hag sack? Man Utd stance revealed by Romano amid ‘a matter of time’ claim; four managers eyed

👉 Ten Hag explains who to ‘blame’ for Manchester United being bad – and the answer will shock you

Tottenham Hotspur

The loveable Aussie became the tetchy Aussie as he was weighed down by Spurs’ uncompromising insistence of diverting into being a shambles. The Ange Postecoglou sack talk was raised again after their poor performance in their North London derby defeat to Arsenal.

Postecoglou put pressure on himself when he insisted after his side’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal that he always achieves success in his second season at a club and it’s certainly about time they put their miserable Europa League record right.

Spurs have racked up three straight wins across all competitions, but his future is far from secure ahead of what could be a decisive match – for both sides – at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Sunday.

Potter was mooted as the perfect candidate for Spurs before Postecoglou arrived. But should Ange-ball continue to deliver mixed results, he could soon be back in the frame.

READ NEXT: Gakpo, Nkunku, Sterling among the Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea backups to shine in Carabao Cup

West Ham United

The Hammers opted against overseeing a major culture shift in the summer as they replaced Moyes with Julen Lopetegui. The two veteran bosses are renowned for their pragmatic tactical approach and the Spaniard is yet to get the desired results.

On paper at least, the Hammers did some brilliant transfer business in the summer, but their new additions are yet to bed in and Lopetegui is reportedly already under pressure.

Lopetegui did a great job in his short spell at Wolves and is especially respected in Spain. But his move to West Ham was puzzling and if they were willing to appoint the 58-year-old, they may as well have stuck with his Scottish variant.

If the Hammers board do not go running back to Moyes with their tail between their legs, Potter would be an interesting alternative and the Englishman should lap up the challenge of getting the best out of West Ham’s immense breadth of attacking options.

Manchester United host Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. These two are very evenly matched and that reflects in our combined XI.

GK: Andre Onana (Manchester United)

It’s quite close between Onana and Guglielmo Vicario but the Man Utd man gets the nod. He cost the Red Devils more points than he won in the Champions League and the Tottenham man didn’t really cost his new side any points, but since both arrived in England last summer, we have been more impressed with the Cameroonian.

To be honest, this was a 50-50 so if you disagree that is fair enough.

RB: Pedro Porro (Tottenham)

Porro is usually unlucky to be snubbed in these when up against other clubs in the big six but he comfortably gets in ahead of Noussair Mazraoui.

His transfer to Spurs was a confusing one considering he was signed by Antonio Conte and appeared to be an out-and-out wing-back. Conte’s departure was inevitable and his future at the club seemed to depend on what formation the next manager wanted to play.

When Ange Postecoglou joined, it felt like Porro would not get much of a chance as a right-back but he has been first choice there and has barely put a foot wrong. He has probably been the most consistent performer in Postecoglou’s team.

CB: Cristian Romero (Tottenham)

Another very consistent player at Spurs is World Cup winner Romero. He has played every minute for the Londoners this season and last term, Spurs only won one of the five he missed, losing at Wolves, at home to Aston Villa, and being thumped by Brighton.

Out of every centre-back at both clubs, Romero is comfortably the best.

CB: Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United)

Romero partners his Argentina teammate Martinez at the back. This position was pretty tough. Matthijs de Ligt could easily get in, as could Micky van de Ven. Ultimately, we have gone with Romero and Martinez.

Man Utd are definitely a worse team without Martinez and they probably wouldn’t have won the FA Cup had he not returned for the final, which ultimately saved Erik ten Hag’s job and got the club into Europe.

LB: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)

Destiny Udogie is very unfortunate to miss out but Dalot’s ability to perform in an incohesive side makes him our first choice in left-back.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Luke Shaw returns from injury. He will surely get back in Ten Hag’s starting XI and if he does, we imagine Dalot will move over to right-back and Mazraoui will drop to the bench. Dropping the Portuguese would be very harsh.

MORE ON MAN UTD FROM F365

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👉 Big Weekend: Man United v Tottenham, Man City, McKenna, Diaz, German title clash

CM: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

Man Utd captain Fernandes walks into this team, as he usually does with our combined XIs. And as we always say, love him or hate him, he’s a terrific footballer.

CM: Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)

Spurs fans will probably disagree with Mainoo over Yves Bissouma but here we are. Is it English bias? No, I’m Scottish? Is it bias against one team or the other? No, I hate them both.

Mainoo is a fantastic young player and if Manuel Ugarte can find his feet, we will get to see the very best of him.

CM: James Maddison (Tottenham)

After a streak of Man Utd players, we are back discussing a Tottenham star. That star is Maddison, who scored his first goal of the season in last weekend’s victory at home to Brentford.

Maddison only has five goals in a Spurs shirt but his 11 assists is a solid return in 36 appearances. Postecoglou’s side suffered without the England international last season after an incredible start to life at the club. He did quite well when he returned but Maddison’s output – as it tends to do – waned in the latter stages of the season. Spurs will hope that isn’t the case again in 2024/25.

RW: Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)

Garnacho has not got properly up and running this season but he is still Man Utd’s best attacker. The competition isn’t great, to be fair.

LW: Son Heung-min (Tottenham)

Son has blown hot and cold under Postecoglou but is still an easy decision in most combined XIs we do.

He only has two goals in seven appearances this season but will benefit from having Dominic Solanke in the attack with him, while Brennan Johnson is scoring goals for fun at the minute.

ST: Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)

There are three strikers to choose from: Solanke, Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee. We think it was pretty straightforward to go with the Spurs man, who has proven he can score regularly in Our League.

Last season, he found the back of the net 19 times in the top flight and has two in two for Spurs – who paid a club-record fee to sign him from Bournemouth in the summer – going into the clash at Old Trafford.

Alan Shearer has made his Premier League predictions with the Newcastle United legend forseeing a draw between Man Utd and Tottenham.

Both the Red Devils and Spurs have had mixed starts to the new Premier League season with the two sides winning two, drawing one and losing two matches so far.

A victory for Erik ten Hag or Ange Postecoglou will catapult them up the table at this early stage of the season and leave the other manager under intense pressure.

And Shearer reckons the Premier League rivals will hold each other to a score draw on Sunday with lots of chances created for both teams.

Shearer told The Metro: “This is a huge game in terms of the top four. Both teams haven’t had the start they wanted albeit Spurs won last weekend, it’s a really tough one to call. Both teams aren’t in great form. It won’t be a great result for either team but I can see this being a draw.

“It was really interesting of Ten Hag to leave Marcus Rashford out, which I found really strange. Whether it was because of a knock or for a disciplinary reason, whatever it was, when you’re a forward and you haven’t scored for such a long time, you get your goal and then another two in midweek, then you’re left out three or four days later. I found it really strange.

“My guess is that he’ll be back in the team this week and if he can take the form from the last two games, he’ll be a key figure in what happens for Man United. He always is.

“Spurs have players that can hurt United. James Maddison is a top player, he’s one of the players that could say he played his part and did okay during Spurs’ slow start to the season. I’m a fan of his, I like what he brings to the team and he got his goal last weekend. Confidence wise, that’ll be great for him and he’ll play a huge part, absolutely.

“If Spurs do get into those positions and turn chances into goals then it’ll be tough for Man United as well because they do give you chances and that’s why I see it being a score draw.”

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Shearer is also predicting victories for Liverpool and Arsenal, with the two Premier League title rivals set to gain points on leaders Man City.

On Arsenal against Leicester City, Shearer added: “I can’t see Arsenal being as defensive in this one as they were for the second half at the Etihad! It’d be a huge surprise if Leicester took a point back. I can’t see it happening with the form that Arsenal are in and the confidence and belief they’ll take from last week’s result. I won’t go with anything crazy, I just see a convincing home win.”

On Liverpool’s trip to Wolves, Shearer continued: “Wolves did alright for large parts of the game against Aston Villa but I think Liverpool will have too much for them in forward positions so I’ll go for an away win.”

And Shearer reckons Newcastle will hold Man City to a draw at St James’ Park this weekend, he said: “Over the years, we’ve seen some blockbuster games between Newcastle and City at St Jame’s Park, and I’m expecting the same again for a couple of reasons.

“Newcastle’s cup game has been cancelled so they have a free week in terms of no midweek football. Man City on the other hand will go into the game without Rodri. Having said that, Man City can still hurt you with the players they have.

“It’ll be a really tough game. City will still be favourites for the title and favourites for this game but it’ll be a really good atmosphere and Newcastle will have to feed off that.

“When you’re as poor as they were against Fulham, you have a right of response and they have to respond in the right way because, prior to last week, without playing well they were getting results, so the match against Fulham was a bit of an eye opener and a reminder to who and what Newcastle are.

“So many games last year and the year before, Newcastle’s identity was about pressing teams, being aggressive, putting teams under huge pressure with energy and determination and we haven’t seen that yet this season so they have to get that back into their game. If they can do that on Saturday then it’ll be really tough for Man City. I’m going to go for a draw.”

The Barclays Crisis Club heavyweight title is on the line at Old Trafford as Manchester United face Spurs, while Man City face another tough test after the Arsenal battle and Luis Diaz gets the ideal chance to continue his fine goalscoring form.

Game to watch: Manchester United v Tottenham

A game between two teams locked together in mid-table on seven unconvincing points from five unconvincing games, teetering on the crisis club precipice with both managers under severe pressure.

Potentially far more fun for everyone else, then, than the tawdry spectacle served up last weekend when the biggest game of the weekend was between two teams who are really good. How boring. Give us flaws. Give us managers flailing around, trying to assert their credentials by pleading for time to develop younger players or the increasingly passive-aggressive use of the word ‘mate’. That’s Barclays heritage.

The worry for both these teams is that so far this season they have answered precisely none of the questions that existed about them coming into the campaign. United are making all the same mistakes in all the same ways as last season, with little evidence Erik ten Hag is about to hit upon a solution that survives a stress test of more than two or three games, while the inherent vulnerabilities of high-wire Angeball continue to be laid bare, with further questions about whether the ensuing attacking output generated is even really that good or worth it.

Funny thing about Spurs, though: they currently find themselves on a three-game winning run for the first time this year. It is perhaps the least convincing three-game winning run in the history of the sport, but a three-game winning run it nevertheless is.

And while that run may lack for compelling quality, it doesn’t lack for balls. Having scored two late goals to avoid humiliation in the Carabao at Coventry, Spurs were again required to come from a goal down in the Premier League against Brentford. There’s a decent case for saying this was Spurs’ best league performance of 2024, which is itself to damn with faint praise, but there was a purpose and directness to their football in the face of that early setback that had been sorely lacking.

Against Qarabag in the shiny (sh*te) new Europa League they ought to be prioritising, Spurs found themselves not a goal but a man down in the early stages and will have expended more effort and energy than might have been hoped in securing that 3-0 win.

But at least it was a win; United, for their part, could manage only a 1-1 home draw with Twente in the same competition on the back of last weekend’s stalemate against winless Crystal Palace in the league.

It’s a familiar one step forward, two steps back for Ten Hag’s team and this is a huge game now for both sides. Spurs are in urgent need of a result against someone half-decent having lost their last seven ‘big eight’ fixtures in the Premier League. United require some evidence that this season is going to look any different to the last, and a win in a fixture they were lucky to escape with a 2-2 draw last season would be something.

Defeat for either leaves their league season in serious early distress, in all probability already seven points adrift of the top four, and will increase the volume of those already really quite loud questions that have been echoing around since last season.

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Team to watch: Manchester City

It really shouldn’t be forgotten just how ordinary City looked against Arsenal’s 10 men last weekend. The late drama and swirling noise should not distract from how poor it was, and City must get straight back to business with a dangerous trip to a Newcastle side who have yet to truly convince this season but have proved mighty adept at snaffling plenty of points regardless.

City ought to win, of course, because that’s nearly always the case. An uneasy truce may have been declared between dug-out and boardroom at St James’ Park but it’s clear all is not well after a difficult summer, and the 10 points they won from their first four games flattered them long before last weekend’s sound beating at Fulham.

City have little room for error with all of last season’s top four on their tails again and this is a tougher fixture than Pep Guardiola might have liked to see on the itinerary after the stress and effort of last Sunday.

City do at least have the advantage of going first in the Saturday lunchtime slot rather than having to respond to the efforts of their rivals. Given City face Newcastle and Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa face Leicester, Wolves and Ipswich respectively, that may be just as well.

Manager to watch: Kieran McKenna

It’s been an interesting start to life back in the Premier League for Ipswich. And despite still searching for a first win five games into the season, a largely encouraging one. The only defeats have come against Liverpool and Man City, neither of them humiliating, followed by draws against Fulham, Brighton and Southampton.

There has been nothing to suggest Ipswich are going to be unable to compete in this division under their impressive young manager, but at some point it would be lovely to see that first win ticked off to prove it can be a season of more than just avoiding embarrassment.

The visit of Aston Villa gives McKenna and his side another chance to test themselves against the division’s current elite before a sequence of games around the interlull that look far more likely to provide opportunities for that first win with West Ham, Everton, Brentford and Leicester a run rich with potential if this weekend can be negotiated without too much unpleasantness.

Player to watch: Luis Diaz

A Liverpool team in rich goalscoring form head this weekend to a Wolves side that has already shipped six at home to Chelsea and must fear a repeat dose.

Liverpool, with one notable and costly exception, have made an excellent start to life under Arne Slot and the sheer depth of their attacking talent was in evidence as a much-changed side sauntered to a familiar-sounding 5-1 Carabao victory over poor old West Ham this week.

Slot’s first seven games haven’t perhaps been the toughest set of fixtures imaginable, but they have yielded 18 goals with the obvious prospect of more to come against what is currently the division’s joint-leakiest defence.

And one player in particular who appears to be enjoying the new regime is Luis Diaz. He’s always been an eye-catching part of Liverpool’s attack, but one for whom the numbers haven’t quite matched the visuals.

That’s all changed this season. After scoring 16 goals in 67 Premier League appearances under Jurgen Klopp, it’s currently five in five for the Colombian under Slot. Sure, that may only be half as much as Erling Haaland, but it’s more than anyone else and that feels rather more relevant.

Diaz is in the finest goalscoring form of his Liverpool career, and there’s not many teams you’d rather face while in that form than Wolves right now.

Football League game to watch: Sheffield Wednesday v West Brom

It’s Sky Sports+ for the pick of the weekend’s Championship games as surprise leaders West Brom take their unbeaten record north to Sheffield and a Wednesday team once again deeply embroiled in the relegation picture despite starting the season with a thumping 4-0 win over Plymouth.

It’s been just one point from five subsequent games for Danny Rohl’s side, who finished last season so impressively to beat the drop. West Brom, on the other hand, go from strength to strength. They finished fifth last season but a full 12 points behind fourth-place Southampton and lost in the play-off semi-finals.

They appear to be a different beast this season, though, dropping only two points in six games via a draw with Leeds and boasting the league’s top scorer in Josh Maja.

This is the Baggies’ fourth year in the Championship, their longest such stint since their first relegation from the Premier League back in 2003. They’ve always found yo-yoing back into the top flight relatively straightforward when it’s previously been required, never taking more than two seasons about it and finishing no lower than fourth.

It’s been harder graft this time, but the trend is at least in the right direction after finishes of 10th, ninth and fifth. Early signs suggest a team capable of avoiding any more play-off unpleasantness.

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European game to watch: Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen

There are two European must-watches really this weekend, with the Madrid derby on Sunday. But that’s already starting to look like a scramble for the minor placings in La Liga given the form of Barcelona, so forced to choose one we’ll take what looks like a crucial early title clash in Germany.

It’s the perennial champs against last season’s upstarts and a game that feels like it carries a similar early yet potentially season-defining heft as last week’s Premier League clash between Man City and Arsenal.

Having, to their eternal shame, lost a domestic game of football already this season, Bayer are on the back foot heading to Munich to face the leaders, who have four wins from four and appear in no mood for f***ing about this time.

A win for Bayern opens up a six-point lead that even this early in the season would appear to be a formidable one, but it’s never quite as straightforward as that with this odds-defying Leverkusen outfit.

Tottenham begin their latest Europa League campaign tonight. It is a tournament in which Spurs, even by well-established Spursy standards, have a miserable record.

The Europa League occupies a uniquely singular spot in Spurs’ trophy-dodging efforts of the last 16 years. It is a competition they consider beneath them, yet one which has also often proved quite significantly above them.

Since the UEFA Cup was rebranded in 2009, Spurs have had seven goes at it along with six in the Champions League. It’s close enough to an even split, and in stupid yet on-brand fashion they have a far better record in the latter.

As well as the 2019 final, Spurs have reached a Champions League quarter-final and the last 16 three further times. Only once have they failed to get out of the group.

In their seven sniffy attempts at the Europa League they have made it as far as the last eight only once, and then no further. Three last-16 exits match their Big Cup efforts, while there’s also a pair of last-32 exits – one of which represented the first Europa hurdle after dropping down from the Champions League.

Their last crack at this tournament in 2020/21 was perhaps the most ignominious of all, ending in last-16 humiliation for Jose Mourinho’s side against Dinamo Zagreb. Having won the first leg 2-0 in London, Spurs were stunned by a 3-0 defeat in the return against a side whose manager had recently been sentenced to prison.

It’s a part of the story Mourinho always leaves out, for some reason, when complaining that he was denied his God-given right to lead Spurs out in the Carabao Cup final against Man City shortly afterwards.

There is surely no club of Spurs’ size to have had more goes at the rebadged Europa League and do so little with them, and all while viewing the competition with a uniquely arrogant and unjustified disdain.

It is a tournament that, in the time Spurs have been turning their noses up at it while winning sod all else, has been won multiple times by Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, as well as Porto and Manchester United. Arsenal have been beaten in the final, as have United, Liverpool, Ajax, Inter, Roma and Bayer Leverkusen.

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Spurs, frankly, have no right to be as sniffy as they historically have been about a tournament that offers a plausible – often their most plausible – route to notable silverware at a club in urgent need of such a thing.

This year’s collision between Spurs and the Europa is thus a particularly fascinating one. We’re genuinely intrigued as to how they’ll approach it.

There are reasons to suppose the answer is ‘properly, for once’. It certainly should be. For one, there’s Ange Postecoglou’s self-constructed petard about always winning things in his second season. Already, the options there are pretty bare. The Premier League title is out of the question, obviously, the Carabao could have gone once again at the very first hurdle but now requires clearing the most significant of all in the last 16, and the FA Cup is a long and unpredictable road the navigating of which requires both luck and skill.

Spurs have, it must also be noted, displayed desperately little of either in that tournament recently as well, having failed to go beyond the last 16 in their last six attempts.

The Europa League, then, offers both the biggest and most realistic route to success for Postecoglou and his team. They have absolutely no excuse not to give it their full attention.

Well, almost no excuse. Because here’s the other thing, of course, that makes Spurs’ approach here so tricky to unpick: the format. We’ve covered this in quite some detail already, with all the same problems with this set-up from the Champions League applying to the Europa League, but with knobs on because the standard of opponent is patchier still.

There is, if anything, even less peril about the ‘league phase’ here, and no matter what Spurs do they should still find themselves by hook or by crook in the top 24 when the music stops.

The fact the league stage extends into January also gives clubs even more opportunity to take stock and assess the lay of the land and prioritise accordingly. We can help Spurs out here; this is their priority. They do not and have not for really quite a long time now appear a side equipped to challenge for a Champions League spot via the league. They are absolutely a side that could, with a sprinkling of luck and a following wind, pick a path through Europe’s second-tier opponents. And there are no Champions League dropouts to worry about in the knockouts now.

Such are the tension-free, low-stakes nature of the early rounds, Spurs could be forgiven for treating tonight’s game roughly the way they did the Carabao trip to Coventry, with near-disastrous consequences. They also have a league game at Manchester United this weekend to consider.

But even with this format and other upcoming tasks, we’d love to see Spurs take this very seriously from very early on. From tonight.

It’s not just that it’s a chance to lay down a marker for how they see this competition in general, it’s also just sensible use of resources. The very nature of this tournament means the eight-match fixture list will vary significantly in standard. Spurs have a gentle start, with Qarabag followed by Ferencvaros and AZ Alkmaar before things step up a notch with Galatasaray away and Roma at home giving things more of a ‘Champions League group stage’ vibe.

Yet the chance is there for Spurs to make those games the ones they needn’t worry about. It’s not Spurs’ fault the format is cooked and that making a decent start in what are on paper some of the easier challenges will go a long way to securing a place in the knockout rounds. They must take that chance.

Some rotation is inevitable and understandable. But these are not nights where we want to see Postecoglou doing the eight or nine changes dance. We want to see Spurs show some proper respect to a tournament they have treated shabbily in the past.

Who knows, they might even surprise themselves and actually do quite well. And at least this way if they still make a big ol’ bollocks of it then it’ll be even funnier for everyone else. Win-win.

Can you name the Tottenham XI that turned over Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2018?

Spurs go to United on Sunday having enjoyed some big wins at Old Trafford in recent years.

In 2020, under Mourinho, they rattled six past the Red Devils. But two years prior to that, Mourinho was in charge of the hosts, who went down 3-0 to Pochettino’s side, which went all the way to the Champions League final.

Can you recall the XI that piled the pressure on Mourinho as United boss?

As ever, leave your scores on the leaderboard or Below The Line.

If you enjoyed that and need more reasons to dodge work, we’ve got plenty more quizzes here. And our friends at Planet Football have even more.

In the meantime, make sure you don’t miss these…

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Manchester City will travel to face Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Holders Liverpool have been given an away tie against Brighton, while Manchester United are at home against Premier League strugglers Leicester City.

Championship outfit Preston’s reward for seeing off top-flight Fulham in a dramatic penalty shoot-out last week is a home game with Arsenal.

Fellow second-tier sides Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke go to Brentford and Southampton respectively.

There is another all-Premier League tie as Aston Villa host Crystal Palace, and a potential one if Newcastle get past League Two AFC Wimbledon, with the winners of that game to face Chelsea at home.

The AFC Wimbledon-Newcastle contest was due to be played at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Tuesday night but was switched to St James’ Park next Tuesday after the former was affected by flooding.

The fourth-round games are scheduled to take place in the week commencing October 28.

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Arsenal beat Bolton 5-1 at the Emirates on Wednesday night to advance in the competition. 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri had a night to remember as he netted a brace for the Gunners.

Speaking post-match, Mikel Arteta admitted the teenager is “ahead” of schedule and “will have the minutes”.

“You can tell he is playing with a confidence and belief and an understanding of what he needs to do on the pitch,” Arteta said.

“In his journey with the first team he is always ahead of what everybody expected and I expected, too. He deserves that and he is part of us so he will have the minutes.”

On starting 16-year-old Jack Porter, he added: “We told him yesterday and he was over the moon.

“He spoke straightaway to his family and they were not prepared for that.

“It is a big step, a big occasion for them and I think they were nervous about it. But he reacted really well, he was really composed in training and his team-mates helped him, too. What an experience and what a way to break a record.”

On a night filled with positives for Arteta, on-loan Chelsea attacker Sterling also broke his duck as he extended Arsenal’s lead around the hour mark.

“It was very good performance by Raheem,” continued Arteta.

“He is getting better and better and you can tell physically he is making steps. He was involved in a few goals so it was a very strong night for him.”