Erik ten Hag is not helping himself with baffling Manchester United decisions

The boos have returned at Old Trafford, the manager is under pressure and Manchester United appear to be stuck in purgatory.

Erik ten Hag was asked whether the dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League could be stopped in his first press conference as manager at the club and he replied: "Eras come to an end."

There were plenty of fans who lapped up that response but soundbites don't win matches and 17 months later, City are the bookies' favourites for the title and Aston Villa and Newcastle are shorter odds than United for top four.

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Ten Hag enjoyed an excellent first season, a trophy was won and Champions League football was secured, but the team has spectacularly regressed and the manager is beginning to look like a deer caught in the headlights.

United have a manager who cut his teeth working at the same club as Pep Guardiola, someone who received wide acclaim for taking European giants' scalps with Ajax and yet the same old problems have festered.

This film has been played before and the spoilers for the ending are available. This season is awfully familiar to the trainwreck 2021/22 campaign and it's damning that Ten Hag is facing similar accusations to his predecessor.

The team has gone backwards after signings that were supposed to take it forward, key players are underperforming and there are tactical concerns with the manager that are becoming harder to ignore each week.

The biggest criticism of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his final months in charge were the players looked tactically neglected. There was no semblance of a plan or a recognisable style of play and it feels like the