Manchester United have borne the brunt of a ruthless social media dig following their heavy defeat to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup. Erik ten Hag is unlikely to see the funny side as the result compounded what has been a miserable start to the season, with his managerial position now under threat.
Six out of seven United wins this campaign have come by a slim one-goal margin, but any kind of positive result will do for Ten Hag at present as he attempts to steady the ship at Old Trafford.
Manchester City’s 3-0 rout on Sunday was bad enough for supporters, but a second-string Newcastle side achieved the same scoreline on Wednesday to dump the Red Devils out of the Carabao Cup in brutal fashion.
The Domino’s pizza chain initially poked fun at United after the Manchester derby defeat, writing on X: “Sorry if your pizza is delayed tonight – our drivers are struggling to get through all the tears of Man Utd fans.”
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Following that up as full-time approached in the Newcastle game, they added: “Gonna need boats.” While Ten Hag stopped short of tears, he did acknowledge that the responsibility lies on his shoulders for a series of concerning performances.
“I see it as a challenge,” he said. “I am a fighter and I am in that fight and I have to make sure that I share the responsibility with my players and that we stick together and fight together, and get better results.
United legend Gary Neville has made it clear that Ten Hag needs to stop the rot in double-quick time ahead of a trip to Fulham on Saturday. “For Manchester United, in terms of team selection, style of play and how Erik ten Hag lifts them ahead of the weekend… I’m not quite sure,” he told Sky Sports.
“He claps the fans but he’s got some thinking to do, the manager. Some real thinking. He’s got to work out how he can get the best out of this group of players, very quickly.”
