As a Manchester United fan, there is not a single day of peace and quiet. Not one!
Source: Telegraph
But from the many negative stories I would only like to focus on Jadon Sancho's fall out with Ten Hag. If there is anybody who is surprised with this outcome, then they haven't been paying attention.
If you fall under that category, maybe it would help if we took it from the top, from where it all begun!
Signing Jadon Sancho - 21/22 Season
Despite Man United signing Sancho in the summer of the 21/22 season, it is important to remember that the club were in for him the previous summer window before Dortmund pulled the plug. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have to wait another year in order to get his man.
The club and the manager at the time were convinced they were getting one of the most versatile forwards in the world. Yet it didn't take too long to see that something wasn't completely right with Sancho. He struggled to fit into the squad and many chalked it up to Ole's lack of tactics and player development skills.
So, when Ole was sacked that season, everybody was expecting to see Sancho kick on. Despite playing 38 games, he only managed 5 goals and 3 assists across all competitions. His underwhelming numbers were yet again excused by fans due to the whole team being dysfunctional under the stewardship of Ralph Ragnick.
With the arrival of Ten Hag, fans were eager to see how the successful Ajax manager would shape Sancho in his own image. After all, the player possessed all the necessary qualities to thrive under Eric Ten Hag.
Sancho Sent to the Mountains
This was one of the most unexpected events last season.
Sancho had deleted most of his Instagram posts and the speculation was that he was having mental health problems. Ten Hag would then send Sancho away from the team for the better part of last season. It was later confirmed that Ten Hag had sent Jadon Sancho away to train and ultimately match the manager's fitness demands.
On returning to the club, Sancho had indeed improved. He seemed sharper and was a useful deputy to Rashford once he was injured.
Hope was building that next season (22/23) we would see the best of Sancho.
The Fallout
The new season began with much expectation for Jadon Sancho.
Since the club had not signed a striker at the time, Sancho was used in the pre-season friendlies more or less as a false 9 where he thrived. Fans were all convinced by what they saw. Sancho looked sharp and ready for the season.
It then came as a surprise when Ten Hag, instead of playing Sancho in the false 9 position in the first game of the season (Wolves), he played Rashford as the striker instead. So, in a way I understand Sancho's anger towards Ten Hag.
However, any time Sancho was brought on as a substitute this season, it looked like he didn't want to be there. He looked disengaged, especially out of possession.
Either he feels that no matter what he does Ten Hag won't give him a chance, so he has checked-out mentally, or he just doesn't like running around very much.
I think it is a combination of the two. There is no doubt Ten Hag doesn't seem to favor him very much. Also, some of the training videos that we have seen seem to prove Ten Hag's point.
That said, Ten Hag is absolutely right to lay down the law with Sancho. For so long at Man United we have had too much player-power. As a result, players could lay down their tools and effectively have their manager sacked. That strategy may have served clubs like Chelsea but at United, all it has led to is a group of players who are only in it for the money due to their lucrative contracts.
Ten Hag must be allowed to set the standard at the club. Everything he says goes. Players at Man United must know that the manager will outlast them. Ten Hag has started laying the foundation for future success at the club if he is given the time.
It's a shame he has to do it by crushing yet another fan favorite.
It's crazy how the club has struggled so badly this past years yet the media won't let us rest. Recently, I was like, "City is now the best team in England, pang your cameras on them. Lest us rest, biko!"
As for Jaden, he looks out of his depth at United, and that's an incredible thing to say about someone posting such amazing numbers at Dortmund. Everyone is not equipped to shine under the spotlight. And at United, the spotlight is a lot more shiny and harsh. That guy will never come good for us. He's best gone than distracting the team.
It is funny, I was just drafting an article on the media reports. I read somewhere once, a quote from a journalist, that a struggling United is better for them than a winning United. It allows them to generate as much false content and exploit the emotional state of fans.
With Sancho, players like him lack a certain mental steel that you need to play at United. The spotlight makes some players cower and others thrive in it.
That said, he is a young player. There is time to change but I doubt it will come soon enough.
For now, I am just happy that I am hearing news about the change of ownership from reputable sources. For me, that is the spark we need.
This simply explains why United games always had a gigantic amount of journalists during the Mourinho era. I'm sure some of those doomsday reporter wept in silence when the Mourinho-United tie was severed.
He has refused to apologize thereby directly challenging the authority of the manager. As long as Ten Hag stays, Sancho won't come good for United. The fact that he was nearly pushed to Saudi on Transfer Deadline Day shows the club has given up on the guy.
I stopped reading news about the ownership change because of dwindling reports. One day you read Jassim just landed at Old Trafford with lorry load of cash to buy United, the next day you're told Glazers escaped to the moon to avoid selling the club. It's just frustrating.
One thing is certain, the Glazers has no intention of selling. We can only appeal to them to sell, we can't force them to sell their asset. That's why Gary Neville has continually piled up the blame on them to guilt-trip them.