THE welcome for Erik ten Hag was raucous when he emerged from the Old Trafford tunnel.
When he retreated down it just short of two hours later there was a smattering of sympathetic applause.
Possibly it was in thanks for even agreeing to take this task on.
The manager had changed but nothing else had.
It was the same old insipid Manchester United.
This version of the team is the worst in living memory for many fans.
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There was nothing on Sunday afternoon to suggest it is going to get any better.
The team, the club, the manager desperately needed a confidence-boosting start.
They got quite the opposite.
From the moment Bruno Fernandes skied an early chance over the bar the players looked, nervous, disjointed. Not even able to do the basic things right.
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They try to play the ball out from the back but they can’t, they treat that ball like a grenade with the pin out.
They are asked to press but don’t.
In the middle of the park, Paul Scholes best summed it up as he lost it on Instagram.
Scholes said: “It’s all about body shape when receiving the ball, too many times facing their own goal and can only play one way…
“Get on the ‘half turn’ for f*** sake and bring your more talented players into the game… have a great week everyone,”
His mate Gary Neville came out with his usual diatribe about the Glazers.
One of them was actually there on Sunday, Avram, to witness this shocker and see a banner and hear chants aimed in his direction.
The regular pre-match protest ending in the Munich Tunnel had already taken place.
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The summer recruitment once again is in the spotlight. We saw all three new players on Sunday.
We are told that what centre-back Lisandro Martinez lacks in height he will make up for in fight.
Not much good when Danny Welbeck is rising two feet above you to plant a header goalwards as he did early in the second half.
Tyrell Malacia came on for Luke Shaw in the second half and his first contribution was to clumsily concede a free-kick.
Christian Eriksen was asked to play in a false nine role and it simply did not work.
How does a club the size of Manchester United start a season without a top-class centre forward in their team.
When wantaway Cristiano Ronaldo did come on his contribution was minimal.
‘NOBODY WANTED THE BALL’
You had to double check the team sheet to know Jadon Sancho was playing, Marcus Rashford has completely lost it in front of goal as proved when set up by Ronaldo.
With the evidence for the prosecution mounting during the game, the fans frustration grew which in turn made the players even more nervous of making mistakes.
By the end nobody wanted the ball.
They are better off playing away because a ground that used to stoke fear into the opposition now does so to its own players.
The club will continue its pursuit of Frenkie de Jong, but he clearly is not that keen.
This club is a harder sell than ever now.
The names thrown around to solve the striker crisis have hardly inspired the fan base.
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The hope remains that Anthony Martial, missing due to a hamstring injury on Sunday, can reclaim his best form as he showed in pre-season in Bangkok and Australia.
That was pre-season, the Premier League is the real deal and right now United are simply not up to it.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
