Rolling Back The Years In Manchester

Back in 1989 I travelled to Old Trafford twice to watch Spurs. Amazingly,  we won both games, 3-0 in the League Cup and 1-0 in the old First Division with Gary Lineker scoring the winner with probably the only goal he ever scored from outside the box. What has this to do with Sunday's fixture you may ask? Well the United manager, plain Alex Ferguson as he was then, was under severe pressure. I can clearly remember the protests and the calls for Ferguson to be sacked. The United board held their nerve and then after the famous Mark Robins goal in the FA Cup, the rest is of course history.

The reason  I mention this now is that there is literally no chance whatsoever of Eric Ten Hag rising from the ashes of Sundays defeat / performance in the same manner. I've seen enough Spurs managers come and go to know when a team has lost faith in what they're being told. 

Enough of the opposition. Spurs were brilliant. To a man, absolutely superb. Even Timo Werner who missed his chances did exactly what he was asked to do in every other area of the game. He so lacks confidence in front of goal its amazing and its probably a given that had Son been playing the score line would have been even worse for Ten Hag.

Spurs had already threatened a couple of times before the third minute when Van der Ven intercepted a ball from Rashford and set off at God knows what speed across around eighty metres to the byline leaving several United players in his slipstream and pulled the ball across to the already grinning Brennan Johnson who tapped in for his fourth goal in four games.

Brennan Johnson, surely soon to be endorsed by Colgate 

Spurs continued in the same vein for basically the whole of the first half. Chance after chance created and I'd imagine people were starting to worry it might be the same old story of domination without getting that vital second goal. Some of the football played in this period, specifically from the midfield three (Maddison, Kulusevski & Bentancur) was reminiscent to this old git of the 86-87 season and the peak Poch era.

Johnson hit the base of the post with an effort almost identical to his goal scoring strike against Brentford after a wonderful move involving Odogie, Werner, Maddison and Kulusevski. Our ginger haired Swede would go on to create nine scoring opportunities over the course of the match, the most created by an opposition player in a game at Old Trafford since records began. In fact, by the time Fernandes was sent off slightly unfortunately in the forty second minute, Spurs had already had twelve attempts on goal and twenty eight touches in the opposition box.

Mason Mount replaced Mainoo just before half time in what I assume was a tactical switch. He immediately got himself booked by clattering into Lolo. Some of the away fans sang a homophobic chant against Mount and also an awful one aimed at Mikel Arteta. There's no place for this, its 2024. The club have promised to work with United to identify and hopefully ban the participants and all right thinking fans should support this.

During the break Ange took the decision to replace Odogie, who'd taken a knock, with Jed Spence. Fortunately, the second half began the same as the first half. I'm not sure what Ten Hag said to his players in the dressing room but it appeared to make no difference whatsoever. Solanke used his strength to nod a Romero clearance to Johnson on the wing. He headed towards goal and as de Ligt came across to close him down his deflected cross was beautifully lofted into the corner of the net by a flying Kulusevski. If ever anyone deserved a goal.

Deki celebrates his goal by frightening the life from the TV audience

It would have been nigh on impossible for Spurs to keep up the intensity they showed in the first hour for the full ninety minutes. The ten men of  United saw a bit more of the ball but you always got the impression that Spurs were playing with their hosts like a cat thats got hold of a mouse by its tail. It lets it go for a second then quickly clamps down on it at its own will. During this time a ball struck Romero accidently on the arm in the box. Last season it would have been a penalty, this year not so. A shot from a tight angle by Casimero was the closest United came to an equaliser.

On seventy six minutes Ange brought on three players with a combined aged of only one year older that me, Bergvall, Saar and Moore. Werner, Maddison and Johnson were given a well earned rest. What immediately followed was one of those moments that would surely have just made Ange laugh to himself, Bergvall took a corner (his first touch), which was nodded on by Saar (his first touch) and then tapped in by Solanke (his third goal in three games).

Celebration as Solanke knocks in the third

Three nil and the game well and truly over. Dragusin replaced Van der Ven for the last ten minutes or so, Solanke should really have made it four but Onana made another decent save, Saar should then have made it four from the rebound but managed to head wide. We're not going to complain though. Mikey Moore then turned his full back inside out and curled a shot just wide of the post. That really would have been the icing on the cake.

Mikey Moore floating past his marker

Of course all the media narrative is about how poor United were. I suppose this is understandable when they've spent over £600m since Ten Hag took over and appear to be going backwards. Plus they lost to us and the other four of the so called Big Six are all doing pretty well, so its United's turn "in the barrel". Perhaps its also better for Spurs to stay a little under the radar. We have a tricky game in Hungary on Thursday given who's actually going to be avaliable in defence and then a visit to Brighton on Sunday, where we were well and truly out played last season, despite the game ending 4-2. After that we go into yet another bloody international break. If we can keep this run going and the momentum that goes along with that, then the players should be full of confidence for the run in towards Christmas.