Man Utd dominate the media again after a victory which showcased Erik ten Hag’s ‘tactical tweak’ on a man who has remained friends with his hero.
Ten Had
The problem with setting your stall out so strongly about a manager (in this case The Sun’s Dave Kidd on Erik ten Hag, as seen in Mediawatch last month) is that you paint yourself into a corner and have to – if you are bloody-minded – stick with that stance in the face of any and all evidence.
So Kidd went to Luton, desperate for a Hatters win, and this is the opening line to his match report from Manchester United’s pesky victory:
ERIK TEN HAG has Rasmus Hojlund and ref David Coote to thank as Manchester United survived the fire and brimstone of Kenilworth Road to chalk up a fourth straight Premier League win.
Kidd’s contention is that ‘Coote’s failure to send off Casemiro for a clear and obvious second yellow-card offence was key to keeping United’s ability to keep their heads above water’ and that Coote ‘bottled a second yellow, when it felt obvious he would have cautioned the Brazilian had he not already been in the book’.
Handily, The Sun employ an actual ex-referee in Mark Halsey and this is his verdict:
YOU could argue that Casemiro was fortunate not to have been shown a second yellow card.
Having been cautioned moments earlier, he fouled Luton’s Ross Barkley.
But not every foul is a yellow card and maybe that was his last chance.
It’s almost like it wasn’t ‘clear and obvious’ at all. Or at least not as ‘clear and obvious’ as Kidd’s bias.
On the wrong tactics
Elsewhere on The Sun website, they are keen to give Ten Hag credit. Or at least desperate for the clicks that come from claiming some utter nonsense about tactics.
Fans stunned by Ten Hag’s tactical tweak as Man Utd star Diogo Dalot performs never before seen role
Now Mediawatch watched the game and we saw right-back Dalot at right-back so what was this ‘tactical tweak’? Do tell.
MANCHESTER UNITED fans were left stunned by Erik ten Hag’s tactical tweak involving Diogo Dalot during their win over Luton.
Rasmus Hojlund’s first-half brace saw the Red Devils earn a hard-fought 2-1 win at Kenilworth Road on Sunday.
But it was Dalot who caught the eye among many of the Man Utd faithful.
And much of the talk around the Portuguese full-back was based on one run he made in the second half.
So the ‘tactical tweak’ for which we are crediting Manchester United manager Ten Hag is one (ONE) run right-back Dalot made in the second half when he popped up on the left side of the attack.
And the fans (or at least the handful on X who discussed it) were so ‘stunned’ by this ‘tactical tweak’ that they mentioned neither Ten Hag nor tactics. Because – and this seems important – it has absolutely f*** all to do with either.
How many Ronaldos does it take to fix a Man Utd problem?
Elsewhere, Dan Ashworth has been placed on gardening leave by Newcastle United and there are reports that the north-east club would want £15m or £20m to release him early from his contract.
Frankly, that sounds like a bargain but the one-noteExpress can only put this in these terms:
Dan Ashworth will cost Man Utd ‘more than Cristiano Ronaldo’ to avoid crushing setback
Yep. Still seems like a bargain.
So no-one told you life was gonna be this way
Mind you, maybe Ronaldo was the bargain because the Mirror are keen to peddle this absolute bumwash:
Cristiano Ronaldo still playing important Man Utd role despite bitter Erik ten Hag fallout
What’s this ‘important Man Utd role’? Because it feels like he left a rather long time ago now and has little to no influence. But what do we know?
Cristiano Ronaldo remains an influential figure for Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot – despite no longer being club team-mates.
Ah. So not influential to Manchester United at all? But influential as the greatest Portuguese player of all time to another Portuguese footballer who still plays alongside him at international level. Like they’re friends or something.
Despite Dalot and Ronaldo no longer sharing a dressing room, the latter is still attempting to guide the defender’s career. According to The Athletic, the pair are still in contact and both hope to have a big influence for the Portuguese national team at this summer’s Euros.
It would be really f***ing weird if they weren’t still in contact.
Boff with their heads
From MailOnline:
Man City have been OVERTAKEN as favourites to win the Premier League, stats boffins reveal, as Man United’s percentage chance of a Champions League place increase while Spurs are on the slide
Bizarrely, the boffins who work for the bookmakers still make Manchester City favourites. Odd(s) that.
And here’s the other headline:
ARE CITY IN TROUBLE?
Unbeaten in 15 games, but they have drawn once after a run of 11 straight victories in all competitions. Trouble? They’re in full crisis mode.
