Erik ten Hag has experienced terrible vibes during his difficult tenure at Manchester United, but Sunday’s humiliating 3-0 setback may have permanently altered the tone at Old Trafford.
Brennan Johnson’s early goal stunned the home team, who lost captain Bruno Fernandes to a straight red card before halftime.
Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke scored in the second half to underline Tottenham’s total dominance against their disjointed and indisciplined opponents.
It was United’s second straight 3-0 defeat at home in the Premier League after Liverpool hammered them earlier in September — leaving them 12th in the table with just two wins from their opening six games.
The club’s haul of seven points equals their worst record at this stage of a Premier League campaign, and they have scored just five times.
Former United captain Gary Neville, now a TV pundit, tore into his former team, describing Sunday as a “shocking and sobering” day for Ten Hag’s men.
“It was an absolutely disgusting performance in that first half in effort, quality, everything you would want in a football team,” he said on Sky Sports.
“There will be a lot of questions to answer for that group (of players) and the manager in the next week.”
Former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp said United had “no identity”.
“It gets to a point where you feel for the manager,” he said. “He looks completely out of his depth and is struggling to motivate.
“It was so easy for Tottenham, they were so comfortable, so calm. Man Utd are going backwards, he can’t complain any more. They have spent over £600 million ($800 million) and have his defenders in.
“They are rock bottom and I don’t see where they can go from here.”
