Life lately at Old Trafford is depressing; you can’t make this up. Manchester United’s 4-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Monday night evokes gory memories of the sad ending to Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s reign as head coach.

In fairness, United is down to bare bones. Erik Ten Hag named four teenagers on the bench at Selhurst Park, and Johnny Evans was reportedly asked to start against medical advice. Fitness issues are obvious, but the manager could be on the way out.

When Emmanuel Denis ran riot against Manchester United at Vicarage Road in November 2021, ending in a 4-1 whitewash of a hapless side managed by former United striker Solksjaer, the atmosphere was clear, and no one expected any other outcome outside a sack for the manager.

“I understand Liverpool and Manchester City are the ones dominating the Premier League for the past few years, but eras do come to an end,” said Erik Ten Hag in his first Manchester United press conference. The statement has aged badly, and it now looks like Ten Hag’s era at Old Trafford has come to an end.

Where did it go wrong for Manchester United? You could go as far back as Sir Alex Ferguson’s exit, and you won’t be wrong. Was David Moyes the right successor? In hindsight, you’ll see more people disagreeing than otherwise; his regime didn’t inspire any confidence from any quarter.

Ryan Giggs stepped in as the interim manager before Loius Van Gaal came on board. He huffed and puffed before getting sacked. Jose Mourinho’s reign brought Europa League success, but the chaos in the team has rotted till date.

Average players getting fat contracts, shelling outrageous money for players who aren’t up to standard—Antony comes to mind in that regard, and, with no clear pattern or any form of consistency, the club continues to endure a downward spiral.

You can choose to focus on rays of hope in Kobbie Mainoo, Rasmus Hoijlund, Alejandro Garnacho, and a few other academy kids, but are they in safe hands under Ten Hag? Injury is a valid excuse, but will that convince the club owners to keep him on the job?

United plays Arsenal next Sunday; they could redeem some pride in front of the Old Trafford crowd; it’s a game they cannot afford to lose; it is left to be seen if Ten Hag will still be in the dugout by then; whatever happens, a huge wind of change must sweep across the club, and it must begin this summer.