Brentford 4-0 Man United: Erik ten Hag’s side BODEM of the Premier League after terrible display

Once a manager is in a death spiral, it is nearly impossible to recover from the situation. This situation occurs regularly at Manchester United. You know you’re in that zone when there’s no discernible structure on the pitch, no cohesion between the players, and seemingly no authority from the coaching team.

Since Erik ten Hag is only two games into his Premier League career, let’s be friendly and say we’re not quite there yet. But let’s also be clear that he threatens to end up in that phase of his career within a few weeks. If he loses heavily to Liverpool at Old Trafford on Monday, he will struggle to rebalance on a listed ship. It will be suspected that it has already been drilled below the waterline.

Manchester United were as bad as they’ve ever been in modern times here at Brentford. You’d probably have to go back to the 1973-74 relegation season to find something so humiliating. Last season they lost Brighton 4-0 to Ralf Rangnick, but even that wasn’t as humiliating as this. On that occasion, at least they were in the game until half-time. They are at the bottom of the table.

That said, this shot is somewhat unfair to Brentford and Thomas Frank, who were excellent. They had a plan and executed it to perfection. She forced United into submission with an urgent plan that was coherent and applied with taste. They withstood attacks with incision and brutality. And if they had to slow down the game in the scorching heat, they did it with calm certainty.

United can do none of the above and yet the truth is that a competent Premier League would have given Brentford a better game. Twice we’ve seen Ten Hag’s United now, against what would be styled lesser Premier League lights. On both occasions they have been fought, outplayed and fell short of their opponents’ standards. Here Brentford was miles better.

Little Brentford, who in the Sir Alex Ferguson era would hardly have registered as a dot on the horizon as they struggled in the lower reaches. But football has a glorious way of dismissing the complacent and overthrowing the powerful. United looks like a team that left modern football behind. They seem to think that pressure doesn’t apply to them. Brentford, on the other hand, is a team built for modern football, on smart recruiting, right application of data and a big heart.

The G-tech Stadium, as it is now known, may not seem like an intimidating place and yet it can break a team if it is full of Brentford fans close to the field and their team roar. United collapsed. First David De Gea, who let in the softest opening goals. Then Luke Shaw, Fred and Lisandro Martinez fell apart and lost their nerves as the Brentford saddled them one after the other.

At a 2-0 deficit, ten Hag got the chance to rectify the situation, after a drink break was introduced to temper the extreme heat. He is not a man who exudes a huge presence that stood between the players. He seemed to be making some clam points. They seemed to be greeted with a shrug and a strange nod. Ronaldo shouted to someone. And within ten minutes, after the tactical adjustments, they were 4-0 down.

The match was already set at nine minutes, the central themes strengthened in the opening goal. Mathias Jensen, super all the time, fell in possession of Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar felt he had committed a foul but Brentford was just everywhere at United. He fed Josh DaSilva who, given the time and space, decided to take a chance. In reality, it should have been a simple rescue, but de Gea somehow managed to make it squirm through his arms. It was an unfavorable moment. Usually, De Gea seems to blame Harry Maguire when things go wrong. On this occasion it was all him.

Ten minutes later United looked as if the nerves were gone. Under ten Hag they seem to think they are Ajax of the Johan Cruijff era playing from behind. They chose to take a short free kick to De Gea, who in turn chose to pass straight to Shaw, who was clearly under pressure. These players are not godly enough or confident enough to play like that. Jensen caught on to Shaw, robbed him, then found the space to roll the ball into the net.

Then came ten Hag’s drink intervention, which if possible made the situation worse. One of the most important signings of ten Hag was Lisandro Martinez, a 5’9″ center half from a deep corner, which was headed over the goal of Ivan Toney. It caused chaos, but the reality was that the Ben Mee just intimidated Martinez. – in a legitimate sense – to get the touch to hand it in.

Still, Brentford saved their best for last. That they could so easily expose United on a counterattack was embarrassing for ten Hag’s tactical set-up. They looked like a Sunday league, as Brentford just played fast from behind to Toney. He took one touch to play in Bryan Mbeumo. Shaw had given him the wrong side and he would never allow the left-back to come close to him, finishing cool to put Brentford 4-0 in 35 minutes.

It was stunning stuff and almost as impressive was the way Brentford controlled the second half. Fred, Shaw and Martinez were pulled back when ten Hag tried to impose some control. Still, the game was gone. United, shamefully, never had a plan or the acumen to break through Brentford’s defensive bloc. They were reduced to vile crosses of broad that were invariably inaccurate. On one occasion, Ronaldo met one and sent his header across. He stomped on the ground in frustration. The crowd cheered. It seemed appropriate. He raged against the dying light of his career. He was once able to produce heroic deeds to save teams. But not now, not at this age and not on this team.

Sportsmail’s Kieran Lynch provided live blog updates on events at the Gtech Community Stadium.