Under-fire Erik ten Hag says misfiring Manchester United have to “step up” and find a modicum of consistency after Nottingham Forest inflicted their 14th defeat of a chastening season.
A year that began with positivity and silverware ended with the Red Devils under intense scrutiny given they are already out of Europe, the Carabao Cup and Premier League title race.
United have been infuriatingly inconsistent throughout the campaign, epitomised by the thrilling 3-2 Boxing Day turnaround against Aston Villa being followed up Saturday’s limp 2-1 loss at Forest.
“One thing is clear we are not consistent,” boss Ten Hag said. “We can beat the best teams in the league, but we also lose games we should win, and I think today was one of them.
“We always have to swap (players due to absentees). I don’t think I talk a lot about players we don’t have. Every time I am telling it doesn’t matter who we line up, we have to win.
“But the routines are not there if every time we have to swap.
“Today is another example. When (Rasmus) Hojlund is ill, we have to swap our frontline and we have seen it in the first half there was no speed in the game there.”
This was quite the comedown from the Boxing Day victory against Villa and the positivity some fans felt after the Christmas Eve announcement that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is becoming minority owner.
INEOS are taking responsibility for the footballing operations and Ten Hag said on Friday that he was convinced they wanted to keep him on as manager.
Sir Dave Brailsford, INEOS’ director of sport, watched Saturday’s game in the directors’ box alongside Sir Alex Ferguson, whose final league title in 2013 looks unlikely to be added to anytime soon.
“They know me and they know when I have a squad what is available, then the results will be there,” Ten Hag said.
“We are already proving against the top teams we can go head to head, so I’m convinced and have strong belief we get more progress in this team, that we get more consistency in.
“I think this is part of a project. We were overperforming last year. This year so, far, we are underperforming.
“We have to do better, we have to step up and I have to lead that process.”
The performances have made as grim viewing as the results, with this United’s 14th loss of the season in all competitions and 21st in total of 2023.
Asked if he is confident of things improving, Ten Hag said: “Yeah, of course I believe that.
“I know when players are returning, then I am sure this side will be stronger.
“You have to clinically analyse this, then we know where it’s come from. We have a lack of routines, we have to work on that.”
The post-match analysis will be dominated by United, but this was Forest’s night.
Four days on from winning 3-1 at Newcastle, new manager Nuno Espirito Santo celebrated his first home win in charge as they beat the Red Devils for the first time since 1994.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s late strike from the edge of the box wrapped up a memorable triumph after Marcus Rashford had capitalised on a terrible Matt Turner pass to cancel out Nicolas Dominguez’s opener.
“They did the job, the players played well,” Forest boss Espirito Santo said. “I think the team was compact.
“In the first half, I think we controlled pretty well the game, we defend well. We had good spells of possession, didn’t finish too much actions.
“Much better in the second half, we start to combine. First goal, good movement, good combination and good finish.
“We concede and it seems we’re going to be in trouble but the reaction was immediate, it showed character, so the players should enjoy the video because they did a fantastic job.
“And the fans, we cannot thank them enough so let’s enjoy this moment together.”
Dutch top-flight beckons for Omari Hutchinson: Future Reggae Boyz star could be set to shine in the Netherlands unless Ipswich boss joins Chelsea
Omari Hutchinson, an ex-Arsenal trainee who spent a stellar season-long loan with English Championship runners up Ipswich Town, appears to be on the move to the Netherlands.
The London-born Jamaican international is a wanted man by fallen Dutch giants Ajax and last term’s Eredivisie runners up Feyenoord, having impressed as a whizzy winger last season.
He plies his trade with big-spending English Premier League (EPL) outfit Chelsea. He was sent out to newly-promoted Ipswich as he was deemed to be surplus to requirements at the start of the campaign.
Hutchinson’s boss at Ipswich was Kieran McKenna, who is apparently on the shortlist of five head coaches to replace recently departed head coach Mauricio Pochettino. If McKenna becomes their in-coming coach, he may well insist on keeping Hutchinson at Chelsea.
McKenna and Hutchinson worked well together at Ipswich. The club were on fire with free-flowing football during their impressive campaign, which saw Hutchinson net ten goals.
Although Hutchinson returned to Chelsea, and immediately jetted off on vacation, he now finds the West London club managerless. In the background Dutch clubs clamour to take him on loan, with an option to buy at around €18 million (US$19m).
Hutchinson is one of two talented and young attacking Jamaican players with Chelsea, both tagged as a “wonderkid”. Dujuan “Whisper” Richards, 18, has yet to make his EPL debut but had been training this year with the first-team squad after impressing Pochettino.
Jamaica face 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against minnows Dominican Republic and Dominica next month, before tackling the 16-team CONMEBOL Copa America with group games against Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela.
Both Hutchinson and Richards are expected to be called up by head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson for the tournament extravaganza, which will be played in the United States (20 June-14 July).
Hutchinson has only made two appearances for the Reggae Boyz because Chelsea have never been keen for him to go on international duty.
He made his debut for Jamaica in their 6-0 humiliating defeat to Catalonia in an unofficial friendly in May 2022, and started in the 1-0 reversal to Trinidad & Tobago in March 2023. Former Phoenix All Stars Football Academy ace Richards is more of a veteran, with ten international appearances but just one goal for Jamaica.
For 20-year-old Hutchinson, voted Ipswich’s Young Player of the Season, the future looks promising to showcase his silky skills. He could be given the chance to shine on the Copa America stage, and then light up the top-flight in either the Netherlands or in England.
Until a new manager arrives at Chelsea everything is likely to remain up in the air about Hutchinson’s footballing future. Whoever Chelsea pick as their next head coach could scupper Hutchinson’s plans to leave the club, by giving the Jamaican a shot at grabbing glory in the EPL.
Navas bids farewell to Costa Rica national team before Copa America
Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas has announced he is retiring from international football at the age of 37.
Navas, who announced earlier this month that he would be leaving Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expires in June, has now ended speculation about his participation in the Copa America.
The goalkeeper has made 114 appearances for his national side since his debut in 2008, playing in three World Cups, including Costa Rica’s run to the quarter-final in Brazil in 2014.
Navas’ last appearance for Costa Rica came against Argentina in a friendly in March.
In a video posted to social media, Navas said: "This chapter of my life is coming to an end. I leave with my heart full of gratitude and my eyes looking forward, always carrying the name of our beloved Costa Rica.
"It's a bittersweet feeling, difficult to accept, this stage has come to an end. It's not goodbye, it's see you later because I know our paths will continue to cross. Thank you, Costa Rica, see you later, pura vida."
Costa Rica’s Copa America campaign will kick off against Brazil on June 24 in Los Angeles.
St. Louis City v Seattle Sounders: Carnell wants Citypark turned into a 'fortress'
Bradley Carnell has challenged St. Louis City to make Citypark a formidable place to play as they prepare to welcome the Seattle Sounders on Saturday.
St. Louis have lost just one of their six MLS home games this season, helping them to ninth in the Western Conference.
Carnell’s side have, however, lost their last two matches, including their most recent home outing, but the head coach is not worried about their recent form.
He said: "The standings are not an indicator of if we give everything or not. Everything should be on the line every single day.
"For sure, there are moments of ebbs and flows through a season, and you get to mitigate through those just like every other team in the league. We're just focusing on our next game against a respectable opponent.
"We want to see if we can keep up and keep on pushing and turn Citypark into the fortress we know it can become to get three points."
Seattle sit two points below St. Louis in 10th after failing to win their previous two matches.
Head coach Brian Schmetzer wants his side to use last season’s win over St. Louis as inspiration to get back to winning ways.
"It's a tough place to play, they were on a good roll last year," he said.
"This year their results aren't quite as good, but they're still a good team. Last year's performance there away from home was good, it was solid. We scored early goals and held on. Good defence. Solid performance."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Joao Klauss
Klauss has scored in four of St. Louis’ last nine matches in the MLS, netting the opener on two occasions. He is also the club’s top scorer this season with five goals.
Seattle Sounders – Cristian Roldan
Roldan completed 82 of 88 passes in Seattle’s draw with Vancouver on Saturday, both the most in a match by a Sounders player this season. It was the most passes Roldan has completed in an MLS match since connecting on 109 passes against the Galaxy in August 2019.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
After losing only one of their first 11 regular-season matches in 2024 (W3 D7), St. Louis have lost consecutive games. This is the fifth time they have lost two straight regular-season matches, though they have never lost three in a row in league play before.
Seattle have won both of their matches against St. Louis, outscoring them, 5-0, in those two games. The Sounders were the only team to keep clean sheets in two matches against St. Louis last season.
Seattle drew 1-1 with Vancouver last Saturday, thanks to a Ryan Gauld equalizing penalty for the Whitecaps at 93:59. It was the latest result-changing goal the Sounders have ever conceded in a regular-season MLS match.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 44.8%
Draw – 27%
Seattle Sounders – 28.2%
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