The nine reasons it's gone wrong for Erik ten Hag at Man United

As he was applauded off in the most humiliating of fashions by Crystal Palace fans on Monday night, it won't have needed to be pointed out to Erik ten Hag that this was the nadir of his tenure.

There have been heavier defeats during his time in charge - a 7-0 loss at Liverpool a year ago being one of them - but few proved to be as deflating and as galling as this 4-0 turnover by Crystal Palace.

His future at Manchester United is now more precarious than it has ever been and even some of his most ardent supporters in the fan-base are growing weary as calls for change grow louder.

Mail Sport looks at the reasons life at United has unravelled for the Dutchman…

DECIMATED BY INJURY

When Ten Hag - rather than if - is shown the door by United he will invariably point to the injury crisis he has had to contend with as his lead defence.

Bruno Fernandes, so often Mr Reliable, missed Monday night's game making it 64 cases of injury or illness that have caused a player to miss a game this season.

Ten Hag has had to contend for a lot of the season without Lisandro Martinez - his best centre back - and Luke Shaw - his best left back - while Rasmus Hojlund was sidelined just when he was enjoying a purple patch in front of goal.

Harry Maguire has been integral this season and yet he has gone down and is now in a rush to be fit for the FA Cup final. There is rotten luck and then there are 64 cases of injury and illness. Truly unprecedented numbers.

POOR RECRUITMENT

What isn't going to be a mitigating factor for the Dutchman is his recruitment which, if you were being unkind, has been near-disastrous.

Nine of the starting XI at Palace were signed or promoted from the academy by Ten Hag, while Diogo Dalot has since been handed a new deal. Only Aaron Wan-Bissaka has totally preceded his tenure.

Antony has been a total disaster after arriving for £86million; Sofyan Amrabat's loan move has proven a misstep; Andre Onana's form effectively cost United a Champions League campaign, while Mason Mount, who arrived as Ten Hag's priority £60m midfield signing, made his first Premier League start on Monday night since October 7.

Ten Hag spoke last week about how he didn't land his top target in Harry Kane and has called on ownership to back him over the summer.

But having spent more than £400m already, this United side has never looked further from contending than it does right now.

NO TACTICAL IDENTITY

Going into this season, on the back of a third-placed finish and a trophy in the cabinet, Ten Hag was bold in proclaiming how entertaining his side would go on to be.

'We want to be the best transition team in the world,' he said. 'We want to surprise.'

Instead they have looked scarily vulnerable defending any sort of transition coming back their way and look caught between philosophies in midfield, seemingly not knowing whether to press or drop, leaving gaping holes that are routinely exploited by opponents.

United have already conceded 55 goals in the Premier League this season - two shy of their record high from 2021-22 - and still have three games to play, while the 618 shots faced is a record high for the club.

Ten Hag's side are facing an average of 17.6 shots against per game. There is no structure, no rigidity to their set-up and they continue to invite opponents to score at will.

EUROPEAN HUMILIATION

This still remains one of the biggest black marks against Ten Hag and United's players this season.

To finish a Champions League group that included Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen, who have a far smaller budget to play with, rock bottom was complete humiliation.

United had actually budgeted to reach the quarter-finals - Arsenal and Man City both made it to that stage before suffering elimination - and yet Ten Hag and his players were booed off at home after going out as the worst team in their group.

Officially Manchester United's worst Champions League campaign ever with four points from six games, shipping a record 15 goals - more than any Premier League team had ever conceded in a Champions League group - in the process. Historically bad.

UNCERTAINTY FROM ABOVE

Those in Ten Hag's corner will also point to the uncertainty that has been allowed to reign over him.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was largely non-committal when asked about the Dutchman's future after sealing his minority 25 per cent stake in the club.

That set the tone for what has followed and insiders have spoken about how the sense of uncertainty has since seeped into the dressing-room and undermined the manager's position as he approaches the final three Premier League games and FA Cup final.

If Ratcliffe and his Ineos executives were set on giving Ten Hag a greater structure to work in they could have quelled speculation by going public with a statement in support.

Instead they have been happy to sit back and let United's season play out, leaving Ten Hag in limbo amid links to both Bayern Munich and his former club Ajax, all while he remains under contract.

Ten Hag deserves blame for the tactical set-up and recruitment but he has been hung out to dry with constant questions around his future beyond May 25 and the FA Cup final.

ATTACKING HEADACHE

It has spoken volumes that Ten Hag has grown to rely on Alejandro Garnacho to get results and if the academy graduate doesn't show up, United's attack is often null and void.

Marcus Rashford has gone from a 30-goal scorer in 2022-23 to one with just eight goals this season.

Sancho started the campaign but was soon banished away from the first team group and then shipped out on loan, where he is now in the Champions League semi-finals.

Facundo Pellistri had chances before he too was shipped out on loan; Amad Diallo struggles to get a game even with United at rock bottom; Mason Greenwood is not going to be reintegrated after his loan in Spain; all of these without any mention of the off-field problems.

Rashford hit the headlines after a boozy session in Belfast saw him miss training the next day, while Antony and Mason Greenwood both found themselves involved in separate legal battles on charges they denied.

On and off the pitch, United's attackers have been a constant headache for the Dutchman.

MAKING RIVALS LOOK UNBELIEVABLE

If this season has proven anything it's that United sure know how to make mid-table sides look absolutely brilliant.

A look at the table shows that United have lost to teams that are now10th, 11th, 13th and 14th in the Premier League table.

It said plenty heading to Old Trafford to face rock bottom Sheffield United that some Man United fans were foreboding another disastrous evening.

Wolves, who are 12th, deserved a result in the first game of the season while Everton have managed 47 shots against United this season, even with losing both games.

Bournemouth, 10th, took United to the cleaners at Old Trafford while Brentford, who are 16th, will still feel aggrieved they didn't win in Manchester.

It's not just the division's best that have schooled Ten Hag this season.

LACK OF ADAPTABILITY

There have been countless examples of stubbornness reigning supreme this season but it was perhaps best pronounced in the home defeat by Brighton.

United actually started that game well, better than Brighton boss Robert De Zerbi had anticipated and planned for, and so the Seagulls made a key adjustment.

Brighton players spoke that day about figuring out the United puzzle on the fly and once they did, spotting the gaping holes there to exploit, they were able to run away with a 3-1 win.

Too often fans' biggest gripe has been Ten Hag's lack of adaptability in game, leaving him to being out-coached by his counterparts on more than one occasion.

PRESS CONFERENCE BLUSTER

United have played poorly a lot this season and nothing has irked fans that Mail Sport have spoken to more than some of Ten Hag’s remarks in light of losses.

Often speaking about entertainment and how happy he has been and how they have controlled games, Ten Hag has alienated some supporters with what they view as not truthful reflections on some incredibly poor performances.

Ten Hag was more cutting of his players after Palace but there have been too many occasions where journalists and fans have been left scratching their heads as to how they watched the same game as Ten Hag and came to such a wildly different conclusion.