Is Erik ten Hag the worst Man Utd boss ever? Historically bad Premier League season includes most defeats, fewest goals
- Ex-Ajax boss started with 30 wins in first 50 Premier League matches but team has collapsed since then
- Defeat to Crystal Palace the latest humiliation in a season full of them for former treble winners
Manchester United’s 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace was one of the worst in the former champions’ recent history, and one which could prove the downfall of manager Erik ten Hag.
After a difficult start to life in charge, the former Ajax boss turned things around and led the Red Devils to a Carabao Cup triumph and a surprise third-place finish in the 2022-23 season.
A record of 30 wins in his first 50 Premier League matches was second only to the achievement of cross-city rival Pep Guardiola.
However, they picked up just one point away from home against any of the top nine and conceded six goals at Manchester City, and seven to Liverpool at Anfield, their worst top-flight defeat.
Not since the club was relegated from the old First Division in the 1970s has such a cloud hung over Old Trafford, and while the fallow years of the 1980s followed, the team is on course for its worst finish since the creation of the Premier League.
Eighth with three games remaining, they are on course to finish lower than the seventh place managed under David Moyes in 2013-14. A -3 goal difference, and 13 defeats also means United will end the season with the lowest number of points in more than 20 years.