Manchester United: Why Marc Skinner needs the FA Cup trophy as much as under fire Erik ten Hag | Football news

Manchester United is a club in need of growth. There is an uncanny resemblance to the current situation of both first-team managers at Old Trafford, and neither is offering any outpourings of optimism.

The initial phase of both regimes, that of female boss Marc Skinner and his male counterpart Erik ten Hag, created a hopeful scene, but this season has been met with heightened expectations and harsher responses.

Both Skinner and Ten Hag wanted a revolution. They profess similar philosophies, a fast-transition brand of football that threatens to work when the right personnel is available and falls horribly flat when it isn’t. The results delighted, then ceased. Consistently inconsistent performance.

The standings in their respective leagues have also been shaken up as the rhetoric about “trusting the process” and “following the script” has been repeated more times than most fans care to. The trajectories are not entirely similar, but you can see why those in charge are suffering the pressures of the famous Manchester United badge and facing heat from several directions.

On both fronts things have stalled, despite the supposed renewal of life brought by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover and his new vision for football operations. The future of both head coaching positions beyond this term is likely the talk in Carrington’s corridors. It must be a whisper, at least.

Sunday, May 12, 3:30 p.m

It starts at 16:30

Ten Hag’s men are on track to record United’s worst season in the Premier League era and are now in danger of surrendering any hopes of European football to Chelsea, who have miraculously settled level on points with three games to spare. finally.

Meanwhile, the women’s side are fifth in the WSL (after finishing runners-up to Chelsea last season), three points and one place behind Liverpool, who were in the league below as recently as 2022. Their hopes of a second shot at the Champions League – after crashing out of the competition in the qualifying rounds this year – was thrown a few weeks ago.

And then, just as lines of comparison seem to meet equally sticky ends, an opportunity presents itself – the saving grace of two FA Cup finals in May.

Both Ten Hag and Skinner, somewhat against the odds, led their respective sides to Wembley – Man Utd Women face Tottenham on Sunday, while the men take on Manchester City on May 25. Perhaps the path to redemption is the same for both. .

The odds of success may not be high for Ten Hag’s troops against the keepers, but the probability is different for Skinner. They are heavy favorites. This is the second consecutive year Man Utd Women have reached the competition’s point of view and they face a Spurs side sailing into their first major final.

Both bosses will know that the FA Cup final is a – maybe THE – the moment of reckoning. Neither can afford to rely on the assumption that the INEOS partial takeover of the club, with Ratcliffe at the helm of the football department, will be more lenient than the Glazer-led operation that came before it.

The marked decline across the board will continue to be a concern. Ten Hag’s side have lost 38 per cent of their league games this campaign – Skinner’s side 29 per cent. The lack of consistent form and system is something that has plagued both teams and exposed similar weaknesses.

Going by average (55 goals conceded in 35 games), United’s men are on track to deliver their worst defensive performance of all in the Premier League era. And the problems are mirrored. Man United Women have scored 26 goals so far – all of last season they conceded just 12. In fact, they boasted the best defensive record in the division at the time.

Skinner has been forced to defend his job since January, with the Ten Hag drawing comparisons with the ill-fated appointment of David Moyes, who was sacked after just 10 months in 2014.

Seeds of doubt have been sown, some are even starting to sprout and will only grow with each poor result.

But there is legitimacy in the argument that the FA Cup provides a lifeline. The point here is not to speculate whether the two Man United bosses are able to stay in their jobs (Skinner is out of contract this summer and yet sign a new one), but rather to highlight why the ray of light at the end . of a sustainable tunnel is so important.

The FA Cup has long been a staple of English football’s wonderful heritage. Its winners are celebrated and announced, and momentum springs from the silverware. It can be a catalyst if used correctly. Do we have to refer to the competition that turned the tide for Sir Alex Ferguson all those years ago, his first major trophy in charge at Old Trafford? FA Cup in 1990.

Of course, the landscape has evolved since then, irreversibly, but titles and trophies still carry significant weight and can be compelling bargaining tools.

This has largely been a season to forget for the entire Manchester United contingent – more questions raised than questions answered. Reports of ruptures. Change and revise as INEOS representatives make their mark.

But the narrative still has mileage, albeit dwindling, and it’s up to both Ten Hag and Skinner to ensure that this is a chapter that can be characterized by some of the more cheerful and hopeful projections they seemingly began with both mandates.

Follow updates from Wembley Stadium in Sky Sports’ live blog as Man United take on Spurs in the Women’s FA Cup Final on Sunday; start at 14.30.