As ten Hag era nears a sorry end, what next for United?

When the full-time whistle went on Monday at Selhurst Park, the biggest surprise was there was no real surprise.

Manchester United had slumped to a well-earned 4-0 hammering from 14th placed Crystal Palace and, outside of the performative YouTube reaction channels, the main response was that of shrugged shoulders.

The players, the manager, even the travelling fans who had stayed until the end to chant and sing in defiance of the dross that was being served-up on the pitch - the feeling from all involved was that this performance had been coming.

It's a result that leaves United sandwiched firmly in midtable mediocrity. They sit in between Chelsea who are still struggling to put together the world's most expensively assembled jigsaw and West Ham, who have already placed a 'help wanted’ sign in the window as they engrave David Moyes’ carriage clock ahead of next season.

The one bright spot for United supporters to take from that Palace defeat is that it increases their chances of side-stepping the Europa Conference qualification spot and with it, the prospect of Thursday night trips to Liechtenstein or Latvia.

Erik ten Hag’s men round out the season with league games against Arsenal, Newcastle and Brighton and it’s easy to make an argument for them to come away from those three games with nothing to show and their worst league finish in the Premier League era.

That they’re currently a point closer to the relegation zone than they are to the league leaders sums up the magnitude of their failings this season.

There’s also the matter of their inevitable defeat to local rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final before they can put the whole sorry season to bed and perhaps with it, the Ten Hag era.

Like most other managers at United since the retirement of Alex Ferguson, Ten Hag’s time started brightly as he mostly delivered on his promise to play exciting, transition football in his first season. The Dutchman brought United to a credible third-place finish but then, when faced with his second act, had no answers.

Even towards the end of last season there was the sense that teams had worked United out. Invite their front three to press high, play through them and then saunter through a midfield with as much structural strength as a soggy lettuce and then you’re on to a defensive duo of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans.

Failing that, let them have the ball, win it high up the pitch and boot it long for a speedy attacker to chase and that’s usually enough to have André Onana diving in slow motion before picking the ball out of the net.

Ten Hag’s desire to stay true to his football beliefs is admirable but a lack of pragmatism over not having the players he needs to successfully implement the style he deployed at Ajax is a massive blind spot - particularly when looking at his signings.

The £86million signing of Antony is one that will have football historians scratching their heads long into the future as will Mason Mount’s £55million arrival.

Sofyan Amrabat’s deadline day deal always had the look of a desperate last-gasp lunge when the lights came back on at Coppers’, while paying £45million for Onana, a supposed upgrade on David De Gea, is bad business however you look at it.

The United boss has spent incredibly poorly - seven of the 11 players that took to the pitch against Palace were Ten Hag signings - and newly-arrived INEOS boss Jim Ratcliffe has the air or a man who's ready to tighten the purse strings.

Ratcliffe, along with David Brailsford, was famously behind the ‘marginal gains’ approach at Team Sky cycling where, among other things, fluffier pillows and hand sanitiser were credited with their dominance of the Tour De France in the 2010s.

The new United chief has arrived at Old Trafford with a much meaner stance, making few friends among the clubs' employees as he set about banning remote working, sent emails criticising the cleanliness of the club's IT department and attacked United’s academy staff after seeing dirty dressing rooms on a recent visit.

Ratcliffe and Brailsford are set to decide on Ten Hag's future at the end of the season and it’s difficult to see anything but a P45 and a half-hearted handshake for the manager as the outcome. However, anyone expecting the next-man-in to immediately usher back the glory days will be disappointed.

There’s a malaise and rot at Old Trafford that goes far deeper than any manager, or the aging and leaky stadium. United have a hodgepodge of a squad that shows the scars of a club who routinely changed their manager every two to three years.

Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag have all left their mark on the squad, signing players for their particular style of play before getting the sack and leaving their successor to start again.

Whoever is appointed by Ratcliffe will have to contend with a group of players that features a lot of square pegs, round holes and Casemiro - the club’s highest-earning player with two years left on his £350,000 a week contract, since you’re asking.

The rumour mill has linked all kinds of managers to Old Trafford with Thomas Tuchel, Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter all reported to be in the running by various outlets, while even Jose Mourinho is making eyes at Ratcliffe as he touts himself for a second run with the club.

As funny as a second Mourinho reign would be, that level of dysfunction seems a step too far even for United and with Ratcliffe already throwing Jose-style managerial shapes in the boardroom, there’s already a strong ‘this town ain’t big enough’ vibe from the United chief.

But in a sense, it doesn’t really matter who United appoint as manager until they get things right elsewhere in the club.

The poaching of Newcastle’s football director Dan Ashworth is a step in the right direction, but with the Magpies seeking £20million in compensation and arbitration being called in to settle the matter, even that appointment is far from straightforward.

Ashworth, currently on gardening leave from Newcastle, is unlikely to be involved in any managerial appointment or indeed in the summer transfer window so his impact and his role in the restructuring at United will be delayed.

Fixing Manchester United is a huge, long-term project that will take years rather than just a couple of transfer windows and Ashworth is a man with a big track record in that field.

Having helped restructure the English FA as Director of Elite Development, Ashworth played a major role in helping to rebuild and reshape both the England men's and women’s national teams as part of the 'England DNA’ development plan.

He then left for Brighton in 2018, putting in place the kind of structures that would see them become not only a Premier League mainstay, but one of the best-run clubs in the league before being tempted away by Newcastle’s Saudi-funded project.

Ratcliffe will hope that prising Ashworth away from Newcastle is the first step in rebuilding United and making them a real force at the top of the Premier League again, but will need to show patience for what is going to be a long-term project.

And so we're into yet another spell of rebuilding for United, but perhaps at least this time, they might get the foundations right.