A culture war is now ripping through the heart of United

When Manchester United announced that they were sticking with Erik ten Hag in June, explanations to the media made specific mention of “the fans”.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

The new club hierarchy were conscious of how supportive the mood was after the FA Cup win, and that it would have been a hugely unpopular decision to sack the Dutch coach at that point. If there’s now a temptation to wonder whether that stance was influenced by potentially fleeting fan emotions, you wouldn’t have thought so on Sunday.

The team may have looked weak in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool but support for Ten Hag and his team stayed strong. Old Trafford has for a long time been a stadium that sings for the side no matter what. There can be boos and empty seats, sure, but United’s modern Premier League era has never seen the kind of open revolt against a manager that has been visible at other stadiums.

By contrast, external criticism often only serves to amplify support for the man in charge, while bringing considerable pushback against critics. You only have to listen to phone-ins or look at social media. The point of this isn’t to stage yet another discussion on Ten Hag’s suitability and whether fan support is justified. It is more about how fascinating it is that this supporter stance has been so consistent through five manager cycles after Alex Ferguson.

We can all recognise familiar patterns and even a sense of “end game” – although the club insist they fully back the manager – but still hear the same support. United haven’t even seen an equivalent of the situation at the club perhaps closest to them in this when Liverpool supporters just rejected Roy Hodgson. There can be anger in the concourse and pubs, as supporters at the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City attest, but that doesn’t find an outlet pitchside.

As Barney Chilton, the editor of the long-running fanzine Red News. says, “There is a mindset from matchgoers to support the manager at games come what may.” The crowd have certainly taken Ferguson’s valedictory request to heart, that their job now is to stand by the new manager.