COMMENT: He's talked about it. He's even acted upon it. But the problem... now over a year old... is still there. And it's holding everything back. Erik ten Hag knows his Manchester United team are still a centre-forward short...
They didn't expose anything new. It was no great revelation. It was the bleedin', frustrating obvious. Tottenham on Saturday simply reaffirmed it. United lack a finisher. A goal-getter. And performances like defeat at Spurs will continue unless they act in these final days of the summer market.
Of course, we haven't forgotten about Rasmus Hojlund. But he's "one for the future". He always was. As this column was tipped off towards the end of last season, Ten Hag's original plan was to bring in two centre-forwards this summer: An experienced No9 capable of an instant impact and a 'project' player, one to develop and bring though. And his A-list was indeed Hojlund and Harry Kane, now of Bayern Munich.
Ten Hag doesn't expect Hojlund to hit the ground running - once he eventually gets himself match fit. He's not seeking an instant return from the Dane. At least, that's what this column was originally told in May. Today? Well, today the conversations inside Ten Hag's Carrington office may be different. No direct updates for us. Things are currently pretty buttoned down inside the club's training HQ. But watching United stand back and allow Al-Hilal to ferry Aleksandar Mitrovic away from Fulham unopposed does raise doubts about whether another, more experienced centre-forward will arrive before the end of the month.
It's all what-ifs now, but Mitrovic would've been the type to solve Ten Hag's problem. Indeed, we know United's manager is a fan of the Serb. But with no attempt to intervene - and unless something is being worked on behind-the-scenes - it does appear United will go with what they have in terms of an attack to January.
And it'll be a mistake. Ten Hag knows this. He's been talking about this weakness since taking charge. And it was again confirmed by defeat at Tottenham. In that opening 45 minutes, United had control of the game - and the home crowd. They created the better of the chances. But the finishing wasn't there. Marcus Rashford. Bruno Fernandes. Alejandro Garnacho. They all had their opportunities - but failed. And as those chances went begging, it was inevitable Spurs would find a way back.
This is what a goalscorer - like Mitrovic - gives you. It's not about being spectacular or entertaining - but effective. If Rashford beats Guglielmo Vicario. If Fernandes plants his header past the Italian. Then it's virtually game over. Taking the lead away from home gives United control. Some breathing space. And further takes a hostile home crowd out of the equation.
"We have to score that goal to quieten the crowd, quieten the opponent," Ten Hag would later say post-match. "I think it was so quiet in the stadium in the first half because we took away the game and they didn't have the belief. When you score, I think the game is ours."
He's right. Of course he is. And he also knows the problem. The question is: what's he going to do about it?
United haven't had a decent centre-forward since Zlatan Ibrahimovic. That was over five years and three managers ago. Again, we're just going over old ground here. There's nothing new. Ten Hag knows the problem. The players do too. The likes of Luke Shaw and Fernandes speaking openly about the hope of a natural goalscorer being added to the XI. They've waiting for such an addition for over five years.
Roy Keane tore a strip off the players - and Ten Hag - in his analysis on Saturday. "They were easy to play against", declared the former United captain. "They were lethargic" and "flat", he insisted before turning on the manager: "We're told Ten Hag is a brilliant coach but we need to see it."
This column disagrees with Keane's assessment. As it all changes with a first-half goal. Eric Cantona. Andrew Cole. Ruud van Nistelrooy. Keane always had those goalscorers ahead of him to take a game from the opposition - even when they were playing poorly. This team, for the moment, don't have that. The work of Fernandes, Garnacho and Mason Mount can be as good as anything we've seen. But if there's no-one capable of converting those chances, then any amount of impressive lead-up play (the passing sequence to create Rashford's opportunity, for example) will matter little. That United have 37 shots in their opening two Premier League games with only Raphael Varane's goal to show for it really does say it all.
United's scratchy season start isn't about tactics, systems or style. It's about personnel. Primarily their lack of a quality No9. And it's holding everything back. Ten Hag knows this. As does the board. The question is: are they going to do anything about it?
