Very true, and this forum is split with those massively against him and then those who are more entrenched in their views to back him.
That said - how can we really evaluate a manager that has not really had a fit and dependable center back pairing all seasons, injuries being rotated across 4-5 center backs every week? If we park the Casemiro / Eriksen extended absences and other random misses here and there, I feel having that much of a defensive problem will not be a fair reflection on any manager. This is parking Ten Hag to one side, of course.
I'm not trying to say ETH is massive by the way. It's a genuine question. When Liverpool had their defensive crisis they were really bad, when Arsenal lost Saliba last year they bottled the league. When Tottenham lost VDV and Romero for a spell they got 1 point in 15. When City lost Rodri + KDB they looked like half the team. I wonder how not having any CBs that can be depended on for fitness for the entire season thus far is affecting a coach.
There still has to be something you can cling on to, i guess. And for the most part of the post-Ferguson era, that something has never been there. The funny (or weird) part is that, one way or the other, a considerable percentage of posters on here can, at some point, tell that this is the case. Then, they go to war with another chunk of people who, more than anything else,
want to believe that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
Fun fact for those who like to delve into statistics: Since 2016-17, United have finished above Klopp's Liverpool in the final PL table three times (2017-18, 2020-21 & 2022-23). To add some context, that's actually in half (3) out of the last six seasons this has happened. These seasons are considered by United fans to be some of the most hopeful times for the club since SAF's retirement: Mourinho's 81 points season, Solskjaer's 2nd place and ETH's inaugural season at the helm. Still, on all three occasions, the xPTS models were telling us that Liverpool should have finished above United. We didn't have to wait long, things always go back to normal pretty quick for both clubs. The underlying stats show that their baseline under Klopp has a higher ceiling than our over-performance. This is what good managers bring to the table. Another example, Arsenal will probably not match their 84 points tally this season but, halfway through the season, the xPTS models indicate that they still are an 80-points (or in the thereabouts) side despite Arteta's tinkering with their midfield. The basis of a good team is there.
I still remember that a few jumped at me when i argued, in the expectations thread at the start of the season, that our goal should be to gain just a few more points but with more convincing performances. Stability/progress isn't about moving from over-performing to massively over-performing. It's about having a safety platform that can keep you within striking distance from the top when you're having a bad or a transitional season/period. Mourinho first, then Solskjaer and now ETH look like poker players who have aggressively gone all-in, hoping to ride their luck (like Conte did at Chelsea) when everyone could not just call their bluff, but also held better hands themselves. Why's that, we can only speculate. Perhaps, it's the pressure at United to push for the title after a certain period of time that forces their hand. Or a board that's neither willing nor capable to oversee massive changes. Or their own incompetence to provide such a baseline. Maybe it's all these things combined.