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Scott McTominay may have been summoned more in desperation than inspiration. Erik ten Hag had already tried four other substitutes, with precious little impact. He had taken off Marcus Rashford, for the third game in a row. He had brought off a defender for a striker. He had hauled Casemiro off at half-time. And then, in the 87th minute, in a last throw of the dice, he swapped his remaining defensive midfielders. Exit Sofyan Amrabat, enter McTominay. It may prove the best substitution Ten Hag will ever make as United manager. Because, 10 minutes later, McTominay was charging, his teammates frantically trying to catch him as Old Trafford, perhaps preparing the boos, erupted. Like a one-man Sheringham and Solskjaer, McTominay had scored twice in injury-time, transforming defeat into victory, a potential mutiny into jubilation. When ignominy and misery beckoned, United instead had McTominay, a man on a mission. It may breach the Trades Description Act to brand him a defensive midfielder here. He spent much of his cameo haring into the box, running with purposeful potency. It was under pressure from McTominay that Nathan Collins put the ball in his own net for a goal that was disallowed because Martial was offside. No matter. When Thomas Strakosha, the second-choice goalkeeper who United barely tested for much of his Premier League debut, parried Diogo Dalot’s shot, McTominay was the predator in the box who was on hand to finish. When Bruno Fernandes’ free kick was headed on by Harry Maguire, McTominay anticipated it and planted his header past Strakosha. His goals have been more frequent for Scotland than United of late but Fergie Time became McTominay Time. Just in time for Ten Hag, too. This was shaping up as a week of three consecutive defeats in eminently winnable games. United still have not lost three successive home games since 1962 and Brentford have not won at Old Trafford since 1937, but each run came perilously close to ending. United could scarcely complain if they had, either. Brentford were responsible for arguably the lowest point of Ten Hag’s reign, the 4-0 shellacking in his second game. Yet a loss here, a seventh in 11 games at the start of the season, may have been a new low for a club who find ways to plumb depths. Results can change much, from a mood to a season, but they should not camouflage everything. Defeat was desperately cruel to Brentford. They looked better coached, with more of a gameplan. United scarcely pressed, and when they did it was individually. Ten Hag can talk of togetherness, but United looked a rabble; with a starting 11 who cost around £400m, an expensive rabble who were rescued by a player who cost nothing, in an academy product. Minutes from a landmark result, Brentford instead could reflect on what might have been. In different ways, Brentford have lost arguably their three most important players from last season, in the departed David Raya, the injured Rico Henry and the suspended Ivan Toney. It meant United should not complain about the loss of Raphael Varane, which meant they were without six sidelined defenders. It nevertheless produced a teamsheet with a difference. The Leicester retro centre-back partnership of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans were reunited; against the rather quicker Brentford strike duo of Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbuemo, the 35-year-old sometimes backed off so far he was in a different postcode. Lindelof switched to left-back and stalked down the tunnel when substituted. He was a culpable when Brentford led, but one of many. If errors have been a common denominator in goals United have conceded this season, there have rarely been more in one goal, as though a lowlights reel had been spliced together: first Casemiro gave the ball away, then he slid in a failed attempt to regain it. Lindelof failed to clear Wissa’s low pass – as did Casemiro – and Andre Onana should have saved Mathias Jensen’s shot, were he a goalkeeper who saves shots. Thereafter, United could at least be grateful that Onana denied Neal Maupay and that Diogo Dalot cleared off the line from Norgaard. For United, Fernandes at least injected urgency. Alejandro Garnacho brought more verve than Rashford. And yet a comeback was not seriously threatened until, with only Donny van de Beek, Facundo Pellestri, Hannibal Mejbri and Altay Bayindir left on the bench and the Brentford fans suggesting he may be sacked in the morning, Ten Hag turned to McTominay. It may be an exaggeration to brand it his Mark Robins moment – he was not on the brink – but once again, a youth-team product came to a beleaguered manager’s aid. And if the performance showed the flaws in this United team, the win brought respite in a torrid time. Read More Man United vs Brentford LIVE: Latest Premier League updates ‘There is only one person in the world I do not answer back to’ Mikel Arteta urges Arsenal to bring City losing streak to an end Erik Ten Hag insists managing Manchester United is not an impossible job Manchester United vs Arsenal LIVE: Latest Women’s Super League updates Roy Hodgson admits Crystal Palace are in midst of a ‘serious injury crisis’

Earlier this summer, when there was still the feeling that Manchester United might come in for Harry Kane, it was put to one figure at the club that Bayern Munich were very confident of getting him. "They have no experience of dealing with Daniel Levy," came the response. The German champions have since found out the very hard way. Extremely late on in the Kane deal, just as the player was about to board the plane, negotiations were ongoing with Tottenham about the make-up of the final figures. Levy has long been insistent that 80 percent of the overall package should be guaranteed and the total fee should come to £120 million. This has made many people in the football industry roll their eyes, but it all reflects how the chairman has long divided Tottenham fans. The cries of "Levy out" and "get out of our club" grew louder and louder last season, in that gleaming new stadium. Those who back him, and have admittedly been the far quieter party lately, would point to how he has gradually built the club from a glamorous but under-performing name to one of the Premier League's "super clubs" with the best infrastructure in Europe. They were included in the Super League, after all. Levy is clearly adept at long-term macro business strategy. Those who criticise him, and many of the fans would not even give him the credit for the business side, say this is constantly undercut by a short-term misunderstanding of football. The entire Kane saga has almost encapsulated all of this. While Levy may get the maximum price, it could come at the cost of being able to prepare properly from a purely football perspective. That is far from the first time that has been said. As one figure involved in negotiations said, "it's almost impossible to get a star out of Spurs much before 31 August". It was similar with Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and now - the one the club and fans value above all of them - Kane. Levy seeks to get absolutely everything out of the deal, cranking up the pressure as he himself remains unmoved. Carrick once explained exactly what that was like. The midfielder was in a similar position to Kane in the summer of 2016, when he felt he had to leave for Manchester United to fulfil his talent. Carrick got so frustrated with Levy's refusal to deal with the Old Trafford hierarchy, though, that he decided to call the Spurs chairman himself. The repeated message back was simple. “Well, they need to pay the money,” Levy said. “It was all about the money for Daniel, just driving the price up and up,” Carrick wrote in his autobiography. “Arguing with Daniel was pointless. I would have got more joy talking to a brick wall.” Carrick appealed again, and got the same response again. “Well, they need to pay the money.” Bayern are finding similar. A big question is whether this singular approach becomes self-defeating, especially when viewed from the other side. Those who know Mauricio Pochettino say that he still has huge regrets that he didn't make his Spurs the force that Liverpool became, and puts it down to a refusal by the club to properly spend in 2017-18. The two clubs were then at a similar level but that was the point when Jurgen Klopp went big on Alisson and Virgil van Dijk. Pochettino had requested some of the names that Liverpool wanted - including Sadio Mane - but Levy felt it was better to build in a sustainable way, with an emphasis on youth. The paths diverged. Liverpool went on to win the title and the Champions League, beating Spurs in the final. While Spurs went stale and Pochettino was eventually sacked. So many involved feel that it was a huge missed opportunity, that in large part came from Levy's failure to understand there are key points when teams need further investment to reap much more. There was a similar theme with Spurs’ sales. The Argentine had felt as early as 2017 that the team needed an overhaul and that it could actually be damaging to keep players around because of that danger of staleness. Levy insisted on huge prices for those like Danny Rose, though, and never got them. The team never refreshed. It almost represented a classic false economy. Those who defend Levy - and there are many in the game - would insist that is because he simply has to take an even longer-term view. The proof is in how Spurs have grown, and that stadium. Sources involved in the Super League say it was his business acumen that got Spurs into it since other executives wanted him but not the club. This is the contrast that feeds into how divisive he is. Levy gets the business side. He doesn't get the football side. This can become an issue when, as many sources say, he gets so hands-on in deals. The three immediate successors to Pochettino were all bad appointments, that just didn't fit with what Spurs were. They represented deviations from the club's philosophy. A perception has been that Levy got too distracted by big names - especially Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte - forgetting what Spurs were. A place for up-and-coming players and managers to make their name; since they are not yet in that truly elite bracket of clubs. Others in football who are more critical of Levy would go even further. They say a lot of this is about "ego"; that he needs to be involved; that he needs to get the best deals. A common view is this can be self-defeating for Spurs, because it affects football preparation. Take the Kane negotiations, to come full circle. Levy has long been adamant that he absolutely does not want to sell to an English club, because they are Spurs' competitors. That has long put off United, who just didn't want to get into protracted and frustrated negotiations with Levy again. But what has that resulted in? Had Spurs accepted the reality, which is that they are a level below United, they could have generated an auction that brought even more money. That's how valuable Kane is. Bayern will have to pay the price. The wonder is whether it also comes at some cost to Spurs and not just because they're losing one of their all-time greats. Follow all the latest on our Premier League transfers live blog Read More Fantasy Premier League: 30 players you must consider for 2023/24 season Premier League LIVE: Harry Kane ‘stopped on way to Stansted airport’ as Bayern Munich move halted Premier League 2023/24 predictions: Champions, top four, relegation, best signing, top scorer and more Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich move in doubt after Tottenham last-minute U-turn Premier League record scorers: How many goals do Alan Shearer and Harry Kane have? Premier League LIVE: Kane to Bayern hit by delay and transfer updates

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