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“We are in quite a good position,” said Erik ten Hag. In itself, the statement may have been an indication of how standards have slipped at Manchester United. Given United are sixth, it scarcely meets Sir Alex Ferguson’s definition of quite good. And yet there was a logic to Ten Hag’s comments. United have not been expelled from top-four contention. They can look down on Newcastle and Chelsea in the table, though the Tynesiders are entitled to feel their performance level has been considerably higher than United’s; the Londoners may think that, too. Tottenham have been hailed as early-season revelations but are now only five points ahead of United’s underachievers. Ten Hag argued the context made United’s decidedly mixed start better than it has often appeared. He noted that they have won four of their last five league games. “If you see all the trouble we had, we are in a very good position,” he insisted. “That is a reason to be optimistic.” But do the grounds for optimism extend beyond that? Ten Hag is entitled to imagine a rosier future with his strongest team. Luke Shaw may be back soon, giving him a high-class left-back. Yet Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez may not feature again in 2023 – and without the Argentinian, it seems as though Raphael Varane is not in his preferred line-up either – and now United are waiting to see if Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund will join them on the treatment table. The £72m striker has no Premier League goals but, with Anthony Martial his understudy, appears irreplaceable nonetheless. The counter-argument is that United’s league position flatters them. It is in part a product of an inability to draw, rewarding them in games of all or nothing, but their five defeats may be more telling than the seven wins. Thus far, the fixture list has been friendly: seven of their 12 games have been at home. None of their victories have come against the current top eight. They have played all three promoted teams and most of the stragglers. The seven matches to take them to the half-way point are against in-form Everton, then Newcastle, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa. United, yet to prove they can beat top teams, looking fallible against the mid-table outfits, risk slipping down the standings. Indeed, those seven victories have all come by a lone goal; fine margins may have benefited them and their expected points total, of 16.32, is far lower than their actual haul of 21, putting them below Brentford and Everton in that particular chart. United have a sole truly dominant performance to their name this season, against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup. And issues abound across the team. A third of the way into the campaign, United have 13 league goals, three fewer than Wolves, under half Villa’s total. Ridiculously, United have just one from a forward. Perhaps it means individual droughts will soon become floods. “Rasmus Hojlund scored five goals in the Champions League,” Ten Hag noted. “[Marcus] Rashford scored 30 goals last season.” Now he has one. If Rashford was United’s player of the year last season, and there were several other compelling candidates, now there are too few. Halt the campaign now and the frontrunners for the Sir Matt Busby award might be Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay: men who have revived their United careers, but two who the club were willing to sell at the right price. Arguably no one else has played well enough to merit a mention. United’s season scarcely shows a strategy that is about to pay off with spectacular improvement. Ten Hag’s bench for Saturday’s win over Luton contained two of his flagship signings year summer, in Sofyan Amrabat and Mason Mount, each now behind McTominay in the queue for places in a midfield without the injured Casemiro, plus his biggest buy, in the eternally disappointing Antony. Rashford played on the right wing, his third best position; none of this seemed part of Ten Hag’s summer blueprint, just as his summer spending spree is yet to reap a dividend. Ten Hag’s makeshift line-ups stem from injuries – it is quicker to name the United players who have not missed games than those who have – but also from shifts in thinking, from desperate searches for a winning formula. His defence has been decimated and Ten Hag would say that affects the attack, both in terms of the continuity and understanding that bring routines, and with Shaw and Martinez’s ability to pass out from the back. Defensively, though, there are other difficulties. Unconvincing as Andre Onana has been, his worst errors have been confined to the Champions League. It can feel odd to see that, while sometimes conceding in damning fashion, he has one of the highest save percentages in the Premier League. Go by expected goals and United should have conceded more. Again, the numbers suggest they are poorer than the table indicated. In short, it could have been worse. And it could get worse. This should have been the easy part. In their last 12 matches in all competitions, United have had a Manchester derby but each of the other 11 would have been winnable for the team of last season. This year, they lost five of 12. Now, as the fixture list gets ominous, Ten Hag thinks United could get better. He may be right but, apart from the prospect of players returning to fitness, the last three months offer too few other reasons for optimism. “Quite a good position” could get become what is definitively a bad one. Read More Harry Maguire reveals how he reclaimed Man Utd place: ‘I had to be patient’ Man United can ‘make life easy by scoring goals’, says Erik ten Hag after Luton win Ten Hag to serve one-match ban after third booking for Manchester United Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag urges team to become more clinical Man United produce the bare minimum to avoid embarrassment against Luton Man United v Luton LIVE: Result and reaction from crucial Premier League clash

Gareth Southgate believes England can benefit from Harry Kane’s move to Germany – especially if his captain goes on to lift the first silverware of his career at Bayern Munich. Kane, 30, swapped boyhood club Tottenham for the Allianz Arena in a deal that could be worth £100million. He had been linked with a move away from Spurs for the past few summers, including while heading into tournaments as England skipper. Now Kane’s future has been sorted, during a year where England were not relying on his goals, Southgate is pleased to see him hit the ground running at Bayern. “I definitely think from a selfish England perspective it’s good that his future’s settled now for the next few years,” the England manager said. “I think potentially that can be a distraction for players. But also it’s good for him that he’s got to go and perform at a new club now. He’s been at one club for so long. “To have a change means you’ve got to impress new team-mates, new staff, new fans and also there’s the life experience of having the breadth of adjusting to a new country. I think there’s a lot of positives there.” I’m not sure that he’s going to become a better player but there might be other aspects of the mentality that this move will help him with Gareth Southgate As England and Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer, Kane has already hit three goals in his first two Bundesliga appearances and will be aiming to win trophies this season to break his duck. He lost two League Cup finals and the 2019 Champions League final at Tottenham but, with Bayern having won the last 11 Bundesliga titles, Kane could finally get his hands on a winners’ medal. “I’m sure for his own belief that would be brilliant,” Southgate added. “I’m not sure that he’s going to become a better player but there might be other aspects of the mentality that this move will help him with. “They’re probably the bits that as you get older are the only bits you can improve upon. “I think the Bundesliga is a bit different to some of the other leagues we’ve talked about, a bit more transitional. “There is an intensity to that. We’ll have all the data on that from training sessions and matches, so we’re able to track that really closely. “I think the big difference for Harry this year will be that there’s going to be a lot of games where they’re very dominant and in the opposition third of the pitch, so I think there will be a lot more play for him in penalty box I suspect than he had in the last couple of seasons.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Erik ten Hag tips Rasmus Hojlund to have ‘very good impact’ at Manchester United Rob Page will not be ‘influenced by negativity’ ahead of critical Wales period Mikel Arteta hails Eddie Nketiah’s fight to play for England after first call-up

Olivia Dunne continues to captivate her fans with her alluring presence

Rasmus Hojlund has not been ruled out of Manchester United’s Premier League game at Everton on Sunday, but Christian Eriksen will play no part. United boss Erik ten Hag has issued an injury update on the Denmark pair, who missed out for their country during the international break. Hojlund (muscle strain) and Eriksen (knee) both sustained injuries in United’s previous top-flight fixture, a 1-0 home win against Luton on November 11. Ten Hag told United’s official website: “Christian will take a little bit longer. It will take some weeks until he will return. “Rasmus Hojlund, not too bad. Everton will be a close finish, but we’re working on that. “We’re not sure if he can make that but, hopefully, in the next week, he will return to the squad.” Both players were withdrawn in the closing stages against Luton. United initially confirmed Eriksen would be out for a month, while Hojlund was hoping to return before the end of November. Should Hojlund fail a fitness test before Sunday’s game at Everton, he could make a timely return to action in next Tuesday’s Champions’ League fixture against Galatasaray in Istanbul. Fellow forward Marcus Rashford will miss that must-win group game through suspension following his red card in the recent defeat in Copenhagen. United have confirmed that Ten Hag will serve a touchline ban at Everton this weekend having accumulated three yellow cards. Read More Ben Curry has career goal of playing for England alongside twin brother Tom ‘Grass ceiling’ facing black footballers highlighted by new diversity data Wales boss Rob Page hails ‘great opportunity’ after Euro 2024 play-off draw

The playoff-contending Miami Marlins are eager to put their eventful trip to New York in the rearview mirror