Jadon Sancho's Outburst May Be More Symbolic Than It Appears

Erik Ten Hag couldn't have made his answer clearer when asked about Jadon Sancho's absence from the matchday squad following Manchester United's defeat at the Emirates; "On his performance in training we didn't select him."

Jadon was equally as clear in his unheralded response sent out shortly after across his social media; "I've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair!"

A Manchester United winger causing unnecessary drama off the pitch, putting a manager in a difficult position, and forcing a largely incompetent board and team of higher-ups at the football club into swift, paramount action. Sound familiar?

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out - without the legal implications of the Mason Greenwood saga but with just the same amount of attention and scrutiny from the public eye. What stands out to me is the question that has arisen on both occasions, asked tentatively and yet with a substantial amount of gravity to it: Will he ever play a football game for Manchester United again? 

Of course, there's every chance that Sancho will be in the squad again by October. In this case, such a question will have aged extraordinarily poorly. However, such an outcome - rather, any outcome that suggests Sancho getting away with this outburst without serious reprimand beyond a few weeks away from the first team - would be a strong representation of the shift that is taking place for Erik ten Hag right in front of his eyes.

This shift is one that we've seen a seemingly countless number of times with ten Hag's predecessors over the last decade; a shift away from control and towards chaos. A shift away from the trust and backing of the board (if it can even be defined as such) and towards a refusal to inject money into his long-term plans, spiraling the Dutchman towards the sack.

Comparisons to Jose Mourinho's second season in charge are merited. Both overachieved in their first, both brought in silverware, and both took underperforming stars under their wing and saw said players achieve greatly improved campaigns under their guidance. 

And what were both rewarded with? A substantial decrease in funding for their second summer partnered beautifully with an answer that only Manchester United as a club of its size would give their manager when told to sell a player who isn't in his plans: "No."

Hence, both enter their second season with an unfair level of expectation placed on the back of the previous year's success, coupled with a lack of desired summer business, making such expectations borderline impossible to attain.

Mourinho amazingly finished second in the league, before the same process happened yet again the following summer and he was gone by that Christmas. We're four games in, and a second-place finish already feels out of the equation for Erik ten Hag. Time will tell if we've seen the end of the crossover with Jose's tenure; most would hope that this is indeed the case.

Anyway, enough of the pointless rambling about the ostensibly inevitable nature of the progression of United managerial tenures. If the process is truly as scientific as the evidence arguably suggests, there's no need for me or anyone else to remain invested in this team and this manager. The blueprint says he'll be scapegoated, left out to dry, and gone by - let's estimate - February.

I don't think this will be the case, but as the Jadon Sancho saga continues to unfold I think it will be rather indicative of ten Hag's eventual fate.

How can this be the case, one might ask? If Sancho won't be playing, how will his situation have any bearing on this manager's job security?

Well, the answer is hidden in plain sight. If Sancho isn't playing. 

The player and manager have fallen out. If this happens elsewhere, the player is removed at the first opportunity regardless of any level of individual talent. This happens because the manager is in control; and if it doesn't, the manager will be out the door before the player. And there lies the answer to the Sancho conundrum. 

If Jadon is reinstated into the team and Erik comes out exclaiming the importance of second chances, it's very obvious that he's losing control; being told by his superiors that Sancho must come back.

But, if the Sancho chapter soon comes to a close at Manchester United, one can rest with a little more comfort in Erik ten Hag's position. One can trust that the boss' voice is still heard; and that the club doesn't have its finger on the sack button (surely it needs a rest, anyway. That button tends to stay busier than the recruitment team). 

This all unfortunately ends in a cliché, but a precisely selected one: time will tell.