Manchester United are only 180 minutes into their latest Premier League season and, yet, there have been enough spills if not thrills to provide a familiar narrative. It was supposed to be so different under Erik ten Hag.
Of course, there is more than enough time for the former Ajax manager to turn fortunes around and current failings are not his doing. However, one decision Ten Hag did make during the summer transfer window has come under the spotlight following another high-octane matchday in the English top-flight.
Having been humbled by Brighton on the opening day, United were humiliated by Brentford on Saturday afternoon as David de Gea made a glaring error which set the tone for a 4-0 demolition. Around 24 hours later, United stopper Dean Henderson played a significant role in loan club Nottingham Forest grabbing their first win back in the big time after 23 years.
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Had things turned out differently last summer, Henderson would have been number one at Old Trafford, but De Gea reclaimed the gloves and was a rare shining light in an otherwise dismal campaign for United.
In the short-term, that decision was justified and Henderson sought a move elsewhere. However, he was tracked by Ten Hag while he was still at Ajax and the door might have been reopened.
As it turned out, though, the incoming United manager stuck by De Gea and out went Henderson, once again, while the timing of his penalty heroics could not be ignored. It brought sky-high praise from Forest manager Steve Cooper who, in analysing his efforts, negated past criticism over the United graduate from none other than Roy Keane.
Cooper said: "At times, you need goalkeepers to have big moments. The obvious thing was the penalty save, but his distribution was good and his decision-making was good.
"We are a side that want to play with the ball, but we had to play with a bit of caution in the second half and Dean handled that really well and was good with his positioning. He did well and he did well last week. Now, he has to do well next week."
De Gea was picked for every Premier League game by United last season as Henderson was given rare chances to play in cup competitions. However, after the Old Trafford outfit were dumped out of the FA Cup by Middlesbrough on penalties, it was Henderson who was picked out as a scapegoat by Keane for not making a telling contribution.
Speaking to fellow ITV pundit Ian Wright, he said: "Both keepers were dreadful. They were good penalties, but the two goalkeepers were dreadful, they got nowhere near them."
When assessing Henderson the season before last following a match against Liverpool, Keane added: "He looks so small in the goals, that's my worry [over] Henderson. He has a good mentality, good temperament and is good with his feet, but I've seen a few goals go in recently where he looks small in the goals.
"They can't go back to De Gea, I don't think that's the final answer either. He [Henderson] is going to make mistakes of course, but my worry is his presence."
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