I think nobody wants pragmatic football over a long period. Van Gaal lost the group by how he prolonged his restrictive approach. Players felt like robots and were too afraid of making mistakes as they feared the rage from the ogre.
Herrera got a hairdryer after scoring away against Everton because he left "his position" to score the goal. No player can enjoy that type of management and I don't think any player or fan wants to see that garbage on a weekly basis again. After all if the majority of us pushed for ETH is to get something different and finally enjoy football. That said, in very specific circumstances it isn't a bad to give a little step back so you can keep moving forward, and this is probably one of these moments.
If we read the threads of all these players the conclusion seems to be universal: they're dog shit. But when they're asked to play an open, dominating brand of football and they miserably fail and recognize their limitations people act outraged and ask them to perform, evolve and adapt to those demands. It won't happen. Many of these players don't need to be coached, they need to be replaced.
If we're really targeting 4-5 signings as some reports say, ten Hag would be smart by avoiding a major bleeding in the next two games. There's no need to expose them anymore, he tried with this group and we got the message already, he noticed it too and changed our approach in the market, that's very much obvious.
Once he gets some ingredients in the coming weeks he can start cooking something. It won't be immediate but the process could start. There's no point now with some rotten potatoes.
Anyway and whatever he decides it should be respected, and it's clear that he needs relentless support from us and the club to dismantle this toxic, mediocre group. If he ends up sacked soon after a bad start that mediocrity won't be changed, actually it will reign the place after beating three managers in less than a year. The club need to make this work at any cost.