I had a big post written up and another thread to go but it's not like we need one so I'm gonna post in here instead.
It's clear Ten Hag is looking for a goalscorer. Unfortunately despite his purple patch, McTominay isn't the guy, and neither is Hojlund. It was worth an experiment at least.
But in the absence of anything better personnel wise, I'd like to see an increased tempo in the second half of games and in the opening exchanges. Do the same things we are already doing but tell the players to do them faster. Because that was basically how Alex Ferguson turned so many games around in Europe: told everyone to play quicker. No safety first possession, get the ball up and get it moving into the danger area as soon as possible - work from wide to the byline and that sort of thing. Play keep ball and patience once we are ahead but GET ahead, and score quickly. Sending players out and telling them to go all out in the first 15 minutes against Villa would be pretty much the only option at this point. We might get destroyed by a confident Villa but I don't know if it's the talent wrecking our team, OR the coaching, it all looks mental at this point. Get them believing they are Manchester United again, up the tempo, and they could get playing like the real Manchester United again sooner than you'd think.