Why Man United can’t sack Ten Hag just yet!
There is mounting pressure on Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag this season, with his team having slumped to six defeats in their first 14 Premier League games so far. Their form in the UEFA Champions is also a huge cause for concern, having won just one match in five, leaving them bottom of their group and on the brink of elimination. Their only hope in the Champions League is now to beat Bayern Munich in the last group game at Old Trafford and hope the result goes in their favour in the other game between Copenhagen and Galatasaray. It is more apparent than ever that Ten Hag’s job could be on the line, but sacking him might not be the right decision just yet. Soccer Laduma’s Lukhanyo Mtuta investigates.
A good start
In July 2022, Erik ten Hag was appointed by Manchester United on the back of a hugely successful tenure at Ajax Amsterdam, where he guided the side to six titles in five seasons, including three Eredivisie trophies. His appointment was also boosted by fact that he had inspired a youthful Ajax team to the semifinals of the Champions League in the 2018/19 campaign. His arrival in Manchester also came on the back of some difficult times at Old Trafford, with the club having gone through a rough patch under former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and interim coach Ralf Rangnick. Although he suffered back-to-back defeats in his first two Premier League games, it did not take long before Ten Hag got the team playing again, going on to win their next four league matches, including victories over rivals Arsenal and Liverpool. To date, he has won 52 of his first 83 games for United across all competitions and tasted defeat only 22 times. The issue now is that of those 22 losses, 10 of them have come in the 2023/24 season, signalling a concerning decline of results.
What has changed?
Ten Hag certainly earned a lot of credit for inspiring the team to their first domestic trophy in six years when United saw off Newcastle United in the 2022/23 Carabao Cup final in February. This, coupled with 2023/24 Champions League qualification, was to keep critics quiet and create hope that the team could become the force it once was under Sir Alex Ferguson. However, just as we witnessed with the likes of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, things tend to wane off in a devasting way at Old Trafford for managers and Ten Hag might not be an exception. There have been reports suggesting that the Manchester outfit has tabled an enticing offer to Real Madrid boss
Carlo Ancelotti with the hope of the Italian replacing the Dutchman at their helm next season. Ancelotti will be out of contract in June 2024 and although he has been heavily linked with the Brazil national team job, nothing is official yet. Such reports are sure to worry any coach, especially one whose contract expires in 2025.
What has been quite apparent for the Red Devils this season is that new signings have not delivered, except maybe for Rasmus Hojlund, who is the team’s top scorer in the Champions League with five goals. Their €50.2 million (R1 billion) goalkeeper signing Andre Onana has made detrimental mistakes in goal, often resulting in gamecosting strikes. The Cameroonian has conceded a porous 34 goals in 21 matches in all competitions so far, with some calling his big price tag into question. Fellow new signings Sofyan Amrabat and Mason Mount have made no noteworthy contribution to the team despite arriving amid much hype. Injuries have also been a thorn in their exploits, with players such as Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane having been in and out of the team due to recurring setbacks. While this might be unfortunate, the likes of Marcus Rashford have also gone eerily quiet this season, with the 26-year-old scoring only two times in 18 games so far this season – a far cry from his 30 goals and 11 assists last term.
The drama
Controversy has also marred Ten Hag’s spell at the club, with his widely publicised fallout with Cristiano Ronaldo still a topic in some quarters. That rift made the 53-year-old a polarising figure as some admired him for his role in offloading the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, while others criticised his handling of a player of the Portuguese superstar’s calibre. The Ronaldo situation has also seemingly repeated itself in the case of Jadon Sancho, with the winger having not played for the club since publicly accusing Ten Hag of using him as a scapegoat in August. It is believed the Englishman must first make a public apology to the coach before being allowed to return to the team, but he has shown no signs of doing so. Sancho is thus reportedly on his way out as the January transfer window looms. It is unclear what impact such controversies have on Ten Hag’s reputation, but it is beginning to become a trend in his career as he also fell out with stars such as Noa Lang and Onana back at Ajax too. The Dutch tactician was noted to have an authoritarian approach to his management philosophy, but it is quite difficult to tell how effective such a managerial style is at a huge club like Manchester United today.
The genuine reality of the situation
The reality is that the Red Devils have been underwhelming this season, but not all of that is down to the manager. The fans have never been happy with the owners of the club, the Glazer family, and this has been a disruptive issue for all their previous managers in the past decade. The Glazers have been criticised for the way they have run the club, from failing to upgrade training and stadium facilities to poorly handling recruitment. British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has reportedly acquired a 25% stake in the club and will oversee all footballing operations once the deal is finalised. This would allow him to make decisions on transfers, with it said he will bring in a new sporting director to handle matters too.
As such, there are compelling reasons that Ten Hag deserves a chance ahead of a new era at the club. His quality as a manager has not diminished and delivering a trophy in his first season is a telling sign that Ten Hag has a winning mentality and a drive for success. Perhaps like Mikel Arteta at Arsenal and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool in his first two seasons, he needs more time to implement his ideas with the backing of good owners. Furthermore, the idea of bringing in a new manager could be trickier than expected as an incoming coach would also need time to implement his ideas too. As we’ve seen in the past, finding an ideal manager for United has been an excruciating task and even big names such as Van Gaal and Mourinho have failed to live up to expectations. Surely, results have to improve for Ten Hag to buy more time, but replacing him now is likely to be more disruptive to the immediate future of the team. Lastly, it is unclear what sort of manager would thrive at Old Trafford as the club has tried experienced coaches such as Van Gaal as well as unconventional managers such as Solskjaer and Rangnick, but all have failed. It thus seems reasonable to stick with Ten Hag for now!