FROM AJAX TO A TOTAL DEEP CLEAN
Can Ten Hag bring sparkle back to United where more experienced bosses failed? Only if he has power to control the footballing side and the time to impose philosophy on a crisis club
ERIK TEN HAG is convinced he can succeed at Manchester United – where coaches with bigger profiles than him have failed.
His predecessors at United include Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, experienced and decorated coaches all over Europe, yet both of whom were ultimately destined to fail at United.
So can Ten Hag succeed where Van Gaal, Mourinho, David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer failed, in returning United to the status of Premier League champions and a force in Europe?
What is certain is that he will need to be given total autonomy and control on the playing side, in terms of incomings and outgoings, as well as the structure of the football side of the club and how it is run.
Such issues proved the downfall of several of his predecessors, while Ten Hag must also be given time to implement the ideas and structures that he believes will yield sustainable success at the world’s most famous club.
He has forged a reputation as one of Europe’s most progressive coaches in his four-and-a-half-year spell at Ajax, which has yielded two league titles – possibly one more this season – and two Dutch cups.
The 52-year-old Dutchman was the unanimous choice for the United job by those entrusted with selecting the club’s new permanent boss. Of the candidates interviewed, which also included
Paris SaintGermain manager
Mauricio Pochettino and Spain coach Luis Enrique, United felt Ten Hag was the one most closely aligned with their identity and strategy.
His status as a proven winner, commitment to youth and an attractive, attacking style of play, as well as his ability to improve players – something lacking at United in recent years – and a track record of developing teams was also seen as giving him the edge over his rivals.
Football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher travelled to Holland to complete background checks on Ten Hag, speaking to former players and staff, to build a rounded picture of the man they were set to appoint as United’s new boss.
In his interviews with Murtough and Fletcher, initially on Zoom but then face-to-face, Ten Hag set out a long-term vision for United and how he intended to rebuild them into an exciting team, capable of challenging for the title again.
Murtough, Fletcher and chief executive Richard Arnold were impressed with the passion, energy and enthusiasm for the challenge shown by Ten Hag, who becomes United’s fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson left.
Also taken into consideration was the fact he has managed more than 40 Champions League games, including leading Ajax to the semi-finals in 2019.
His ‘big club’ experience at Bayern Munich, where he worked under Pep Guardiola, was also seen as a major plus, given the size of United and the scale of the task.
United were also won over by Ten Hag’s desire to prove himself in a bigger league than the Eredivisie and his belief he was ready to take the next step in his stellar managerial career.
With two titles and two cups in two full seasons – Ajax were also top when the league was suspended in 2019-20 because of Covid –
he has proved he has a winning mentality.
Only time will tell if he can transfer that winning ethos to a bigger stage and succeed where others have failed.