Erik’s speaking double Dutch
...AND TEN HAG CAN SUFFER LIKE LOUIS
LOUIS VAN GAAL was parading the FA Cup around Wembley once, unaware he was about to be sacked.
Jose Mourinho was being measured up for his Manchester United blazer while the Dutchman celebrated beating Crystal Palace after extra time in 2016.
So Erik ten Hag should take little solace in the fact he has not heard much about his future as United boss.
Nor should he think that beating Coventry and then upsetting Manchester City in the final of the FA Cup after last month’s stunning quarter-final victory over Liverpool will save him. Tomorrow’s clash with their bitter rivals is probably much more important for his job prospects at Old Trafford.
And the result will matter less in the assessment by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his new band of merry men running the football operation at United. It will be about the performance.
If United were to go down 3-2 to their most hated rivals after an even battle, then it will be more favourable for Ten Hag
(inset) than snatching a 1-0 victory after being totally dominated.
Of course, the home fans would enjoy the latter more but surely INEOS would be looking at the bigger picture than just celebrating putting a dent in Liverpool’s title hopes.
That’s why Ten Hag’s fate won’t be decided on whether United make the Champions League next season. That looks highly unlikely now, anyway. There are mitigating factors for that.
The medical issues they’ve suffered are abnormal and no manager could build momentum in a campaign with 53 cases of injuries or illness causing players to miss a game this term.
But it is not the only reason they’ve lost so many matches in the Premier League and finished bottom of their Champions League group.
Ten Hag deserves criticism for team selections and tactics in many of those games, even if he has been dealt a shoddy hand this season.
There is the school of thought that giving him time with a proper football structure will bring the best out of a coach who took Ajax past Real Madrid and into the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
There’s also still credit in the bank from a debut campaign which brought much hope, a style of football that got results, top four and a trophy.
But Ten Hag is almost into his overdraft on that one.
Now he must show something in the final weeks of the season to save his job and INEOS will want to see this in how they play rather than the results they get. That starts tomorrow at Old Trafford.