Knife-edge tenure for ten Hag

It felt merely a matter of time. For most of his Manchester United tenure, Erik ten Hag’s future felt like it rested on a knife-edge. Ironically for the Dutchman, it ended where it began – in London.

His first appearance as a United employee was a watching brief. He was at Selhurst Park on May 22, 2022, when they were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace. It was Ralf Rangnick’s last game as United interim boss

The following day, in Old Trafford’s media room, Ten Hag spoke openly about the massive challenge ahead of him. But, despite acknowledging the size of the task, he also denied that he saw joining United as a big risk. How wrong he was.

an English Premier League win percentage of just 51.8

Last weekend, their 2-1 defeat by West Ham signalled the end of his tenure; a tenure that lasted 890 days – lengthy by recent United standards – but ending with an English Premier League (EPL) win percentage of just 51.8.

Ultimately, it was that which cost Ten Hag his job, but poor performances in Europe also counted against the Dutchman. Win percentages of 53.3% and 16.7% in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League respectively were not numbers that sat comfortably with the United hierarchy or their many fans.  

Cup success never enough

Ten Hag did see some success, namely in the two domestic cup competitions – the FA Cup final win over Man City last May being his finest hour, which just usurped a Carabao Cup triumph in 2023.

But it was never going to be enough. A club as gigantic as Manchester United was not going to settle for a couple of domestic cups amid a run of three seasons of not competing for the EPL title.

So Ten Hag was wrong to suggest that his move to Old Trafford was risk-free. It was anything but. And there was another comment made in that first-day presser that came back to haunt him.

He was asked about the dominance of Liverpool and Manchester City and, in particular, the roles played in that dominance by managers Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. His response was telling – he firmly believed that he could help United not only compete with both but also bring their era of dominance to an end.

That didn’t happen. Despite referring constantly to “the plan” there was no evidence of one, aside from that victorious Wembley afternoon in May when Manchester City were put to the sword.

That day, Guardiola’s men were beaten by a clear plan that involved being defensively solid before City defenders were sucked to the ball and then exploited by long, precision passes that allowed United’s dynamic attacking players the room in which to operate.

It worked like a dream but Ten Hag’s problem was that it was the only time it worked. Just one day in 890.

Muddle transfer policy

The rest of the time, the plan was unclear. Often muddled and confused, and not at all obvious to the United board or the fans. And it wasn’t just on the pitch where the plan was confused.

A further cause for concern was a muddled transfer policy that saw multimillion-dollar amounts squandered on players who failed to deliver at the level required. Brazilian winger Antony, who cost the Red Devils around $106m – the second most expensive player in the club’s history – was a perfect example.

So, while Ten Hag became a problem, he was by no means the only problem at United.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, United have had six managers – all of them unsuccessful. But crucially, they have had five managers since Klopp took his Anfield bow in 2015 and four since Guardiola pitched up in Manchester one year later. So, while Ten Hag may have been the wrong man at the wrong time, he was merely the most recent in a long line. Yet, he never helped his own cause.

mercilessly mocked on social media

In addition to the constant referral to a plan that never properly materialized, his use of buzzwords, such as “project” and “game model” ended with him being mercilessly mocked on social media. “Stick to the plan” was another phrase which United fans grew tired of when there appeared not to be one.  

But it wasn’t just social media that had Ten Hag in its sights. The Manchester media, who were notably supportive of the Dutchman in his first season, lost faith in his methods and ability to get a tune out of what was still a talented group of players.

Mixed messages for United players

The humiliations came thick and fast for Ten Hag and United.

There was the infamous 4-0 defeat at Brentford in August 2022; the 6-3 defeat by Man City in October 2022 when they were four goals down before half-time; the record-breaking 7-0 demolition at Anfield in March 2023; the defeat at Chelsea in April 2024 where United were winning well into injury time; and a close call in last season’s FA Cup semi-final when what would have been a Coventry winner was ruled out by VAR.

Manchester United insiders were regularly and anonymously leaking their displeasure with the coaching methods of Ten Hag, many citing the mixed messages he gave his players. He was also criticized for not making United defensively sound – something he vehemently denied despite the statistics telling a different story.  

In reality, this has been a massive problem throughout his tenure and continued to be in the opening weeks of this season. One particularly damning stat is that United under Ten Hag have conceded three or more goals on 24 occasions, which includes games against Liverpool and Tottenham this season. No other Premier League club during the Dutchman’s tenure have had more.

No style, no substance

All of this despite spending almost $800m on new players who, as we have already established, have done very little to help Ten Hag’s cause. The aforementioned Antony has been the biggest flop of all and rarely made the first XI in the latter stages of the Dutchman’s tenure – his last EPL appearance coming in the 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in May.

But there was more. The style of soccer also left a lot to be desired. United, a club renowned for playing in an attacking, swashbuckling style, rarely managed to do anything of the sort. Ten Hag’s preferred method, however confused, was always to patiently play out from the back but all too often, the defenders he had available were uncomfortable in doing so.   

It is a style of soccer that also relies on a goalkeeper who is good with the ball at his feet, so it didn’t help Ten Hag that the one he inherited, David de Gea, was very limited in that regard.

It meant he had to dispense with the services of the Spaniard and brought in Andre Onana from Inter Milan for a reported $61m – a huge amount for a keeper. And it didn’t help that Onana too had a slow start to his United career, albeit the Cameroonian did improve and has become the regular number one.

Juxtaposition between style of play and player profile

But it took more than a good soccer-playing keeper to implement Ten Hag’s preferred style and it was his defenders’ obvious discomfort on the ball that would often cost them soft goals – a recurrent theme.

One of those defenders who has been under the spotlight is Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt who they signed for $52m from Bayern Munich. Despite arriving with an impressive resume, the Netherlands international struggled with demands put upon him by Ten Hag both in and out of possession, and also in the positional sense.

avoid the style/substance issues that were becoming so problematic

There was a clear juxtaposition between the style of play the manager demands and the qualities of the players being asked to play it. When new owner Ineos started their Old Trafford takeover, the first task was to put in place a management structure to assist Ten Hag and avoid the style/substance issues that were becoming so problematic.

Omar Berrada was brought in as Chief Executive, Dan Ashworth as the club’s sporting director, and Jason Wilcox as its technical director. All arrived over the summer and their first big call was to retain the services of Ten Hag after their FA Cup triumph. Also joining the United coaching team over the summer was former fan-favorite striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Expectations were high

The mood was buoyant and even players who had been rumored to no longer be part of Ten Hag’s plans, like Harry Maguire, spoke glowingly of new beginnings and of how much they were looking forward to the new season:  

“It is frustrating that you can’t put a timeframe on it but with the structure they have in place now and the hierarchy, I really do believe they are going in the right direction and are the right men to bring success back to this club,” Maguire said.

Everything appeared to be in place for a good 2024-25

Ten Hag also spoke of his lofty ambition following the part-takeover. He described those now in charge of the club as having “great abilities” and how their ambitions and plans dovetailed with his own. Everything appeared to be in place for a good 2024-25, with everyone agreeing that another eighth-place finish would be unacceptable. And then the soccer resumed…

Currently, United are in 14th place and have their second-lowest EPL points total after nine games, with 11 (they had ten after nine games in 2019-20).

Most of the pre-season boosts and rallying cries amounted to nothing and despite narrowly winning at home against Fulham on opening day, they lost the next two – against Brighton and Liverpool – and it has been a struggle ever since.

The 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham on September 29 was particularly painful and by that point, any further talk of “the plan” left those in power at United and, more crucially, the fans unconvinced of Ten Hag’s ability to turn it around.

And alongside some decidedly average EPL form, United’s early skirmishes in the UEFA Europa League have been unconvincing. Three draws in their opening three games – against FC Twente, Porto, and Fenerbahce – have left them currently a miserable 21st in the table.  

Problems off the field too

It reached the point, as it often does with managers who are under pressure and nearing the end of their time at a club, when the decision-making becomes illogical and erratic. For example, Marcus Rashford was surprisingly dropped for the EPL at Crystal Palace in September despite scoring three goals in his previous two games. But when questioned on this, Ten Hag referred to a misdemeanour (a night out in Belfast) that occurred no less than eight months earlier.

However, that accurately reflects many of the difficulties Ten Hag had to handle behind the scenes. Rashford is just one of many players who have presented the Dutchman with off-field problems to manage.   

At the very start of his United tenure, Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford early after he had been substituted at half-time during a pre-season friendly – an act for which Ten Hag disciplined him.

It was initially seen as an act of strength by the Dutchman but it effectively kick-started a chain of events that led to the Portuguese superstar leaving the club. Ronaldo accused the Dutchman of not respecting him but, at the time, Ten Hag’s handling of a difficult situation was praised.

“When he is in good shape, he is a good player and could help us achieve the objectives we have, that is quite clear,” Ten Hag explained. “But he wasn’t.”

Sancho headache

England international Jadon Sancho was another to cause off-field headaches, with Ten Hag openly criticizing his fitness and willingness to train hard. It was a row that played out publicly and toed and froed several times before he was allowed to head out of Manchester on loan. The upshot is that the winger hasn’t played for United since September 2023 and, while still officially a United player, he is currently on loan at Chelsea.

most notable absentee for much of his reign was England left-back Luke Shaw

But it wasn’t just ill-discipline that Ten Hag had to deal with. He also had a crippling list of injuries and was rarely able to field what he considered to be his best XI. The most notable absentee for much of his reign was England left-back Luke Shaw, and at no stage was he able to find a quality replacement. It has been a problem position for well over two seasons.    

But, again, injuries and off-field issues were only part of the problem. In truth, these are hurdles that every soccer manager has to overcome but at a massive club like United they are magnified ten-fold.

Poor communication from the word go

Ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford with a reputation as a no-nonsense but effective communicator but rarely lived up to the hype. He was believed to prefer “blunt” questions to which he could give straightforward answers but all too often his answers were anything but.

Yet, through it all, he remained popular with most of the United playing squad, and many were sad to see him go. There was no big blowup or one single incident that caused the United board to pull the trigger.

But there was a growing disconnect and a failure to see what Ten Hag’s plan really was. That, ultimately, was his undoing.  

Now it is time for United to look forward… again.

The hot favorite to land the job is Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim (1600). Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will have enjoyed his first game in charge of United, though, as it ended in a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup.

Interesting times at United. Another fork in the road. Will they finally take the right one?   

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