People have been talking about Erik ten Hag leaving his job as manager of Manchester United for months now. It’s been two and a half weeks since the FA Cup final win over Manchester City, so he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
This evening, late at night, word spread that INEOS had decided it was the right thing to do to confirm that Ten Hag would be staying on as manager. He is now talking with the club about a new contract.
The board apparently has full faith in his vision and management style and thinks he is the best person to lead United forward once their review is over.
It’s best for Manchester United for Erik ten Hag to stay.
People have been talking about Erik ten Hag leaving his job as manager of Manchester United for months now. It’s been two and a half weeks since the FA Cup final win over Manchester City, so he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
This evening, late at night, word spread that INEOS had decided it was the right thing to do to confirm that Ten Hag would be staying on as manager. He is now talking with the club about a new contract.
The board apparently has full faith in his vision and management style and thinks he is the best person to lead United forward once their review is over.
There has been a big change since the day before the cup final, when it was widely reported that Ten Hag had already been fired and that many other candidates were being tied to the still-full dugout.
But was it really the right choice?
You can’t get away from the fact that last season was bad, even if you won the FA Cup. With a goal difference of -1 after 38 games and an eighth-place finish, it’s clear that a club has big problems, especially when the team is as expensively put together as this United one.
It’s best for Manchester United for Erik ten Hag to stay.
Alex Browne wrote it. 06/12/2024
People have been talking about Erik ten Hag leaving his job as manager of Manchester United for months now. It’s been two and a half weeks since the FA Cup final win over Manchester City, so he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
This evening, late at night, word spread that INEOS had decided it was the right thing to do to confirm that Ten Hag would be staying on as manager. He is now talking with the club about a new contract.
The board apparently has full faith in his vision and management style and thinks he is the best person to lead United forward once their review is over.
There has been a big change since the day before the cup final, when it was widely reported that Ten Hag had already been fired and that many other candidates were being tied to the still-full dugout.
But was it really the right choice?
You can’t get away from the fact that last season was bad, even if you won the FA Cup. With a goal difference of -1 after 38 games and an eighth-place finish, it’s clear that a club has big problems, especially when the team is as expensively put together as this United one.
An embarrassing loss in the group rounds to Copenhagen and Galatasaray in Europe is just not good enough for a team like United.
Also, the Dutchman’s hiring has come under a lot of scrutiny because expensive deals like Casemiro and Antony have not lived up to expectations. They are said to be among the first names INEOS will be cutting this summer.
For United to spend a total of £156 million on two players who are no longer needed after two years is pretty bad, even by their recent standards.
But this isn’t really the case. You can’t say enough good things about Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino as coaches. Germans have problems with the way they play football and can’t get along with most business structures. Pochettino’s lack of titles at Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur is also a bad point.
Other names like Thomas Frank, Kieran McKenna, and Roberto De Zerbi are all exciting managers in their own right, but it makes a lot of sense to say that United is a much bigger step up for them than the teams they are currently in charge of.
United fans were also worried about whether Gareth Southgate would be available after the Euros. This is something United may have to deal with in the future, but thankfully not yet.
Ten Hag is valuable in his own way, though. People in the football world tend to have very narrow views. The club was playing some of its best football since Sir Alex Ferguson left just last year. Since INEOS and Jason Wilcox are in charge of technology, Ten Hag can take a back seat and focus on teaching a style that makes the new owners happy.
The new system at INEOS will be different from what has come before, but no one knows if it will work or not. Ten Hag will be the first United boss since Glazer to work with a group of talented football players like Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, and Dan Ashworth. The new owners probably think they can help the boss a lot more than John Murtough, Ed Woodward, or Richard Arnold ever could.
There’s also the crazy number of injuries the team had last year. Unless the club is cursed, it makes sense that Ten Hag won’t be without key players like Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw for so much of the season.
Also, players like Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund should get better in their second season, and we haven’t seen much of Mason Mount’s talent yet.
Two more things that have helped Ten Hag this season are the use and growth of many young players. Lucky for United, their under-18 team is doing well right now, and there will likely be many talented players making their starts in the months and years to come.
Under Erik ten Hag’s leadership, players like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have become stars. This shows that he will give young players chances and trust them if they are good enough. A lot of United fans hope that he will keep doing that or that INEOS will make him do it.
Last but not least, United are all about getting trophies. The club has won two awards in two years, even though the team has been in a lot of trouble and there have been problems on and off the field.
They are “only” the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup, but most clubs would give anything to win one of them just once. Even the biggest United fan couldn’t say that the team is in a good enough position right now to win the Premier League or the Champions League. The standards are better at United.
Not everyone will want to keep Erik Ten Hag, but United needs to make this choice because of their current situation. Since he kept fans on the edge of their seats for so long, it’s now up to him and INEOS to deliver.
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