Keeping Ten Hag: A Mistake That Needs to be Fixed

Author: Liam Lacey, Last Updated: 18.11.2024

After yet another humiliating defeat on Sunday, calls for the removal of Erik ten Hag from his position as manager of Manchester United have started once again. They come just three games into the new season but with United losing two out of those first three games combined with last season’s performances, it’s quite clear that the Dutchman’s days as boss at Old Trafford should be numbered.

The defeat to Liverpool was the sixteenth League defeat in United’s last forty-one League games across last season and the beginning of this, a number which should be embarrassing to any United manager, player or supporter.

Last season was a complete disaster for the club and its manager as they stumbled to an eighth-place finish in the League, the lowest finish for the club in Premier League history. They were also humiliated in the Champions League, finishing bottom of their group, a group that included FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray. Then, with all the speculation that the new part owners were going to wield the axe on a manager who oversaw one of the most embarrassing seasons in United’s modern history, United caused a major shock and beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup with the best defensive and most structured display of the Ten Hag era.

This spun a lot of the United fanbase into a complete over-reaction of Ten Hag’s time in charge as they completely forgot about the sub-standard fare that the Dutchman’s team had served up and instead pleaded with the new hierarchy to give him more time and that things would only get better if he was kept in place. INEOS ultimately and inexplicably agreed and kept Ten Hag in his job, even giving him a contract extension.

Many United fans had hoped that the new extension and the fact that the manager was backed in the summer window with new signings costing approximately £200 million meant that the pressure on Ten Hag would disappear and we would finally get to see the kind of football that everyone was hoping for when he joined from Ajax in 2022.

Unfortunately, for those in favour of him remaining in post, there is already a looming sense of déjà vu in how the 2024/25 EPL season is panning out. A somewhat fortuitous victory over Fulham has been followed by two typical United defeats to Brighton and Liverpool.

Same Old Problems for United

The games against Brighton and Liverpool in particular, highlighted once again why the Dutchman is out of his depth in charge of Manchester United. In both games, Ten Hag who has entered his third season in charge of the club and has had a major role in what players have come to the club in that time faced teams with new managers who have had just one pre-season with their new clubs, but in both he undoubtedly lost the touchline battle. Against Brighton, his lack of tactical nous and game management skills led to United losing late on to Fabian Hurzeler’s team as the Seagulls pressed on in the final quarter of the game to win it, while against Liverpool he was schooled by fellow Dutch coach Arne Slot after a bright opening few minutes.

Slot like Hurzeler has been in charge at Anfield for three League games but already has set his team up in such a way that we know what we are going to get from Arne Slot’s Liverpool, Sunday’s debacle against Liverpool was Ten Hag’s seventy-ninth League game in charge of Manchester United and he still has no cohesive plan on how he wants his United team to play.

United’s midfield is still far too open with no structure in or out of possession, Ten Hag tells his full backs to push far too high up the pitch with no plan on how to move the ball consistently through the lines or how to structure the defence when they are countered on without their full backs in place. He persists with an out of sorts Marcus Rashford when it should be obvious that Garnacho and Amad are worthy of a run as United’s wide men. Ten Hag has had plenty of time to sort out these issues but he either refuses to do it or he is unable to, whichever it is, it should be worrying for the hierarchy at the club who gambled so much on keeping him over the summer.

The decision to keep the Dutchman was belatedly made on the back of the new regime believing there wasn’t a better alternative to Ten Hag after winning the FA Cup and the fan support that he mustered after beating City. Would that have happened at any other big club around Europe?

Liam Lacey – Football and GAA Sports Expert

Liam Lacey, a sportswriter hailing from County Laois, Ireland, focuses on GAA and football, though he also considers himself quite the tennis enthusiast. Liam has covered everything from the All Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling Championships to the Premier League, Champions League, and international football, providing expert analysis, match previews, and predictions—sometimes even hitting the mark!

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