Erik ten Hag at Manchester United: From dead man walking to last man standing
Erik ten Hag at Manchester United: From dead man walking to last man standing
Although the manager was predicted to be sacked, he is the only person from the management circle who is still there. Ahead of the Community Shield he is once again being touted for dismissal.
Ahead of Saturday's English Super Cup between cup winners Manchester United and champions Manchester City, speculation is already rife as to how long United coach Erik ten Hag, who has been heavily criticized recently, will be able to hold on in the new season. Former club striker Teddy Sheringham suspects that ten Hag could be sacked "after two weeks" if he gets three bad results at the start. His fellow pundit Jamie Carragher, a veteran player of arch-rivals Liverpool, is certain the Dutchman will be gone by the November internationals - an amusing reference to United's previous managerial dismissals of José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who both had to pack their bags in the same period. And Dwight Yorke, once Sheringham's strike partner, even believes he knows a possible successor to ten Hag: goal-scoring legend Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has just joined the United coaching team as an assistant.
At least ten Hag can counter the less than benevolent forecasts with the fact that the assumptions of the footballing public in England had already failed to materialize in the previous season. At that time, he was almost universally predicted to be released due to the disappointing league performance and Champions League preliminary round exit, at the latest by the end of the season, it was said. However, the club postponed the coaching decision until the final analysis of the season during the summer break - meaning that the situation after the surprising FA Cup win against Manchester City in May was suddenly only partially suitable for a separation.
The club not only replaced the management, but also the coaching team
United nevertheless sounded out the interest of several coaching candidates, including Thomas Tuchel, in the person of Jim Ratcliffe, the minority owner responsible for the soccer division since Christmas. But the mutual conviction for a new start in this position seemed to be lacking in each case, also because the opinion of the fans had turned in favor of the current coach. After a week and a half of deliberation, United confirmed their collaboration with ten Hag and extended his contract by one year until 2026 as a sign of their support. Sporting director Dan Ashworth assured the club that they had "the best partner" in the 54-year-old.
The 54-year-old has undergone a metamorphosis at United that would hardly have been thought possible, turning from a dead man walking to a last man standing - from a living dead to a quasi last survivor. Since Ratcliffe's arrival at his childhood club, ten Hag is pretty much the only member of the management team who has not been replaced in recent months. In addition to Ashworth, who was brought in from Newcastle United, the club signed Omar Berrada, poached from city rivals City, as a new managing director and installed Jason Wilcox from Southampton FC as technical director. United also signed transfer strategist Christopher Vivell and refreshed the coaching team: Not only did van Nistelrooy arrive, but also Rene Hake, Andreas Georgson and goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar.
United’s squad is also set for a shake-up, with the problem cases of Sancho and Greenwood solved
A similar shake-up is also taking place in the squad. The club let central defender Raphaël Varane and playmaker Donny van de Beek leave. United had expected more from both when the club acquired them at great expense a few years ago. In addition, a solution was found for the highly talented problem cases Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho: Greenwood, who fell out of favor due to an ultimately dropped case relating to attempted rape, assault and coercion, was sold to Olympique Marseille for €26 million; and Sancho, who was most recently loaned out to Borussia Dortmund, resolved the differences with his coach resulting from a dispute in autumn 2023. He is back in the professional squad.
However, the new management's routines still need to settle in. United have only been able to acquire two players on the transfer market so far, although the team urgently needs further reinforcements, especially in the shaky defense. Central defender Leny Yoro, 18, from LOSC Lille and former FC Bayern youth striker Joshua Zirkzee, 23, from FC Bologna came for a seemingly overpriced 100 million. Both are likely to embody the trend that the club wants to invest in young players hungry for success rather than veterans. Most recently, United appeared to be seeking the services of Bayern defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
The key task for ten Hag is to reduce the number of injured players
For the time being, ten Hag's core task is to get more out of the potential of the existing players and, above all, to get them into a reasonably good physical condition. In pre-season, numerous United players were more conspicuous for their injuries than their performances. English media counted a total of 66 (!) injuries in the professional squad. Center forward Rasmus Hojlund and the recently acquired Yoro will once again be missing for the Super Cup match against City due to thigh problems. The Frenchman broke his metatarsal in a test match and had to undergo surgery.
Erik ten Hag remains one of the bookmakers' favorites to be sacked early in the season. Little mention is made of the fact that Alex Ferguson was once also on the brink of resignation before securing his job with a cup win in 1990 and ultimately remaining at United for 27 years. But nobody at ten Hag would bet on that right now.