Erik ten Hag had a grand vision for Manchester United. Appointed at Old Trafford at a time of dominance by Liverpool and Manchester City, the Dutchman immediately targeted United’s two biggest rivals. “Eras come to an end,” said ten Hag, promising a shift of power in English soccer.
The only thing that came to an end, though, was yet another Manchester United manager.
Defeat to West Ham on Sunday proved to be the last straw for ten Hag whose firing was confirmed within 24 hours. The Dutchman left United slumped in 14th place in the Premier League table with the Old Trafford side struggling for any sort of consistent form this season. His departure had been a long time coming.
Many believe ten Hag should have been removed from his position at the end of last season. Manchester United finished eighth in the Premier League – their lowest finish of the Premier League era – but masked somewhat this failure by unexpectedly beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
INEOS and the newly installed front office weighed up ten Hag’s future over the summer. New sporting director Dan Ashworth reportedly interviewed several potential candidates to replace the Dutchman including Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter. Ultimately, though, United stuck with ten Hag. That decision quickly backfired.
Ten Hag was never able to implement a clear style of play on his team. As Ajax manager, he favoured a possession-orientated approach that made the Dutch side one of the most modern and dynamic teams in European soccer at the time. At Manchester United, however, there was no sign of this.
Even as United finished a respectable third in ten Hag’s first season in charge, the United manager compromised on his principles. He didn’t have the players to control games through possession and so the Red Devils played a transition-heavy game that delivered positive results in the short-term.
Over the course of his two-and-a-half seasons in charge, though, ten Hag got further and further away from his values as a coach. This resulted in the Manchester United manager failing to impose any sort of identity on his team. There is no distinct style of play at Old Trafford, just a series of compromises.
This was reflected in the signings made during ten Hag’s reign. The Dutchman wanted Frenkie de Jong as his first marquee capture as United boss, but settled for Casemiro despite the Brazilian being a very different type of central midfielder. This set an early tone for ten Hag’s time in charge at Old Trafford.
Even this summer, as Manchester United built a new front office, ten Hag had significant influence on the club’s transfer strategy. Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui were both signed having played for ten Hag’s Ajax, while Joshua Zirkzee was another player the United managed push particularly hard to land. What will the club do with these players now that ten Hag is gone?
Ashworth and the decision-makers in the United front office must settle on what they want the club – and the team on the pitch – to stand for before they appoint ten Hag’s replacement. This is the first time INEOS have made a managerial appointment since arriving at Old Trafford as minority owners earlier this year and there’s a lot riding on this moment.
It might be too late for Manchester United to rescue their 2024/25 season. Things might even get worse before they get better with a match against a resurgent Chelsea coming this weekend. Looking at other fixtures, it’s entirely possible that United could end this weekend sitting in 16th place in the Premier League table.
Nonetheless, it’s been clear for some time that Manchester United require a new direction and the firing of ten Hag will give them that opportunity. Ruben Amorim has been strongly linked with the vacancy with Gareth Southgate and Graham Potter also believed to be on United’s radar. The hiring process has already begun.
This is the first real test of INEOS as the decision-makers at Manchester United. They botched the assessment of ten Hag in the summer and are now paying for that by having to make a new appointment midway through the season. Lessons must be learned from how United got into this mess, and quickly.
