Will he go or won’t he?
It’s the big question on the mind of every Red right now, but despite wild media speculation, we are no closer to knowing the Dutchman’s fate.
Ineos have been understandably tight-lipped, and are taking their time to get it right for the future.
Here are the 5 main reasons we should stick with Erik ten Hag:
1. Trophies
There is a lot of criticism that can be rightly levelled at Manchester United this season.
We’ve collapsed in big games, given leads away, bottled games we should have won, scraped through games against teams we should be dispatching easily, had all sorts of off-field issues, seen expensive flops and had far too many injuries.
And yet…
Manchester United is one of only two English teams to have a major trophy (depending on your definition of ‘major’) in the cabinet at the end of the season. Would you swap our season for Arsenal’s? Or Liverpool’s? I wouldn’t.
Football is littered with teams, players and managers that are good but aren’t winners. For whatever reasons; be it luck, fate, mentality or something else, they simply cannot find a way to win. Look at Harry Kane, PSG in the Champions League, Gareth Southgate as England boss. Always the bridesmaids.
In contrast, Erik Ten Hag has been able to make it happen, against the odds. Two trophies in two years – especially considering the quality of competition – is an excellent return. He must be applauded for his ability to ‘get over the line’, and if you look at his record at Ajax, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
2. Style of football
Ten Hag wants United to be a transitional team, who play fast, exciting, direct, attacking football. When it works it can be absolutely devastating – it just didn’t work enough this season.
He has been accused – perhaps rightly at times – of ‘not having a plan’ in some games. United suffered the most losses in a PL season in our history, and there were too many poor or indifferent performances.
However, this must be considered against the backdrop of the injury crisis at Old Trafford, coupled with some under-performing players that can’t be blamed on the manager.
We had injuries to Martinez, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Cristian Eriksen, Rasmus Hojlund, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Anthony Martial and others, and seismic drops in form from the likes of Casemiro and Marcus Rashford, both of whom also suffered injuries. These are important players that we miss when they’re absent.
Think back to last season when these key players were mostly available and at their best. Those wins against City, Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal and others were no flukes, and neither was this year’s FA Cup Final.
‘Ten Hag ball’ at its best can be world-beating, and it’s exciting to watch. Have you seen how City play? Effective but boring – no wonder the Etihad is quiet! Ineos now need to back the manager and get him the players that give him the depth of squad to play the football he wants to play, more often.
3. Signings and bringing in youth
Ten Hag has made largely good signings, with the exception of Antony, who hasn’t yet lived up to his price tag.
Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez and Rasmus Hojlund will be three of the key men in United’s rebuild, and help make up the spine of the team. Jonny Evans has performed admirably – although he was, of course, a known quantity.
Cristian Eriksen and Casemiro were excellent last season, and contributed to United’s high league finish and League Cup win. Both have experienced drops in form this season, possibly due to their age and injuries, but this can’t be blamed on the manager.
Sofyan Amrabat hasn’t had an extended run in the team and ended up deputising at full back. However, he did get in the starting 11 towards the end of the season and looked really good in several games, notably the FA Cup final and win over Newcastle.
Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia have been hampered by injury – the verdict is still out, and loanees like Reguilon and Sabitzer did the jobs they were brought in for.
Erik has also given extended runs in the team to the likes of Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, and looks to be willing to give others – like Amad Diallo, Willie Kambwala and Ethan Wheatley – a fair crack.
Ten Hag is largely getting the transfers right and is giving the right players the opportunities to cement their first-team places.
4. Dealing with players
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester United is the biggest cub in the world, and that comes with a spotlight on the manager like no other.
In recent years we’ve been given the run-around by overpaid, under-performing players that should have been moved on some time ago.
Erik Ten Hag has shown both ruthlessness, like with the Cristiano Ronaldo situation, and kindness, like with Jadon Sancho. Both of those tricky scenarios have been handled as well as they could have been by the Dutchman, who demonstrated excellent judgement under a lot of scrutiny. He benched Marcus Rashford when he missed a meeting and publicly chastised and fined him for his Belfast trip.
Sir Alex Ferguson was famous for putting the club above any and all players.
David Beckham? Roy Keane? Ruud Vaan Nisteelrooy? Paul Ince? It didn’t matter how big the name was – nobody was untouchable and Manchester United always came first.
Ten Hag has demonstrated a similar attitude with his handling of players, which is what we need moving forward.
5. Continuity
The last thing United need is another ‘reset’.
Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho, Ole and the rest. Enough is enough!
A new manager inevitably will have his own ideas, philosophy, tactics, players he wants to bring in etc. United have had a lot of change behind the scenes already, and with the glimpses of what could be a bright future with the FA Cup Final, a few of this season’s performances and lots of last season’s, now is not the time to change.
Give Erik the security of a new contract, the signings to bring his ideas to life and the behind-the-scenes structure that a world-class club needs. That is the way to bring the sleeping giant that is Manchester United back to life.
