Erik ten Hag Dismissed from Role as Manchester United Manager

Manchester United has shown Erik ten Hag the door.

The news dropped like a lead balloon on Monday morning, concluding his tenure at Old Trafford after two and a half years at the helm. Sunday’s Premier League loss to West Ham marked his final act.

In what’s been a rough start, United languishes at 14th in the standings, a whopping seven points adrift of the Champions League spots, with just three wins in nine league outings and four in fourteen across all contests.

In the upheaval, the club’s machinery has swung into action. They asked former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was roped in during the off-season to support Ten Hag, to steer the ship as interim manager, while the rest of the crew stays put. Folks at United spilled the beans in a statement later on Monday: “Erik ten Hag has exited from his position as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.”

“Erik took the wheel in April 2022, steering us to double domestic glory with the 2023 Carabao Cup and the 2024 FA Cup,” the statement praised. “We thank Erik for all he did with us and send our good wishes for what comes next.”

After a below-par finish to last season, sitting eighth in the Premier League—their worst since the ’90s—and conquering Manchester City in the FA Cup showdown, Ten Hag got retained through a summer review.

United triggered an extra year in his contract as July rolled in. The 54-year-old’s initial deal inked in 2022, aimed to expire in 2025. Yet, a series of dismal performances as this season kicked off prompted the brass—executives like Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth, and technical director Jason Wilcox—to call for a shake-up.

The Athletic spilled some tea earlier during an international break revealing the club chieftains were to confer in London, with discussions centering around Ten Hag’s continued role.

His first year saw United climb to a third-place finish and rake in the Carabao Cup, breaking a six-year trophy drought.

Last season, however, was a mixed bag. They floundered both domestically and across the European circuit, exiting the Champions League at the group stage. They only bagged a Europa slot by clinching the FA Cup.

United’s radar was pinging potential successors—a mix including England chieftain Thomas Tuchel, USMNT style master Mauricio Pochettino, ex-Brighton tactician Roberto De Zerbi (recently taken by Marseille), Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna. Yet, after a deliberation led by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS tactician Sir Dave Brailsford, the decision pointed to staying the course with Ten Hag.

They splashed the cash in the summer market, acquiring Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, and Noussair Mazraoui, chalking up a spend near £205m ($274m) inclusive of incentives.

Just post the transfer window slam, and pre-Liverpool trouncing, word from Omar Berrada was that Ten Hag had “the full backing” of the club chieftains.

Erik cut his managerial teeth at Ajax for four and a half years before hopping aboard the United train in 2022. His coaching resume also features Dutch squadrons like Go Ahead Eagles and FC Utrecht, capped with a stint guiding Bayern Munich’s reserves.

The Red Devils next lock horns with Leicester City in a League Cup tale at Old Trafford this Wednesday.

‘Patience runs dry at United’

Mark Critchley, the Manchester United Muse

United brass ditching Ten Hag after a debatable narrow miss might be a left-field play for some. Yet, parked at the fourteenth spot with a sparse four wins in fourteen across the spectrum this season, others might ponder the prudence in any further delay. Keeping him seemed like a slow drift toward the inevitable.

Despite summer shuffles upstairs and a dollop over £200m thrown at the squad, neither outcomes nor displays have crept above what’s familiar from last season.

Ten Hag held steadfast, claiming two trophies in two seasons spoke of progress, but few bought the ticket. With stagnating results, unless a shift happened, impatience from above was an expected current.

This move spins the needle on a previous trajectory followed by the INEOS-backed echelon who extended Ten Hag’s rein over summer, fresh off the FA Cup miracle over Manchester City at Wembley.

Now rests the task on the shoulders of new football headliners—chief Omar Berrada and sporting savant Dan Ashworth—to handpick Ten Hag’s heir in hopes of saving the campaign.

One might ponder, how deep was the rut?

Deep Dive by Data Guru Mark Carey

Take a bird’s-eye view of United’s run sans the on-field shenanigans, and it paints a grim picture of their fading clout among Europe’s crème de la crème.

Deploying intelligence from ClubElo—a system ranking team strengths with point gains influenced by rival prowess faced—let’s map United’s pulse over the last decade or so.

Ups and downs are in any team’s life cycle, but the numbers expose United’s slipping hold. The downslide post-Ferguson’s 2013 summer exit saw a rejuvenation under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Yet, with Ten Hag, there was no silver lining as United’s ClubElo tally dipped to its nadir in the post-Ferguson frame. Tiny bits of recovery appeared but vanished before forming lasting roots.

Comparing with yesteryears is inevitable, but plotting United’s arcs over time starkly outlines the depth of their woes.

Edited by: Ali Musa

alimusa@axadletimes.com

Axadle international–Monitoring

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