Ten Hag is in negotiations with Manchester United to secure a new contract, weeks after rumours suggested he would be fired.
Erik ten Hag was probably unaware that club officials were meeting with representatives of Brentford manager Thomas Frank on the same day he would take a train to London with his players for an FA Cup final that few others and the bookies thought Manchester United had much of a chance of winning.
It was not a scenario anyone of a United persuasion would have chosen but Mauricio Pochettino’s exit from Chelsea a few days earlier had forced their hand to some extent.
Ten Hag is currently negotiating a new deal with Manchester United, following reports that he was going to be let go.
Erik ten Hag probably had no idea that the day he would ride the train to London with his players for an FA Cup final that few else, including the bookies, believed Manchester United had much of a chance of winning, was also the day club executives were meeting with representatives of Brentford manager Thomas Frank.
Nor had there been any reassuring calls to Ten Hag’s agent, Kees Vos, when reports emerged on that Friday afternoon that the Dutchman would definitely be sacked, regardless of the outcome of the Cup final at Wembley that his side – 8-1 outsiders – would go on to win with a famous 2-1 victory over serial Premier League champions Manchester City.
Despite all of the discussions with and concerning possible replacements, it was evident that United did not believe Ten Hag could be replaced by an exceptional candidate, or one who was easily accessible to them. If there had been, there’s a good chance the former Ajax coach would be preparing for what seems like it would be an exciting third season in charge—one that many supporters clearly feel he at least should have tried.
Indeed, the manner of United’s victory over City as much as the result itself had strengthened support among the fanbase for a manager who had just delivered a second trophy in as many seasons, a week after leading the club to their lowest league finish for 34 years. That may have been a less persuasive factor for Old Trafford’s top brass than the absence of the right alternative but they ultimately resolved that a change under such circumstances might have come attached with more risks than the decision to stick with Ten Hag.
So it is a dramatic reprieve for the Dutchman, who had defiantly warned his employers that he would “go somewhere else to win trophies” if necessary in the wake of a superb Wembley win that ensured a happy end to an otherwise miserable and messy season.
Ineos’ arrival cast a shadow over Ten Hag
Whereas the shadow of his successor in waiting Jose Mourinho hung over the final half season of Louis van Gaal’s doomed Old Trafford reign in 2016, the elephant in the room for Ten Hag was the arrival of Ratcliffe and Ineos.
Senior United officials had become agitated during the international break in October of last year over what they saw as the manager’s derogatory comments circulating after a poor start that had already resulted in six losses, despite a promising first season that had produced the team’s first trophy in six years. “The knives are out and we’re only halfway through,” one person remarked. When we encounter difficulties for the first time, everyone exclaims, “Chaos, crisis.” Our estimate for this project was two to three years. How long did Mikel Arteta take to advance to his current position at Arsenal? Three quarters of an age?”
And yet, as Ratcliffe neared a deal with the Glazers for a minority stake in the club and, with it, complete control of football operations, and a troubling autumn gave way to a torrid winter and elimination from the Champions League at the group stage, Ten Hag steadily began to see the allies who had brought him to the club stripped away and the mood music change.
In mid-November, it was announced chief executive Richard Arnold would leave at the end of the year and, by early April, the man who had championed his appointment, football director John Murtough, had followed suit. Publicly, Ten Hag put on a brave face but, privately, he could have been forgiven for feeling more isolated and it did not feel like a coincidence that, as the pressure grew and results worsened, Ten Hag took increasingly to defending his record, decrying a crippling injury list – with ample justification – and cutting a much more animated and vocal presence on the touchline.
Ratcliffe expressed his desire to remove Manchester City “off their perch” in three years during interviews in February, following the finalisation of an agreement for a 27.7% ownership share in the team. However, there was no official statement endorsing Ten Hag, other than admitting that the workplace in which the succeeding managers had been assigned was not conducive to success. It is acknowledged that running a team with long-standing structural problems might be challenging, but it is by no means a glowing recommendation of the current manager. It was evident that Ineos was leaving all possibilities open..
By the end of a campaign in which United had finished eighth, their lowest league position since 1990, only bottom club Sheffield United had faced more shots than United’s 667 over 38 games. Ten Hag’s critics might argue the slide had started not this season and with all those injuries but in the aftermath of the Carabao Cup final win over Newcastle in February last year, which was soon followed by that extraordinary 7-0 surrender against Liverpool at Anfield and a sharp downturn in results and performances.
It would be inaccurate, though, to deny that the Ineos fan base wished to at least investigate the possibility of having Ten Hag return for the upcoming season; this request has finally been fulfilled. The plan had been to stay with Ten Hag to the end of the season to see if they could work with him and, if not, where a challenging campaign finally led them. From there, they would analyse everything in depth and make a final choice.
Read more news on https://sportupdates.co.uk/
Leave a Reply