Erik ten Hag’s future has been a source of constant speculation since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group took over Manchester United’s football operations in February 2024.
Diminishing returns on the pitch and a persistent injury crisis contributed to United’s lowest-ever eighth place finish in the Premier League era in the 2023/24 season.
A report by Jacob Steinberg in The Guardian on the eve of the FA Cup final he claimed that Ten Hag would be out of a job regardless of the result at Wembley against Manchester City on 25 May. However, United produced one of their best performances of the Ten Hag era as first-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo claimed a 2-1 victory to deny their neighbors the historic feat of consecutive domestic doubles.
Ten Hag was understandably optimistic about his prospects after defeating Pep Guardiola’s side, although Ratcliffe remained tight-lipped and rumors of alternative starters in the Old Trafford dugout continued.
Reporter: “Sir Jim… Is Erik staying?”
Mr. Jim: ?#MUFC pic.twitter.com/BRCaEuercL
—Brad Cox (@BradJCox_) May 25, 2024
However, on June 11, several reports emerged that Ten Hag would remain for the 2024/25 season and possibly beyond. So what has changed?
Why is Erik ten Hag staying at Manchester United?
With Ten Hag seemingly set to lead Man United into the 2024/25 season – and perhaps sign a new contract in the process – the club’s decision-makers are presumably firm in their conviction that it is the right thing for him to do in the job. .
The Jugo Mobile looks at four key reasons why they loyally follow their coach.
United beat City in FA Cup final
It is all very well to say that a board should not be influenced by an isolated result. In fact, it would be sensible not to, given the unique nature and unique variables of a cup final against local rivals.
At the same time, United’s performance and victory against City was impossible to ignore. The players showed that they could carry out a clear game plan in and out of possession, something they did not frequently achieve during the 2023/24 campaign. Having real centre-backs fit and functioning helped Ten Hag’s cause enormously in that regard – Lisandro Martínez and the outgoing Raphael Varane were fantastic in chaining down Erling Haaland.
The fact that the goals came from Garnacho and Mainoo, two teenage stars who were allowed to flourish by their coach, provided another resounding note. United rode their luck to some extent during the second half and Andre Onana’s mistake in allowing Jeremy Doku’s goal frayed nerves. But they held on and there were scenes of visceral joy among the United fans at full time.
There is no doubt that the FA Cup final reset the temperature for talks over Ten Hag’s future, especially given that their victory also secured European qualification for next season. If City had run out of comfortable winners as expected, it’s pretty easy to imagine what conclusion would have been reached during United’s ‘season review’.
Man United injuries and off-field chaos left Ten Hag fighting fires everywhere
The Glazer family began the sale process which ended with INEOS taking their stake in the club midway through the 2022/23 season, meaning takeover talks and behind-the-scenes maneuvering have been active for most of the time. that Ten Hag was in charge. It’s not easy to deal with that.
Questionable recruitment, a lack of tactical clarity and an unrelenting injury list are factors in which the manager cannot be blameless (he inherited the Mason Greenwood saga and created a purely footballing one with Jadon Sancho), but overall has a long list of problems endured by Ten Hag amounts to a set of circumstances in which it would be difficult for any manager to succeed. He has not been able to avoid some problems, but he has aggravated others.
The key question for United’s decision-makers in recent weeks has been where to draw the line. At least for now, Ten Hag is on the right side. Once again, the cup final triumph helped his case.
Freed from the tumult of their league season and bolstered by players returning from injury, United produced a cohesive display. It was, by necessity, a reactive performance against a much better team who were likely to always dominate possession. The challenge now is for Ten Hag to implement the proactive style of play that underpinned his dominant period in charge of Ajax. He has so far failed to do so at United, but he will enjoy another, probably definitive, opportunity to put things right.
Lack of obvious replacements worked in Ten Hag’s favor
If we weigh up the extent to which Ten Hag has been a lucky or unlucky manager at United, the lack of a standout alternative falls into the former category.
England manager Gareth Southgate was supposed to be the INEOS favourite. However, it was clearly impossible to make any kind of offer for his services during the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign. That would have potentially dragged the Ten Hag saga into mid-July, which was not viable.
Outgoing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel held “exploratory talks” with United. according to The Guardian. Tuchel has obvious elite credentials as a former UEFA Champions League winner, but also a consistent history of falling out with his superiors.
Mauricio Pochettino has been frequently linked with United over the last decade, but if anyone endured a more chaotic season at a major English club than Ten Hag in 2023/24, it was the Argentine, as he led Chelsea’s experiment in capitalism. disaster.
In short, there was no silver bullet on the market, no obvious improvement for Ten Hag, who at least knows where the holes in the ceiling are. Plus, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho were seen as perfect candidates and look how that turned out.
New contract, lower participation in transfers and bosses who have not yet taken jobs
An intriguing detail about Ten Hag’s continued reign at Old Trafford is the prospect of new contract negotiations. as reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic.
Ten Hag’s existing deal runs until next June and the new terms would mark a big change given United actively sought a replacement before opting to stay rather than switch.
A new contract would potentially modify Ten Hag’s mandate, with a reduced focus on training and preparing the team and away from the dangers of the market. The transfer clearances led by the Dutchman have not exactly been a resounding success, with the failure of the Antony right being the main and most costly example.
Those decisions will now fall under the various purviews of technical director Jason Wilcox, incoming CEO Omar Berrada and proposed new sporting director Dan Ashworth. Berrarda is still on gardening leave after leaving Manchester City, while Ashworth’s move from Newcastle United to Old Trafford could still be subject to an arbitration hearing.
These are other circumstances that have fallen in favor of Ten Hag. There would have been little point in appointing a new manager without Berrada and Ashworth in the role first. It would be equally strange to hand out a new contract before Ratcliffe’s entire football operations team is in place.
There probably won’t be any rush about it. In February, Ratcliffe outlined the guiding principle that United would “walk towards the right solution, not run towards the wrong solution” during his tenure. They have certainly taken their time over the future of Ten Hag and the repeated leaks have been an unseemly spectacle. The coming months will give a better idea of whether or not they were walking in the right direction.