It is nonsense to say being Manchester United manager is the impossible job

Hard to feel too much sympathy for Erik ten Hag – he was well backed by club and paid price for his own mistakes

Erik ten Hag did well to last as long as he did at Manchester United. He was a dead man walking from the moment his bosses approached other managers last summer. When he reflects upon his Old Trafford demise, he can only blame himself.
Some are suggesting Manchester United has become an impossible job since Sir Alex Ferguson left, with so many well respected managers struggling and being sacked. Nonsense.
For the majority of Ten Hag’s reign, no Premier League manager had so much backing, so much control over transfers and so much patience to prove he was the right man. Most coaches in world football could only dream of such support. Ultimately, he failed to make the most of one of the most attractive posts in football.
As a person, there is always sympathy when a manager loses his job. As a professional, it is hard to see why there should be too much for Ten Hag.
It has become a trend among the most recent United managers to leave the job blaming the conditions they worked under, particularly when the Glazer family was in control. To me, it is a poor excuse which does not stand scrutiny. United are much more tolerant than clubs of similar stature – in this case to their own detriment.
They have wasted three months and £200 million on new players by giving Ten Hag a fresh opportunity. Their biggest lesson might be to act sooner the next time a coach is on a downward spiral.
No one will argue against the view the club should have been run much better since Ferguson retired – that is why Ineos wanted to take over – but the reason United have been mismanaged is because a series of coaches have been overindulged, squandering millions on poor signings. The lack of judgment at boardroom level has helped managers, not hindered them. They have been able to sink or swim with their own decisions with regard to football matters, paying the price for their own mistakes. Ten Hag is a prime example.
You can trace the beginning of the end for him to his first few months in charge. He was appointed because of the football produced by the Ajax side which reached the Champions League semi-final, Ten Hag perceived to be a disciple of the Pep Guardiola style of possession football.
His first significant transfer target was Frenkie de Jong, a midfield playmaker. When United could not seal that deal, Ten Hag signed Casemiro instead and he was immediately compromising his principles because the squad could not execute his vision.
It was a terrible mistake to plunder funds on the here and now rather than think longer term. An experienced and wise boardroom or director of football would have resisted such short-termism.
Christian Eriksen was another buy falling into the same category, his prime years behind him. In his first season, Ten Hag did very well to qualify for the Champions League and win the Carabao Cup, but the seeds of his destruction were within the make-up of the squad. He never seemed capable of fixing it and it is significant that Casemiro and Eriksen played in Ten Hag’s final game against West Ham, a symbol of the team’s stagnation.
The supporters who kept pointing to the domestic cup wins were ignoring the reality that the football produced was not sustainable for a club with Premier League and Champions League ambitions.
The justified criticism was about performances, not results.
Ten Hag never made any imprint except when playing counter-attacking football, his best moments coming when taking on the role of the underdog against Manchester City and Liverpool when enjoying cup victories.
There is nothing wrong with playing that way occasionally, but Manchester United expect to be a more dominant side. At their worst, they were neither strong in defence nor attack. In their Premier League history, United have conceded a 90th-minute winner nine times. Seven of those were in Ten Hag’s 85 fixtures in charge – a consequence of their lack of solidity – while his overall goal difference was just +11.
The appointments of rival clubs, some spending as big and others a fraction of United’s budget, undermined Ten Hag’s arguments that the team was evolving.
Unai Emery had an immediate impact at Aston Villa, his work on the training pitch obvious within weeks. The same is true of Enzo Maresca at Chelsea and Arne Slot at Liverpool. Ange Postecoglou is having mixed results at Tottenham Hotspur, but no one is in any doubt as to what he is trying to achieve.
Whoever Ten Hag’s replacement is, they must get to work creating a consistent style with players they may not consider right for the job.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe can only rectify the error of keeping Ten Hag this season by making a swift appointment. They should have an idea of their direction given the recruitment process started in June. It is staggering they failed to lure Thomas Tuchel given he took on and defeated Pep Guardiola in the Champions League while Chelsea manager.
As a lover of Xavi the footballer, it would be fantastic to see him in the Premier League as a coach. He won La Liga against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid. If United appointed him, the criticisms about a lack of identity would certainly end.
Beyond such a renowned figure, would United be prepared to give a chance to Thomas Frank? He is a modern coach who might suit the new structure of the club. He also has the personality to lead a club of United’s stature.
As an outsider looking in, it feels like United are too obsessed with stellar names rather than paying enough attention to their underlying numbers. That is certainly the case with recent player deals.
Matthijs de Ligt struggled at Juventus and Bayern Munich, so why was there an assumption he would hit the ground running at Old Trafford? Manuel Ugarte was a substitute at Paris St-Germain, and I am afraid Joshua Zirkzee looks miles off being a Manchester United player.
This is not a time for gloating or ‘I told you so’ but it was obvious after the first home game against Fulham this day would come. United kicked the can down the road, and the echoes of when Liverpool delayed sacking Brendan Rodgers in October 2015 were obvious.
Liverpool waited because they knew Jurgen Klopp was available and he was in charge for the next game after Rodgers’ exit. If United have not already identified and agreed a deal with their next coach, the timing of today’s sacking is as strange as the failure to do it three months earlier.
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