Erik Ten Hag is no longer the head coach of Manchester United. The Dutchman was sacked by the Manchester United board the day after Sunday’s narrow 2-1 loss to West Ham United in the Premier League.
That result left Manchester United in 14th place in the table after nine games, only three of which the Red Devils have managed to win.
Pressure had been mounting on Erik Ten Hag for some time with speculation rife about when United would decide to let the ex-Ajax coach leave. It now seems that this date with destiny was today for the Dutchman.
Sporting Director Dan Ashworth and Chief Executive Omar Berrada spoke to Ten Hag at Manchester United’s training ground, Carrington, this morning to inform the manager he was being sacked.
The two will now play a leading role in deciding who will be the person to come in and replace Ten Hag. Thus taking on a job which has been something of a poisoned chalice since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
United are looking for their seventh manager in eleven years since Sir Alex called time on his career.
The others that have tried and failed are: David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunner Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and now Erik Ten Hag. This does not include Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick who took over the job on a caretaker basis.
Bet365 Sport are already offering odds on who will be United’s next manager!
Who is in the frame to replace Ten Hag at Manchester United?
Ten Hag’s Time At Manchester United in Facts and Figures
- Joined – May 23rd 2022
- Sacked – October 28th 2024
- Games Played – 128
- Games Won – 70 (54.79%)
- Games Drawn – 23
- Games Lost – 35
- Goals Scored – 217
- Goals Conceded – 165
- Biggest Win – 7-0 v Barnsley (H) – Carabao Cup Third Round
- Biggest Defeat – 7-0 v Liverpool (A) – Premier League
- Trophies Won – 2 (League Cup 2022/23, FA Cup 2023/24)
- Highest League Finish – 3rd (2022/23)
- Lowest League Finish – 8th (2023/24)
- Current League Position – 14th (2024/25)
- Total Money Spent – £615 million
- Players Signed – 21
The list of players Ten Hag sanctioned moves for include:
- Anthony – £85m from Ajax
- Rasmus Hojlund – £72m from Atalanta
- Casemiro – £70m from Real Madrid
- Mason Mount – £60m from Chelsea
- Lisandro Martinez – £57m from Ajax
- Leny Yoro – £52m from Lille
- Manuel Ugarte – £50.8m from Paris St Germain
- Andre Onana – £47.2m from Ajax
- Matthijs de Ligt – £43m from Bayern Munich
- Joshua Zirkzee – £36m from Bologna
- Noussair Mazraoui – £17m from Bayern Munich
- Tyrell Malacia – £14.6m from Feyenoord
- Altay Bayindir – £4.3m from Fenerbahce
- Christian Eriksen – Free from Brentford
- Jonny Evans – Free from Leicester City
The manager also spent around £15.6m on loan fees to cover for the likes of Sofyan Amrabat, Sergio Reguilon, Marcel Sabitzer, Wout Weghorst, Martin Dubravka and Jack Butland.
Ten Hag – What Went Wrong at Manchester United?
What were some of the key issues Ten Hag suffered as Manchester United manager? We have listed six of the more prominent problems that hampered the Dutchman in his time at Old Trafford.
- Underperforming stars – A key issue was that many of the stars Ten Hag spent big money on failed to live up to expectation. In fact of those signings, only Lisandro Martinez can be viewed as a success. The jury is still out on many others.
- Jadon Sancho Fallout – Ten Hag’s public spat with Jadon Sancho wasn’t a good look for the club, player or manager. It ended with Sancho moving on to Chelsea at the start of this season, where he has started to show top form once again.
- Poor performances – United have suffered some awful results in Ten Hag’s reign. The 7-0 defeat at Anfield was a nadir, but there have been numerous other crushing defeats. A 3-2 loss at home to Galatasaray in the Champions League, a 3-0 loss at Old Trafford to Liverpool this season and Bournemouth last season, losing a 3-2 lead in injury time to lose 4-3 to Chelsea, a 4-0 loss at Brentford and a derby day disaster as Man City beat United 6-3.
- Injuries – United have had a lot of players injured, which has been unfortunate, but the ex-manager has also been quick to point that out, leading to some fans complain that he uses injuries as an excuse.
- Lack of Support in the Media – After getting behind Ten Hag in the early days, prominent media personalities who have long and historic connections with Manchester United began to turn against Ten Hag when the teams performances dropped. The likes of Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes to name but three were amongst some of the most vocal critics of United under Ten Hag at times.
- The Breakdown with Cristiano Ronaldo – Ten Hag inherited a United team that had Cristiano Ronaldo back at the helm. While not at his very best, he was still scoring plenty of goals for United. However, the two had a public falling out, which saw Ronaldo benched and eventually sold on to Al-Nassr.
What Now for Erik Ten Hag?
The Dutchman may not have won many admirers in his time at United, but he still has a good record domestically back in Holland. His spell as Ajax boss between 2018 and 2022 is fondly remembered and he will likely find no trouble in taking over a team back in his homeland.
What Now for Manchester United?
The search for a new manager now begins. It is hard to imagine that United have pulled the plug on Ten Hag without already having a good idea of who his replacement will be.
A look at the latest odds from bet365 Sport reveals that there are some big names linked with the position, including: –
Xavi Hernandez (3.25) – Spanish midfielder and key component of Tiki-Taka. Had a decent spell in difficult times at Barcelona. He is the 3.25 favourite at the time of writing.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy (3.50) – Former United legend who will take on the role of caretaker manager for the time being. He does have experience of managing a big club with PSV Eindhoven, so could be in with a chance here if form improves with him as caretaker manager.
Gareth Southgate (6.50) – Ex-England manager still has a lot of credits following his spell as manager of the National Team. However his club record is far from impressive and the style of football he prefers isn’t a natural fit at Old Trafford.
Julian Nagelsmann (7.00) – The current manager of the German national team. Nagelsmann is young, charismatic and his teams play fast-attacking football. But would he trade in his national role for the hot seat at Old Trafford?
Wheoever does get the role will inherit a team badly in need of direction and an injection of confidence.
