Why I Remain Confident in Erik ten Hag
Removing emotion and curating a patient logic paints a less gloomy image of the state of Manchester United.
Manchester United 0-3 Liverpool.
I didn’t enjoy much of that. I didn’t enjoy any of that.
Relatively quiet since the FA Cup Final triumph, this result has given the Erik ten Hag-outers the opportunity to voice their complaints once more.
And while any endeavours to counter these critics in the aftermath of Liverpool using a trip to Old Trafford as a training exercise tend to be nothing more than a waste of breath and energy, I do believe that this international break will do one of two things for this manager:
A. let the frustration mount and do him no favours
or, as I hope it’s able to do,
B. present itself as a chance for some deeper reflection from the fans
Now, you might read that and tell me that I’ve suggested the same idea in two different sentences.
But I’m now going to use the next few minutes of your time (at the end of which you should subscribe for free and give a Man United fan some much-needed joy) to perhaps persuade you into seeing the club’s situation a little differently: upon some more thought, subtracting the emotional pain of these souring defeats, it becomes fathomable that Manchester United are still heading in the right direction under Erik ten Hag.
While the media tries to tell you that he’s headed for the sack, let me tell you why - as the manager said himself among some bold post-match comments that I loved - “at the end of the season I am quite confident we will have a big chance to lift another trophy."
1. The team remains far from ready
There are players still playing big minutes for this club that this manager (and the fans) know are overdue an exit. Take Harry Maguire and Casemiro. They have featured massively since the beginning of last season. In ten Hag’s most successful season to date (his first), those players rarely played a part. The Real Madrid version of Casemiro did, sure, but if there’s one fact that can unite the opinions of every football fan, it’s that the Brazilian midfielder is a fraction of the player who first turned up at Old Trafford in 2022.
Frenkie de Jong, Harry Kane, Jurrien Timber, Cody Gakpo, and Michael Olise are among the number-one transfer targets during the ten Hag era who never landed in Manchester. Nevertheless, there are certainly more than enough pieces in place that are part of the manager’s vision. I’m not saying there hasn’t been backing. The problem?
They just aren’t ready.
Manuel Ugarte, Matthis de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui, and Joshua Zirkzee are all poised to be big parts of the future. They have five competitive starts for the club between them.
Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, and Rasmus Hojlund are 19, 20, and 21, respectively.
Mason Mount, one of ten Hag’s priority signings, has spent more time on the treatment table than the pitch since his 2023 arrival. Lisandro Martinez was alongside him for most of last season. Luke Shaw, a favourite of the manager’s, has also rarely been fit for selection.
Erik ten Hag has not had a left back available for selection since February. February!!
So when the manager says that the process is going to take time, of course, it’s easy to just shout out that it’s year 3. Without context, that sounds like a long time.
But how long is it supposed to take to fix ten years of demise? Did Ralf Rangnick, the last man in charge of this dressing room, not warn everyone of the open heart surgery that was required?
What good does it do anyone to restart that process with a group increasingly full of ten Hag’s players? What good does it do to restart that process when the manager has had a competent structure above him for all of 2 months?
2. The undeniable success to date
Mikel Arteta finished 8th in consecutive seasons to start his Arsenal tenure. It’s hard to argue that the club’s patience with their former captain hasn’t paid off when you look at where the North London outfit tends to sit in the league table these days.
Erik ten Hag won two trophies in his first two seasons, as well as 61 of his first 100 games in charge. Those numbers eclipse both former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and the aforementioned Arteta in the same categories.
The first few months of ten Hag’s first campaign was the Cristiano Ronaldo show. He then received zero permanent signings in January. United still finished third and lifted a trophy for the first time since 2017.
The 2023/24 season then began with solving the Mason Greenwood problem. Antony was arrested, Jadon Sancho threw his toys out of the pram, the INEOS takeover took over a year and hung over the club, and Marcus Rashford fancied a night of tequila in Belfast a few hours before team training that next morning. United led the league in days missed due to injuries, as well as the total volume of players sidelined for separate issues (more than 50). 14 different centre-back pairings were a far cry from the Varane-Martinez partnership from the season before that won David de Gea the golden glove. Yet, still, ten Hag beat juggernaut Manchester City in the FA Cup Final and qualified for Europe.
There truly shouldn’t be a defining judgment of this manager until a team that looks like this has a run of games together:
Onana, Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Shaw, Ugarte, Mainoo, Bruno, Garnacho, Hojlund, Rashford.
It still holds that a best eleven of ten Hag’s is one that can beat anyone. Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona, and Liverpool are among the sides that such a United setup has proven capable of beating.
Mainoo and Garnacho have also been monumental successes from the academy, two of the finest to be brought through since Rashford. With Toby Collyer perhaps next to emerge, ten Hag is proving his willingness to play those who are good enough, not just those old enough.
3. The manager doesn't cower to the noise
We didn’t see this from Ole Gunnar Solskjær in his final days. The end was coming long before he was actually sacked. But Erik ten Hag is fighting back against the criticism - both the fair and unfair judgments - and is showing the personality required for the job he works.
He won a fight against the biggest name in the sporting world. He’s gotten Sancho out of the club for stepping out of line. He’s defended a number of his players against many a harsh comment from the media. He’s shown a willingness to punish and a refusal to back down.
While many take his comments from the Liverpool match and call him crazy, I see a man with the backing of the dressing room and confidence in his ability to take Manchester United back to the top. As he stated himself, he took the job for the challenge. He didn’t step into the well-oiled machine that fellow Dutchman Arne Slot is now commandeering on Merseyside. He knew the size of the task, and we now sit at a pivotal moment of the process. The boss’ demeanour tells me we’re going to float, not sink.
Final Thoughts
If Joshua Zirkzee’s knee doesn’t freakishly turn Alejandro Garnacho’s winner into a Brighton victory last weekend, or Manuel Ugarte signs a week sooner, we’re likely having an entirely different conversation over this international break.
That can’t be the difference between sacking this manager and turning a new page.
If you want a pessimistic angle, have this: sacking the manager essentially makes the season a write-off. Why not give him that time anyway? Especially after the new directors at the club gave him their backing.
But why not a more optimistic view? Here’s how I see it: we’re amidst a lot of uncomfortable change. There’s been many a high, and many a low during Erik ten Hag’s tenure. We knew this would be the case. The club hit its rock bottom of the Premier League era in the season before this manager’s arrival. He’s taking young stars and putting them at the forefront of his team. He’s taking the pressure from the media and not throwing his players under the bus. He’s proven that United can win trophies under his leadership.
Manchester United are a few great results away from being back on the positivity train that everyone rode into the summer off of the FA Cup victory.
At the start of Erik ten Hag’s third season, it’s time to back him, not to give up.