It was about half an hour after the final whistle at the FA Cup final when I had my exchange with Sir Jim Ratcliffe. He was still in the royal box at Wembley, savouring the win against Manchester City. And I managed to worm my way past security to get close enough to shout at him.
To his credit, he came over and shook my hand, though he said nothing when I implored him: “Don’t sack Ten Hag!”
That was my position then, and it hasn’t changed, despite the club’s awful start to the season.
It might have made more sense to do it in the aftermath of the win against Manchester City, but an end of season review, that included playing footsie with other potential candidates, ended with Erik ten Hag being confirmed as the man for Ineos. And that should have settled it. For this season, at least.
After all, Ten Hag makes sense. United have had an array of unsuitable managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. They either didn’t really “get” the club (David Moyes/Louis van Gaal), or they were too divisive (José Mourinho), or they couldn’t coach (Ole), or they were far too honest for their own good (Ralf Rangnick).
Ten Hag did “get” the club, Old Trafford took to him, he can coach, and he’s been honest, without being brutal. With a squad that is in mid-overhaul, he has won two cups in two years, and he has kept his cool during the extended takeover talks, and the arrival of Sir Jim.
Since then, Ineos has gone about assembling a staff of backroom footballing galacticos – where once we just had Ed Woodward, a money man who judged success on shirt sales and ad-deals.
Born 2 February 1970, in Haaksbergen, Netherlands.
Playing career
Ten Hag began his career at the Dutch side Twente, where he played primarily as a defender from 1989-1990.
Stints at Utrecht, De Graafschap and Waalwijk before returning to Twente in 1996, where he finished his playing career in 2002.
Ten Hag made more than 300 league appearances in Dutch professional football.
Coaching career
Ten Hag started coaching in 2012 with Go Ahead Eagles, leading the team to promotion after 17 years outside the Eredivisie in his first season in charge.
In 2013 he joined Bayern Munich II, taking charge of the reserve team and working under the guidance of Pep Guardiola during the Spaniard’s time as Bayern head coach.
Ten Hag returned to the Netherlands to manage Utrecht in 2015, takin them to a fifth-place finish and a spot in the Europa League through the playoffs.
Ajax
Appointed Ajax manager in 2017. During his tenure, the club won three Eredivisie titles (2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22) and two KNVB Cups (2018-19 and 2020-21).
Ten Hag gained widespread acclaim after guiding Ajax to the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals, the club’s first appearance at that stage since 1997, and beating the defending champions Real Madrid 4-1 and Juventus 2-1 along the way.
Ten Hag left Ajax after leading them to the 2022 KNVB Cup final in April
Manchester United
On 21 April that year Ten Hag was appointed Manchester United manager on a three-year contract.
In his first season in charge he led United to a third-placed Premier League finish and League Cup triumph, ending the club’s six-year trophy drought since a Europa League success in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.
In 2023-24 United finished eighth in the league and won the FA Cup by beating Guardiola’s Manchester City 2-1.
Ten Hag’s United tenure ended on 28 October after a series of inconsistent performances left United in 14th place in the Premier League with 11 points (W3 D2 L4) and three drawn Europa league games.
The Dutchman’s final match in charge was a 2-1 defeat at West Ham following earlier losses against Brighton, Liverpool and Tottenham. Reuters
It was this new brains trust that endorsed Ten Hag just three months ago, and has now sacked him. Like many season ticket holders, I have watched some terrible games this term. I had imagined seeing a few more while the “process” of change continued, and we waited for some of our players to get back from injury. It’s been painful – but better to commit to the long haul, than seek yet more quick fixes. Instead, seemingly on the back of a dodgy VAR decision that cost us the game against West Ham, Ineos has gone full Woodward. Again.
All generals need a bit of luck, and Ten Hag’s seems to have run out on 25 May. If Ineos kept him on because they really believed in him, they should have supported him through this difficult period – and done so publicly. If they kept him on but didn’t really believe in him, they should have had the courage to ditch him in the summer. They are either incompetent or cowardly. Or both. Ten Hag deserved better than this.
