Manchester United’s wild defeat to FC Copenhagen put their Champions League progress in doubt and increased the scrutiny on manager Erik ten Hag.
Despite the best winning percentage of any permanent United manager, a recent poor run has left him needing to defend his position.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the records of United’s managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
David Moyes
Played 51: Won 27, Drew 9, Lost 15.Goals per game: For 1.69, Against 1.06.Win rate: 53 per cent
Trophies: Community Shield 2013
The Scot took just one game to win a trophy, the Community Shield against Wigan, as Ferguson’s hand-picked successor. There was little else to celebrate, though, as he failed to even see out the first of the six seasons on his contract. He was sacked after 10 months, with Ryan Giggs finishing the campaign as caretaker manager. Moyes struggled subsequently at Real Sociedad and Sunderland but has rebuilt his reputation with West Ham, winning last season’s Europa Conference League.
Louis Van Gaal
P103: W54, D25, L24.Goals per game: F 1.53, A 0.95Win rate: 52 per cent
Trophies: FA Cup 2016
United’s previous Dutch boss never truly convinced the Old Trafford faithful after a dreadful winless start against Swansea, Sunderland, third-tier MK Dons and Burnley. His side did improve and Van Gaal signed off with an FA Cup win, beating Crystal Palace in extra-time, but his win percentage was the lowest of the post-Ferguson era until Ralf Rangnick’s spell in interim charge.
Jose Mourinho
P144: W84, D32, L28.Goals per game: F 1.69, A 0.84Win rate: 58 per cent
Trophies: Europa League 2017, League Cup 2017, Community Shield 2016
Mourinho is probably United’s most successful manager since Ferguson – winning 58 per cent of his games, with a runner-up finish in the Premier League and adding a League Cup and Europa League double in 2016-17. His, though, was an erratic and ill-tempered spell, with a defensive style of play and fallings-out with players, leaving the fans cold.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
P167: W91, D37, L39.Goals per game: F 1.84, A 1.07Win rate: 54 per cent
Trophies: None
The much-loved former United striker proved almost the inverse of his predecessor, with a fluid and attacking style but inconsistent results. A stunning spell as caretaker – winning 14 games out of 19 – deservedly earned him the job on a permanent basis but he came nowhere near emulating that 74 per cent win rate from then on. He left in November 2021 after United won just three of his last 10 games and conceded 15 goals in the last six, the first United manager since Frank O’Farrell in the early 1970s not to add to the club’s trophy cabinet.
Ralf Rangnick
P29: W11, D10, L8.Goals per game: F 1.28, A 1.28Win rate: 38 per cent
Trophies: None
After Michael Carrick’s three games as caretaker, in November 2021, Rangnick was tasked with seeing out the season as interim boss before moving into a consultancy role with the club – which was ultimately cancelled as he took charge of the Austria national team. He began with five games unbeaten but drew far too many – losing on penalties to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup – as he became the first United boss since Dave Sexton’s 1981 departure to win fewer than half of his games in charge.
Erik ten Hag
P79: W49, D9, L21.Goals per game: F 1.67, A 1.18Win rate: 62 per cent
Trophies: League Cup 2023
Ten Hag’s win percentage exceeds even Ferguson’s 60 per cent, though a run in the second-tier Europa League arguably helped to inflate that figure. There have been embarrassing losses from his second game in charge – 4-0 against Brentford – via conceding six to Manchester City and seven to Liverpool, to the 4-3 shock against Copenhagen, with his side conceding more goals per game than under any post-Ferguson manager other than Rangnick.
With Luton and Everton next up before a key European clash with Galatasaray, Ten Hag will know the tide must turn.
