That some Manchester United players have reservations about the possibility Erik ten Hag could manage them next season is another reason for the club to appoint him.
This is the year the player-power era at United has to end after they stripped Jose Mourinho of authority. His replacement was effectively a substitute teacher who was disparagingly dubbed a 'PE teacher' by a section of the fanbase and United then hired the professorial Ralf Rangnick.
United sided with Paul Pogba over Mourinho and Pogba is going. They sided with Anthony Martial over Mourinho and he has gone, albeit not permanently. He needs to.
READ MORE: Exclusive: United dressing room split over possible Ten Hag appointment
The club pandered to Pogba, Martial, Luke Shaw et al. by removing Mourinho and 'putting smiles back on people's faces' with a man who makes them happy when skies are grey. In his final weeks, the smile had been wiped off Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's face and Shaw suggested last month his smile only returned when on England duty.
Shaw has not made a major contribution to silverware at United. He started in two League Cup ties and four Europa League matches (only one in the knockouts) in 2016-17. Shaw was in the dressing room for the Wembley final but clad in his suit as he had been overlooked for the matchday squad. He was on crutches in Stockholm.
Players need to look closer to home. Shaw has been at United for eight years this summer and would make the poster of a film charting the club's demise. Supporters saw through Marcus Rashford's entourage's movements the day after the Manchester derby. Unlike Shaw, Rashford has made significant contributions to cup runs that ended with him hoisting a trophy - two under a manager his brother later goaded on Instagram.
No seriously run football club would kowtow to the owner's favourite player and the club's record signing but that is what Ed Woodward did in 2018. During his time at United, Pogba has been offered to Manchester City, coincidentally bumped into then-Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane in Dubai and Mino Raiola said it was 'over' for his client at the club. United have continued treading on eggshells when they should have stamped on them.
It is not a coincidence the top five in the Premier League are led by coaches or managers with total authority. It goes without saying at Manchester City and Liverpool, but Chelsea, once a player-power club, sided with Thomas Tuchel over Romelu Lukaku, Mikel Arteta was allowed to jettison armchair forwards in Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the betterment of Arsenal and Tottenham have to get behind Antonio Conte. David Moyes's West Ham are now sixth.
Then you have United with an interim manager, an experiment that is failing. United are looking up at a manager they misguidedly hired in 2013, another they passed on in October, one they did not bother to approach during his month out of work last season and Jurgen Klopp, whom Ed Woodward failed to convince to take over at United.
United players had qualms about Solskjaer's management long before this season, so why did the club think an erstwhile coach who had managed 81 games in 10 years could get a tune out of serial underachievers with inflated egos? An agent suggested an English manager to replace Solskjaer but United rejected him as he 'wouldn't take any s--t' from the players.
Rangnick's intentions have been laudable and he spoke eloquently about United's possible recruitment strategy for the summer on Saturday. That is his expertise these days, not management. Sources say some players have 'stopped listening' to Rangnick's instructions. It is a toxic dressing room and Rangnick was never going to fumigate it.
He excelled as a sporting director over eight years for the Red Bull group, yet Rangnick was discounted as a potential director of football at United because he was synonymous solely with recruitment. Yet here they are, huddling around the German like pupils around the class boffin who has all the answers.
Ten Hag is an imperfect choice to replace Rangnick but every credible candidate has a caveat. Mauricio Pochettino's aura has been dimming for four years and Luis Enrique has not coached at club level for five years. Ten Hag resembles Jaap Stam and you would hope he has a similarly aggressive streak if he moves to Manchester.
Stam, a potential bad cop to Ten Hag's good cop, would be another reason.
