Erik Ten Hag’s future drama has ended. INEOS and the Manchester United Board of Directors decided to retain the Dutch coach.
Erik Ten Hag has been manager of Manchester United for two seasons. However, in the last few months, it has been widely reported that he will be fired by Manchester United management.
The reason is that Man United finished in eighth place in the 2023/2024 Premier League final standings. This is the worst finish for the team nicknamed the Red Devils in the Premier League era.
That is why Man United management has been holding an end-of-season evaluation since May 27 2024. One of the main topics discussed was whether they would keep or part ways with Erik Ten Hag.
After two and a half weeks, Man United finally made a decision. Through reports by David Ornstein (The Athletic) and Fabrizio Romano, Man United management decided to give Erik Ten Hag the opportunity to continue his duties as Manchester United manager.
But what were Manchester United’s actual considerations in finally retaining the coach? Read more below.
Win the FA Cup
The first reason Manchester United management retained Erik Ten Hag was because of his success in bringing Manchester United to win the FA Cup.
The victory over Manchester City at Wembley had a double meaning for the Red Devils. Apart from closing the season with the championship trophy, they also got tickets to play in Europe next season.
The Daily Mail report stated that if Ten Hag lost in the FA Cup Final yesterday, Man United management would only need one day to announce that they were firing the coach.
Injury Factors
The second reason why Manchester United management decided to retain Erik Ten Hag was because of the injuries that hit the Red Devils.
Throughout the 2023/2024 season, there were more than 60 cases of injury that befell Manchester United. This number of injuries is thought to make it difficult for the Red Devils to play their best game.
The Manchester Evening News report stated that bringing Man United to finish in eighth place and win the FA Cup was a big achievement for Ten Hag in the midst of a storm of successive injuries. So they think the Dutch coach deserves a second chance.
Young Player Factor
One of the biggest positive values that Man United management considered when retaining Erik Ten Hag was his ability to develop young players.
In the two years he has served, there have been two Man United academy players who have succeeded in becoming regular starters in the Man United first team, namely Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo. Meanwhile, there are several other young players such as Willy Kambwala and Amad Diallo who have started to play several times in the Man United first team.
According to Fabrizio Romano’s report, Man United management is very satisfied with Ten Hag’s achievements. The reason is that Man United is a team that consistently promotes young players to their first team, and they believe Erik Ten Hag is able to orbit more future Man United stars from their academy.
Poor Management Structure
The Daily Mail report also stated that INEOS decided to retain Erik Ten Hag because they felt the manager was not supported by good management.
Since INEOS became co-owner of Manchester United, they have carried out major changes in their management. INEOS appointed a new CEO, Technical Director and Sports Director, where the names recruited were the best names in their fields.
INEOS believes Ten Hag can work better when he gets good support from good management too. So they wanted to see how Ten Hag worked with the new structure.
Fan Voice
In the same report, The Daily Mail also revealed that fans’ votes played a big role in Man United management’s decision to retain Erik Ten Hag.
Since Man United won the FA Cup final, the majority of Manchester United fans have voiced their full support for the manager. They consider Ten Hag worthy to continue as manager of the Red Devils.
INEOS realizes that they will incur great anger from Red Devils fans if they fire Ten Hag. So the fans’ voices were apparently heard by Man United management and taken into consideration in deciding Ten Hag’s fate.
No Good Candidates
The ESPN report revealed an interesting fact. They said that Man United management’s decision to retain Erik Ten Hag was because they did not find the right candidate.
During the evaluation process, Man United representatives were known to contact a number of managers. Names such as Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Gareth Southgate were contacted by INEOS to be considered as a replacement for Ten Hag.
However, from these meetings, it was reported that INEOS was less than happy. They assess that the candidate to replace Ten Hag is no better than the Dutch manager.
So instead of just wasting money on paying Ten Hag’s severance pay and also hiring a new manager, the Red Devils decided to stay with the manager.
Erik Ten Hag’s response
Erik Ten Hag has been contacted by Manchester United regarding their decision to stay with him. How did the coach respond?
BBC Sport reports that Erik Ten Hag is generally happy with this decision. From the start, he was fully committed to continuing his career with Manchester United.
However, he was also reportedly annoyed because this process was taking quite a long time. But now he can rest assured to prepare for the 2024/2025 season.
What’s Awaiting Erik Ten Hag Next?
After it is confirmed that he will stay, there are three things waiting for Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United.
The first is that he will get a new contract. Fabrizio Romano reported that in the near future, Man United management will meet with Ten Hag’s agent to discuss extending this contract.
The second is that Ten Hag will coordinate with Jason Wilcox (Man United Director of Technology), Matt Hargreaves (Man United Director of Negotiations) and Steve Brown (Man United Head of Talent Scouting) to determine the Red Devils’ transfers this summer. According to Romano’s leak, Ten Hag wants at least a new striker, midfielder, center back and left back in his team.
The third is that Ten Hag will return to Manchester in early July 2024. He will prepare the Red Devils squad for the 2024/2025 pre-season, where on July 15 they will hold their first trial against Rosenborg.
