by Mick the Ram

Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag just nine games into the season after their poor start sees them sitting in14th position.

The game against West Ham United at the weekend – which saw the club fall to their fourth league defeat – was the final straw for the hierarchy, who called an emergency board meeting and the Dutchman’s fate was sealed.

The disappointing start to their Europa League campaign, which also sees them in the bottom half at 21st out of 36 teams having drawn their opening three fixtures, did nothing to help his cause.

He spent most of last season looking over his shoulder, but the magnificent win against Manchester City in the FA Cup Final last May persuaded the club to trigger a one-year extension in his contract.

The renewed faith from then has quickly evaporated and his time has run out, with the man ten Hag brought in as his assistant in the summer, Ruud van Nistelrooy, being named as interim manager, whilst the club recruit a new permanent head coach.

Unanimous decision

Club sources have stressed this was a difficult decision, albeit a unanimous one, and Ten Hag was informed of the decision by the board of directors on Monday (28 October) morning.

In a club statement, they said: “Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager and we are grateful to him for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.”

It means that the club are now seeking their sixth permanent manager in the 11 seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Three cup finals not enough

The 54-year-old former Ajax boss Ten Hag, took charge in the summer of 2022 and led the club to third place in the Premier League in his first season.

He also guided United to their first piece of silverware in six seasons with a 2-0 win against Newcastle United in the 2023 Carabao Cup and finished runners-up in the FA Cup final, losing 2-1 to rivals Manchester City, but he did gain revenge 12 months later as United reversed the scoreline to lift the famous trophy.

Initial backing

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose £1.25bn investment for 27.7% of the club was ratified in February of this year seemed to be on his side stating at the time of his arrival that in his view the club’s problems extended far beyond the role of the manager.

He suggested that because nobody had managed to be successful over the 11 years after Sir Alex left Manchester United, it was possibly more to do with the environment they were working in, rather than a reflection on their coaching abilities.

Sir Jim appeared to be giving his backing to ten Hag, but sadly for him neither the results nor the performances have been good enough to maintain that loyalty.

Questionable recruitment

His recruitment has also been called into question with very few of his signings proving good value. In his first season he spent £207m on Antony, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia.

He followed these up by then spending £167m on Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir in 2023/24, before adding Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui for an outlay of £189m, this last summer.

Southgate possibly in the frame

Early names in the frame are Barcelona legend Xavi, Simone Inzaghi and ex-England boss Gareth Southgate. However, the appointment of Van Nistelrooy as interim manager gives him a chance to stake his own claim.

Van Nistelrooy was of course an immensely popular player with the fans in the five seasons he spent at the club between 2001 and 2006, in which time he scored 150 goals in all competitions.

He has the calming authority that the club are looking for and is said to be well liked and respected in the camp. If he can lead the team on a run of good results whilst at the same time creating an identity in their play that had been sadly missing, then he could make himself the obvious choice.