When Erik ten Hag was appointed Manchester United manager, he boldly claimed he would end the Manchester City-Liverpool dominance.
In his first press conference on May 23, 2022, ten Hag admitted he admired City boss Pep Guardiola and then Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, but said: “You will always see that an era can come to an end.”
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, despite winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup a year later, his failure to end City or Liverpool’s dominance has seen his era as United boss come to a premature end on Oct 28.
While Manchester United fans are not sorry to see the former Ajax man leave their beloved club, former Fifa referee Datuk George Joseph said the players should also shoulder some blame.
“I watched a few of their games, including the last one against West Ham last weekend. United was unlucky to lose that,” said Joseph.
“Erik knew what he was getting into when he became United’s boss. The pressure is immense at clubs like United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal.
“While the results have not gone United’s way, the players should look at themselves and ask, ‘Did we do enough?’. The answer is no. They are also to blame for United’s predicament.”
After nine games of the new English Premier League season, United are 14th with 11 points from three wins, two draws, and four defeats.
Ten Hag is United’s sixth permanent manager since the retirement of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. The others were David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Ralf Rangnick.
However, Rangnick was termed an “interim” manager during his five-month spell from December 2021 to May 2022.
Former players Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick were caretaker managers following the departures of Moyes and Solskjaer, a role now occupied by Ruud van Nistelrooy.
While Joseph put some blame on the players, United fans are happy to see the back of ten Hag.
“Ten Hag hid behind words like ‘rebuilding’ and ‘process’, yet after two trophies, we didn’t see any progress,” said stand-up comedian Kishen Alex Raj.
“It’s like the season after is always worse than the one before. I can’t say that is any process. Yes, we’ve had injuries, but how come the players he bought were even worse than those we had?
“Other managers didn’t do that well but didn’t change the entire team. They also owned up to their mistakes. So, it’s good he’s gone.”
For the record, ten Hag spent £616 million on 12 players as Manchester United manager. He also signed Christian Eriksen on a free transfer.
Journalist Faizal Salim said it was concerning that Manchester United still can’t get their manager appointments right, 11 years after Ferguson’s retirement.
“However, the decision to part ways with ten Hag is the right one,” said Faizal.
“You simply do not have the luxury of time at a club like United. After almost three years in charge and over half a billion pounds in signings, all you have to show for it are two cups and 14th place in the league table.
“As Alan Shearer said, ten Hag was a dead man walking.”
Kenny Wong said ten Hag’s “excuses” made him a laughing stock.
“Winning and losing are part of football, but he always seems to have nonsensical excuses for defeats,” said Wong, who is between jobs.
“It was as if he was watching a different game from the rest of us. Perhaps the players could have done better, but the buck stops with the manager.
“If the players are not performing, drop them.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United and Sporting Lisbon have agreed terms for Ruben Amorim to take over from ten Hag.
Van Nistelrooy will remain until Nov 11, with Amorim taking charge of his first game on Nov 24, against Ipswich.
FIXTURES (Malaysian time)
Nov 2
Newcastle vs Arsenal (8.30pm)
Liverpool vs Brighton (11pm)
Ipswich vs Leicester (11pm)
Bournemouth vs Manchester City (11pm)
Southampton vs Everton (11pm)
Nottingham Forest vs West Ham (11pm)
Nov 3
Wolves vs Crystal Palace (1.30am)
Tottenham vs Aston Villa (10pm)
Nov 4
Manchester United vs Chelsea (12.30am)
Nov 5
Fulham vs Brentford (4am)
