What happens when the systems of doing things fail? Should we blame the people who create those systems? Yes. Are they the ones punished for said systems failing? Never. When these systems fail the person who is punished is Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag has won an FA Cup, finished third, and recently lost to Tottenham Hotspur and didn’t even count it as a loss. His time at Manchester United will be categorized as expensive, uneven, and ultimately a failure.
This doesn’t mean ten Hag himself is a failure. That’s far from the truth.
Manchester United has proven to be a complex club, with a complex structure. A new owner (Sir Jim Radcliff), or at least someone who bought a fourth of the club, is now running the club. Radcliff has brought new people into the club only for them to let ten Hag dictate the transfer policy.
Manchester United and Erik ten Hag both have avenues and options of where to go next. Manchester United cannot go three-quarters of a season without a permanent manager. Erik ten Hag will get another chance at a top club in another country within 12 months.
Where Does Manchester United Go From Here?
It’s a joke. The process to keep Erik ten Hag in the summer involved a week of rumors that they were going to replace him only to keep him and give him a contract extension. Firing ten Hag in the summer now seems like what should’ve happened. Instead, the Ineos group now has egg on their face.
It is hard to get a manager to leave their current club at the beginning of a season and switch clubs.
Manchester United’s best candidate, Thomas Tuchel, took over the England national team. Had Manchester United acted in the summer, Tuchel could’ve been their manager, and that Tottenham game would’ve counted. Manchester United will do their best to convince Thomas Frank (Brentford) and Rúben Amorim (Sporting Club de Portugal) to manage a team with insane expectations that is in eleventh. Great sell, they will surely leave their positions to join this dumpster fire.
United could look at the free-agent manager market as well. Former England manager Gareth Southgate is available. This would most likely break every single British pundit’s brain. There is still a lot of debate over how good Southgate is as a manager.
Former Barcelona player and manager Xavi could also take the reins. He has a point to prove after somehow being fired twice in a season last year at Barcelona. Xavi has experience at a big club and would be a big name every United player would respect.
Eden Terzic was coaching in a Champions League final at Wembley four months ago. Terzic would be a gamble, but out of all the free-agent managers, he’s had the most recent success at club level.
What Will ten Hag Do Next
Erik ten Hag made a massive mistake in returning to Manchester United this season. Like Harry Potter going into year seven, ten Hag shouldn’t have returned to Hogwarts.
After a week of speculation leading up to last season’s FA Cup final about ten Hag’s position, a win in the final should’ve been his last act. He would’ve left on a high and not had to return to a toxic situation with toxic leaders who wanted him gone.
Always leave toxic relationships!
Erik ten Hag won two trophies at Manchester United. Before his arrival, they hadn’t won a trophy since 2017.
Erik ten Hag will be a wanted man. If a job opens, He could return to his home country (Holland) and coach one of the big three sides. The football ten Hag’s team played was beautiful when he was at Ajax. They were brilliant in 2018-2019 when they came oh so close to reaching the Champions League Final.
There is no doubt that ten Hag can coach a top side again. Considering how many top clubs switch managers, he will be an attractive candidate to teams that want to win trophies.
Erik ten Hag has two choices. He can wait around for another top club to switch managers. It happens a lot. AC Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Barcelona, Marseille, Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Dortmund, and Ajax all started this season with a new manager.
Erik ten Hag could also try to wait for a lower-down-the-table team to fire their manager this season and jump into a club. That is more risky, but it also gets him back into coaching.
Conclusion
Manchester United are acting fast. With reports already linking them to recruiting Rúben Amorim of Sporting. Whether it happens or not is up in the air. Amorim has had talks with multiple English clubs over the past two years, he’s always stayed. Sporting currently has a three-point lead at the top of the Liga Portugal.
Erik ten Hag will need to choose his next club carefully, he not only needs to choose the right fit but also the right hierarchy structure. If ten Hag can play 2018-2019 Ajax football at his next club, then he will retain his status as a top manager.
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Featured Image: Getty Images/Mike Hewitt
