Manchester United To Sack Erik Ten Hag After FA Cup Final
Erik Ten Hag is on the verge of concluding a tumultuous two-year spell at Manchester United. Even if they win the FA Cup over rivals Manchester City tomorrow, he is out of a job. The news was confirmed earlier today by Guardian writer Jacob Steinberg:
Many United fans were convinced of a resurgence this time last year. The Dutch manager had won the club’s first trophy in nearly six years with an EFL Cup in January 2023. They had the chance to deny City a treble in the FA Cup final but fell just short. Furthermore, his first season in the Premier League saw the Red Devils finish third with Marcus Rashford enjoying a career-best season.
However, that’s where the positives ended. A puzzling summer window combined with unprecedented injuries resulted in United’s worst ever finish in the Premier League. Furthermore, they could not even make it out of the group stage of the Champions League, falling out in embarrassing fashion. The writing was on the wall for a disaster of the season as soon as the Jadon Sancho feud boiled over in September. It truly felt like nothing could ever go right for the Red Devils. Injuries to key players did him no favors but they are ultimately not an excuse he can fall back on. Skeptics in 2022 felt that the former Ajax boss was out of his depth joining United and they turned out being absolutely correct.
Who Is Next?
Once again there will be a search for a legit successor to the great Sir Alex Ferguson in Manchester. Of the six managers since his retirement in 2013, former Chelsea legend Jose Mourihno still has arguably the best resume in charge. Currently the favorite for the job is former Bayern Munich and Blues boss Thomas Tuchel. It’s worth noting that his appointment brought instant success at Stamford Bridge and forged a strong bond with midfielder Mason Mount. Injuries and inconsistency resulted in an underwhelming first year for the former Chelsea player of the year.
Other names in contention include England manager Gareth Southgate, and a pair of former Stamford Bridgemen in the recently sacked Mauricio Pochettino and Graham Potter. One could argue that there is no more daunting job in the entire sport than becoming Man United manager. Being in charge of a club that was used to success for so long but has now soured to the core. New Red Devils shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe now has his first major decision to make.
Erik Ten Hag was touted as the chosen one for Manchester United two years ago. Instead, he is yet another name on a growing list of managers to come up short.
