Why INEOS must listen to the fans and keep Ten Hag

Manchester United Football Club have hit every possible newspaper in the last few days for all the wrong reasons; despite winning the Emirates FA Cup last Saturday after a deserved 2-1 win against cross-town rivals Manchester City, new owners INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are considering letting Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag leave the club after two seasons at the helm. This news has sparked a widespread protest by Manchester United fans across the globe to convince INEOS to keep Ten Hag at the club. The news leaked out the Friday before the final that United were set to sack Ten Hag regardless of the result. Despite the alarming news, United players were able to keep their head in the game and beat the Citizens, which seemingly caused Ratcliffe and INEOS to delay their decision on the manager. 

Fans are disappointed that the club are killing the positivity around winning the FA Cup with the news of Ten Hag potentially getting sacked. A few days have gone by and reports are coming out that the club may decide to keep Ten Hag after all, but with the decision still not settled, these are the reasons that Manchester United should stick with the Dutchman for another season.

Two trophies in two years

When Ten Hag took over Manchester United at the end of the 2021/2022 season, he was walking into a mess of a club: players were leaking information from the dressing room, the results were poor, interim boss Ralf Ragnick had lost control of the team, the Glazers were reluctant to help in any way, you name the issue and Manchester United were dealing with it. To take that team to third place in the Premier League and win a trophy for the first time since 2017 in his first season was a miracle. Ten Hag had the team connecting on and off the field: Marcus Rashford was scoring for fun, Casemiro was dominating the midfield, and Bruno was proving to be a real captain. 

While the league form this season was bad, winning the FA Cup is a bigger achievement than the Carabao Cup, and to beat Manchester City of all teams, this achievement can not go unnoticed by INEOS. It is clear that Ten Hag has the potential to be a serial winner at United, no manager has had this potential since the famous Sir Alex Ferguson. How can you fire a coach who is delivering trophies? You can not.

Uncontrollable injuries

Ten Hag could not control injuries, and United had a lot of them. The team faced 61 separate injury issues this season, the defense was hit the hardest. Ten Hag was stuck using a defensive partnership of Evans and Casemiro at some point, I mean it was ridiculous. With an injury record that atrocious, any team will struggle. Yes Onana made mistakes in goal, and yes certain senior players downed tools all season, but that team had no depth. 

Certain pundits have stated that every team has injuries and it should not be an excuse, well: Newcastle had injuries and finished 7th, a big drop-off from last season. Arsenal lost Saliba to injury last season and lost the title race after competing with Manchester City all year. Injuries can ruin teams. Further, when players came back from Injury, United were playing really well, take the FA Cup final as an example where they had defensive duo Martinez and Varane available. Last season when those two were fit, United had one of the best defensive records in Europe. If every player was fit, United would have been competing for the top four and will be next season with a full-strength eleven. 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe admires Arsenal + Arteta

A few weeks ago, Sir Jim Ratcliffe admitted that he admired Arsenal’s decision to stick with Mikel Arteta despite the club being in disarray and ending in mid-table positions a few seasons ago. By stating this, it seemed as though Ratcliffe was hinting that he fully supported Ten Hag despite the difficult season. How can he say this and then consider firing Ten Hag? Look at Arsenal! Bad few seasons with Arteta at the start, and now the Gunners are one of the best teams in England who are capable of winning the Premier League next season. It would be very hypocritical of INEOS and Ratcliffe to sack Ten Hag after this public statement. 

If that is not enough then how about we look at Arteta instead? His first few seasons were rocky but now it has paid off. Arsenal were in a worse position when Arteta took over and he was able to turn it around for the Gunners in three seasons. Why stop Ten Hag at just two? He deserves a third season!

Manager Roulette Curse

Enough is enough! Stop firing coaches after 1-2 seasons because they are not winning the treble! Chelsea is doing it and it is FAILING. A project is what the modern soccer club needs: Arsenal under Arteta, Liverpool under Klopp, Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. (Might I also add that Sir Alex’s first major trophy for United was an FA Cup, and he was struggling at first when United hired him. Now he is regarded as one of the best managers ever!) Manchester United was a mess two years ago, but now it is getting stronger, do not hit the reset button and hire a new coach. 

Also, tell me who in the manager market right now is a better fit? Recently fired Pochettino from Chelsea who also failed at the PSG and Tottenham job? Pochettino is not a winning coach, he is the kind of coach who can get United in the top four but trophies are out of the picture. Next is Thomas Tuchel, who fell out with PSG, Chelsea, and Bayern. Sure he won a Champions League trophy with Chelsea but since then all he has seen is the exit door with a box full of his stuff, a bad idea. Finally, there is Di Zerbi, come on. He is no different from Graham Potter, do not go for managers who might work but could also fail horribly. Ten Hag is the guy and he would be the cheapest option considering the compensation money for him and the money needed to bring in a new coach. 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have to be careful with this situation; the fans want Ten Hag and they will start to lose trust in the new ownership before a full year in charge. The fans are the most important aspect of a club, they are the heart and soul that will give anything for their team. If they want their manager, let them have him. If the Ten Hag project fails next season then sack him, especially since the managerial market might be more enticing. 

Further, the United players trust Ten Hag; the way he has developed the youth at the club is second to none and also shows traces of Sir Alex Ferguson who similarly put his trust in the youth. Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo, and Rasmus Hojlund can be superstars in the future with Ten Hag’s mentorship. I believe that Ten Hg instills a belief in the players and fans, a belief that has reignited the club since the Sir Alex Ferguson winning era.