MANCHESTER United sacked Erik ten Hag. AFP
I don’t know when last Manchester United were in 14th place on the Premier League table, but that position alone was bad enough to justify Erik ten Hag’s departure from the club on Monday.
Yes, the likes of Paul Scholes and others are correct to question the timing of the United board to get rid of their manager – especially as the recent international window would’ve made more sense.
But it had to be done after yet another loss, this time 2-1 to West Ham at London Stadium.
Sure, it was a controversial result due to a stoppage-time penalty that should never have been awarded – what is VAR there for if it can’t prevent such poor decisions from being made?
But even if it had been a 1-1 draw, it would’ve just delayed the inevitable, just like the Fenerbahce Europa League stalemate in midweek: Ten Hag needed to go.
The Red Devils made their worst ever start to a Premier League season, and are currently on 11 points from nine games, with three wins and two draws to go with four defeats.
An even more damning statistic was that United have scored just eight goals, with only 17th-placed Crystal Palace and bottom club Southampton, on six apiece, having worse records.
How is that kind of return acceptable for a club like Manchester United? It isn’t, and at last, the United board’s patience ended on Monday.
To be frank, though, Ten Hag should’ve left Carrington at the end of last season already. The FA Cup final win over Manchester City was memorable, but papered over the very obvious cracks at the club.
They finished in eighth place in the Premier League to miss out on Champions League football, and in the premier continental competition, they were bottom of their group after conceding 15 goals in six matches.
In a glaring statistic on the Premier League website, United conceded the second-most shots last season – 667 – to Sheffield United’s 678. None of the major title contenders such as Arsenal, Liverpool and City were among the top-10 on that list.
Of course, Ten Hag was right to point out that the injury crisis, particularly in defence, hampered his team last season.
But while it seems that the backline issues have been resolved this season, the attack is misfiring again, with many critics stating that there isn’t a clear game-plan going forward.
Having spent hundreds of millions on pounds on players such as Antony, Rasmus Hojlund, Casemiro and Mason Mount – not to mention having the talents of Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo available – the lack of attacking spark on Ten Hag’s watch is unacceptable.
But now is an opportunity for the new United owners under Jim Ratcliffe to make a fresh start, and multiple reports are stating that it is virtually a done deal for Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim to take over on a permanent basis – with Ruud van Nistelrooy the interim manager.
Personally, I would have preferred a ‘big name’ in the mould of Zinedine Zidane, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann, but they are either happy in their current jobs or are not interested.
So, it is then a worthy move to opt for a relatively young manager in the 39-year-old Amorim, who took Sporting to their first Portuguese league title in 19 years in the 2020-21 season.
And he followed it up with another league crown last season, as well as a few cup trophies in between.
Amorim is renowned for employing an attacking approach, preferring a 3-4-3 system, and it could be just the kind of positive mindset that United need at this stage to rejuvenate the club.
Of course, he will need the backing of the board to make some crucial signings too, but he will already have a confidant in Manchester in the shape of Uruguayan defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte, whom he had signed for Sporting in 2021.
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