SO, HE WASN’T a dead man walking after all.
The review into Erik ten Hag’s tenure as manager of Manchester United following a campaign that just ended with him lifting the FA Cup and qualifying for the Europa League has finally concluded.
He remains in charge at Old Trafford and will get the chance to enter the third and final year of his current contract, with negotiations over an extension now taking place.
The review process was led by recently-appointed technical director Jason Wilcox, the outcome of which was apparently a forgone conclusion since it was reported on the eve of the Wembley showpiece that the Dutchman would be sacked regardless of the game’s outcome.
That review stretched into a third week since the Cup final before a decision was reached. Was that because the manner of the 2-1 win over Manchester City gave cause for a reconsideration, or simply to ensure a suitbale replacement was lined up.
Former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi was reportedly sounded out, Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 focus with England seemed to rule him out, while Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel are two high-calibre candidates currently available – the latter meeting United’s minority owner Jim Ratcliffe in Monaco last week.
Fermanagh native Kieran McKenna was another on their radar following back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town, but the former United assistant coach signed a new contract at Portman Road ahead of their return to the Premier League.
The decision to stick with Ten Hag feels like a stay of execution as much as a show of faith.
Still, he is the first boss ever at Old Trafford to win back-to-back trophies in his first two seasons in charge and now must build on that.
Keeping him will only be vindicated with signs of consistent progress in the Premier League and in Europe.
There is no doubt that United were close to a completely different decision, one that would have seen them looking for a sixth manager of the club in the 11 years since Alex Ferguson retired.
That number rises to nine if you include Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Ralph Rangnick’s caretaker stints. The pedant might also argue that it’s 10 in 11 given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was interim boss before being handed the full-time reins.
United have opted to stick by Ten Hag at a point when his stock is at its highest with supporters.
That is because he just masterminded one of the greatest days of the post-Ferguson era, a deserved and masterful triumph over Pep Guardiola’s City.
It will never be forgotten by those United supporters who place currency in memories that provide lasting joy and fulfillment, of days that are etched into the lore of a club by being experienced in the flesh rather than dissected in a cesspit of online bile and YouTube watchalong emptiness.
Ten Hag could have left with his head held high, ending a six-year drought in 2023 by lifting the Carabao Cup and following it up with that FA Cup success that will be cherished for a generation.
But the fact is he could so easily have lost his job because of an inability to offer sustained or meaningful progress in the Premier League over the course of last season.
An eighth place finish was the club’s worst in Premier League history yet the silverware Ten Hag delivered means that will be as much part of any legacy as finishing 31 points behind the champions in a campaign decimated by over 60 injuries with 15 different partnerships used in the centre of defence.
United may have ended the campaign with a staggering 14 defeats and a -1 goal difference, scoring just five more (57) goals than relegated Luton Town, but they are statistics that will quickly be forgotten.
That mesmerising 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter final at Old Trafford will be remembered instantly and in precious detail.
It could carry even more weight if his third season is a success.
Amad Diallo’s winner in the last minute of extra time will be one of those defining moments remembered and retold if ever Ratcliffe’s vision of tearing down Old Trafford and building a ‘Wembley of the North’ is realised.
This season is one that will never be forgotten because of those FA Cup exploits; the most thrilling adventure the club has enjoyed in the competition since winning the trophy as part of the Treble in 1999.
The emotion of Wembley won’t blind anybody to how disjointed and vulnerable United looked against supposedly mediocre opponents under Ten Hag. How could it?
They lost 14 times in the league, finished bottom of their Champions League group and only relegated Sheffield United – who conceded 104 goals in 38 games – allowed more shots against them than United’s average of 17.6 per game.
That is a sobering realisation and Ratcliffe has clearly been on a mission to wake up a club he feels has been stuck in a stupor.
A few days after Ten Hag and captain Bruno Fernandes held the trophy aloft at Wembley, an email landed in the inboxes of non-football staff informing them that those who wished to leave the club early could avail of a fast-tracked payment to do so.
The Press Association, among others, reported that the deadline was 5 June and is “part of a wider cost review process at a club Ratcliffe feels fritters money away.”
Clearly, the review process carried out must have provided sufficent belief and trust within the club that Ten Hag is capable of producing better results.
Incoming chief executive Omar Berrada will soon work even closer with him.
Separating them in the pyramid will be INEOS director of sport Dave Brailsford, United technical director Wilcox, who started work before the end of the season and has been the man on the ground at the Carrington training centre while sporting director Dan Ashworth awaits the outcome of a tribunal over his departure from Newcastle.
Ratcliffe has sought to act as quickly as possible in so many areas for a new regime intent on swift, decisive change.
Yet the nature of how this decision was dragged out brings even greater focus and scrutiny on a new football structure that is supposed to revitalise and modernise how they operate.
United have stuck with Ten Hag for a reason, and now he must show why.
