When news broke that Erik ten Hag was to remain as manager at Old Trafford, the reaction among Manchester United fans was largely one of relief.
On social media, on fans’ forums, in messages posted online, the growing consensus was thank goodness the United managerial merry-go-round had stalled. Ten Hag, most reckoned, deserved the chance to continue, the opportunity to build on the trophy-winning successes of his two years in the job. Give him the tools of a properly run operation, most reckoned, and see how he does.
United’s fans have as diverse an opinion on most subjects as any in football (just type the words ‘Mason’ and ‘Greenwood’ into a social media search engine to see how widely approaches differ). But on Ten Hag the overwhelming majority seem keen to back him. And this despite last season’s nine defeats in all competitions at Old Trafford, despite delivering the lowest league position since 1990, despite producing for the first time in the Premier League era a negative goal difference (by contrast the goal difference in Sir Alex Ferguson’s time in charge averaged +44).
In previous circumstances such woeful statistics would have led to fan insurrection. But there was never the swell of discontent that soundtracked the ends of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal or Jose Mourinho’s time at the club. Not many appeared to think, as they did with those three, that things could only get better with a new man in charge. Rather, the blame seemed to be directed beyond the manager’s technical area. The finger was pointed at the injuries, at the hapless condition of the Glazer-era infrastructure, at the inadequacies of the recruitment system.
It was not that Ten Hag was particularly charismatic (there were never any ostentatious post-match engagements with the supporters of the kind Jurgen Klopp perfected at Anfield). It was more that, with his widely recognised work ethic, he was seen to be battling hard against the circumstances. Doing his best. Plus, it was notable to the supporters that there was little appetite for change in a dressing room which, in the time before he arrived, leaked more frequently than a Thames Water pipe.
But what undoubtedly softened any antagonism towards him that may have been generated by the woeful league position was the FA Cup run. First there was the magnificent chaos of the breathless quarter-final win over Liverpool, as joyous a moment as Old Trafford has seen in a decade. Then, in the final, came the defeat of Manchester City. This was largely characterised as a tactical victory by the manager. He got everything right: his system, his selection, his pre-match psychology. That both goals were scored by young academy graduates he had promoted played directly into the United mythology of always trusting their own.
All of it suggested to the fan base that this was a man worth persevering with, a man in tune with the United way. Whether those in charge took account of such supporter feelings when making their decision to keep him in post, or whether they simply followed the same logic, we will never know.
Nor will we know (at least for another few months) quite how explosive the fan reaction would have been had it been announced that one of those who had been frequently mooted as a potential successor was to take over. Yet of this there can be no doubt: part of the reason for the groundswell of support for Ten Hag comes from who he isn’t.
There is one thing on which the most argumentative and divided fan group in English football all seem to agree: never mind Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Thomas Frank or Kieran McKenna, thank goodness they didn’t replace him with Gareth Southgate.
