Erik ten Hag has come under fire after Manchester United was informed that they have no chance of winning the Premier League under his leadership and would be better off with a Liverpool legend in charge.
The last time the Red Devils won the English championship was in 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge. Since then, a number of renowned coaches have assumed leadership at Old Trafford in an effort to restore their position at the top. The best they have managed is two second-place finishes under Jose Mourinho (2017–18) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (2020–21), despite the efforts of people like David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, and now Ten Hag.
Meanwhile, United has had to watch as its noisy neighbors Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, have become one of the best teams in the world. And to make matters worse for United, Liverpool, who also won back-to-back Champions League and Premier League titles under Jurgen Klopp, has been City’s major adversary and their most hated rival of all.
United has won the Europa League, the FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup twice in the time since Ferguson’s retirement. United has never really made a serious challenge for either of the two key titles they desire, the Champions League and the Premier League.
In response to allegations that the Glazers were delaying the sale of Manchester United, Gary Neville has unleashed a fierce attack on the club’s ‘toxic’ owners.
The manager at United, though, is where the ball starts and stops, according to expert Simon Jordan.
Ten Hag is not qualified to lead Man Utd to the Premier League championship.
Although Ten Hag won three titles with his last club Ajax, the former chairman of Crystal Palace believes Ten Hag lacks the charisma and skills necessary to guide Man Utd back to the pinnacle of English football.
He also believes that Ten Hag is not “best in class” and that they would have done far better under the leadership of Liverpool manager Klopp.
Jordan told the Daily Mail: “Ten Hag is a decent manager with not insignificant accomplishments in the Netherlands, but I don’t think he exudes the authority required of a man capable of leading United out of the desert they are in, let alone the Herculean effort required to defeat the imperious Pep Guardiola across the city.
Is Ten Hag the top student in the class? I would disagree. He most surely won’t end the club’s title drought, in my opinion. What United truly needs is someone like Jurgen Klopp, someone who can embrace everything, take on the enormous responsibility of leading such a great club, and produce results.
“Someone who can channel the club’s enthusiasm and energy from prior triumphs and establish standards and results reminiscent of the past. Does that ring a bell for Ten Hag? I don’t believe so.
Man United’s chances of winning the title this year already appear slim.
Jordan thinks there is already a perception that United is out of the title fight despite the fact that the new season has only played four games. United’s two losses thus far have come at Tottenham and Arsenal.
Additionally, they have appeared far from convincing in their two victories thus far, over Wolves and Nottingham Forest. They were fortunate to defeat a tenacious Wolves team, but they fell behind 2-0 against the Tricky Trees after only five minutes before battling back to win 3-2.
As a result, Jordan does not believe that their lack of titles will stop anytime soon, although he did issue a warning.
However, it took Ferguson and Klopp four years to win their first trophies in England, so perhaps Ten Hag will show me wrong if he is given the opportunity to win the biggest honours, the author continued.
“But we’re four games into the new season and he’s already in deflection mode. The best managers, the ones that ultimately achieve things, don’t call players out in public. If they do, it is usually because they are floundering and haven’t got the answers.
