I think what people don't truly understand is, to justify his stay, Ten Hag would have needed to have a drastically improved start to the season, both in results and performance.
Our fans seem to think that we have an obligation to will managers to success. We don't. It's business, where the results and performance directly affect our operations and finances. It's not sentimental and it should not be, unless the figure in question has shown quality to deserve that consideration. Arsenal under Wenger owed him that. In addition, he was producing good football, but did not have the funds required to deserve that level of expectation.
Ten Hag has actually proven that he is not qualified for the job. His performance last season, FA Cup or no FA Cup, was the worst by any Man United manager. The dispiriting impact it had on the club, fans and players cannot truly be explained. No other big club with our status would have tolerated even half of what went on last season. He doesn't deserve the time and I personally don't think that was the point. I think people like to think that INEOS did not find the right manager; I don't actually think this is true. I think INEOS didn't find the right manager that would justify replacing Ten Hag at the time of winning the FA Cup and prior to setting up the senior management structure. I believe they would have changed course if they believed there was a truly exceptional manager like a Klopp or Pep, who could handle the blowback of the sacking and not having a structure temporarily. Essentially, I think time rather than quality was the main factor in their decision. I believe they've given Ten Hag the opportunity to impress, whilst using the lack of fanfare and pressure to place structures and showcase their abilities in the market without distraction. They're able to focus on planning the new stadium, bringing in new signings and bringing in new personnel without the instability of a new manager.
This means, Ten Hag was nobody's choice, but rather a short term stopgap of stability. In addition, poor results have decimated any hostility that would have arisen from sacking Ten Hag at the end of the summer. United fans and the media tend to have short memories in regard to these type of things, and would quickly have turned on INEOS for taking that decision without giving Ten Hag a chance to turn it around. Noone can say that they haven't given him time now. Noone can say it was injuries or lack of support or lack of signings. This is not to say that they callously planned this out, but made the decision hoping that Ten Hag really would turn things around, with the safeguard that if he didn't, a lot of positive things would have taken place and any potential blowback would have dissipated.