Erik Ten Hag appreciation thread

Its all gone Shane Long said:
9. stood up to Ronaldo and Sancho. The former maybe was right but had a SAF feel to it as in “nobody bigger than the club” I’ll respect him for stamping his foot and applying his authority which is what we wanted and probably still need, the two trophies also as well. But we all know it was time to go.
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This. I'm grateful to him for getting rid of these two.
 
I have lots of positives to say about him:

- Obviously cared and had a great work rate;
- Good first season after a horrible start;
- Tried to initiate a shift in attitude / standards;
- Won two cups
- Generally seemed like a nice guy

Ultimately didn't work out, and I think what really got him was the lack of charisma or ability to make the team believe. Personally I felt disjointed when he started talking about winning "two leagues" in this time here, and not taking any self criticism.
 
Dyslexic Untied said:
I have lots of positives to say about him:

- Obviously cared and had a great work rate;
- Good first season after a horrible start;
- Tried to initiate a shift in attitude / standards;
- Won two cups
- Generally seemed like a nice guy

Ultimately didn't work out, and I think what really got him was the lack of charisma or ability to make the team believe. Personally I felt disjointed when he started talking about winning "two leagues" in this time here, and not taking any self criticism.
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How does a manager have a ‘great work rate’?
 
I feel more fondness towards him already now he's gone. There was plenty to like that others have highlighted, but ultimately he was missing something - whether he just wasn't good enough, didn't have the right personality, or wasn't a good enough communicator.

Had he gone on a high when he should have done, after the FA Cup win, he would be looked upon much more favourably. That was a great day.
 
I think he peaked after the cup win and the victories against Barcelona in the Europa, I think he actually made the club go backwards, consider that Ragnick got a 6th placed finish with half bothered players and contrast it to last season and the current campaign.

Worst United manager after Moyes subjectively for me. I think Erik will do decently at a club that's mid table prem level and perhaps top three in a less competitive league environment.

Best of luck to him.
 
Ultimately he wasn't good enough, but he won us two trophies and got rid of some toxic characters we needed to be rid of e.g. Ronaldo, Sancho.

I have no animosity towards him whatsoever and I hope he finds more success in his next role.
 
Stood firm against Sancho. Player power has been a major issue at United. Ten Hag clearly threw Sancho out after Sancho's public outburst about a nothing comment.
 
I think it’s difficult to turn the tide when perception starts to become reality. I think he came in and was the tough and strict authority figure we needed to reshape the squad.

Similar to Ole he had a bright start but due to variables out of their hands, ie injuries, scandal and poor form from key players they didn’t build on the initial enthusiasm.


I’m thankful for the 2 titles and the investment in the young players he has brought into the squad through the academy. Still think he is a good manager that maybe lacked adaptability when things went wrong. Good luck to him in the future.
 
Liked the guy.Wish him all the best for the future.I'm sure he'll bounce back somewhere.
 
dadunited99 said:
Ultimately, he delivered two trophies. Thank you for that.

He gave opportunities to some young players (Mainoo, Garnacho, etc.) who will hopefully progress further and become important to our future. Thank you for that.

I have no doubt that he wanted to succeed, he seems like a genuinely nice guy, but the problem, as seen with managers far more experienced than him before, was that the club needed a huge overhaul from top to bottom.

ETH dealt with Ronaldo and Sancho the way SAF would have dealt with them - Question me and you are gone. SAF did it with Keano, Becks and other players.

The job was simply too big for him as it was Jose, LVG..

And so, the question is.. "What is the job?"

SAF/Gill.. controlled the club, they were aligned on many things and fortunately most worked out, but clubs aren't run that way anymore.

I completely agree that regardless of who the manager is, the style of play, the ethos of what United are (or want to be) should be the benchmark.

But, for too long we have allowed the manager to do his own thing, backroom then do their own thing and bring in players for commercial appeal and it becomes a total mess.

I do truly believe that we are going in the right direction. ETH was caught up in the before and after with the way things were compared to how are going to be. Sadly, it was right to let him go.

The next manager is coming into a 'supposed' solid backroom.

There is no excuse now.

We have, from what we are told, the best people behind the scenes, we have a vision.

We all know that on their day, our players are bloody good.

So, ETH, Thank you for trying your best. Thank you for the cups. Thank you for giving opportunities to younger players. Thank you for dealing with off-field issues. Thank you for dealing with regime changes.

This is a human. A man. A husband. A Father. Our ex manager.

Let's wish him well.
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Second that. He had alot to deal with, we are currently better off than when we started and I don't mean our league positions or our results, but we moved our 'problem" players (Ronaldo, Sancho, Greenwood, De Gea), instilled a work ethic and stricter rules. Overall, our club can now provide a more professional and stable working environment and conditions instead of our so-called star players running the show.
 
I think we often forget how well he did in his first season. We got off to a terrible start with 2 defeats then bounced back against Liverpool for 4 wins in a row including a 3 1 win against Arsenal. We then had 4 or 5 differnet spells of going unbeaten for 5 or 6 games and finally we finished 3rd pipping Newcastle who were on fire and Liverpool who hadn't finished outside the top 4 since Klopps first season. To add to a strong league finish, he won the league cup, our first trophy in 5 years. That was all done with the Ronaldo issue plus holding on to many players from a previous reign and lots of uncertainty around ownership. I'd definitely say I was satisfied after season one.

Season two came and things quickly went downhill. Injuries did not help as well as more player conflicts and ownership discussions. My favourite moments last season were the last minute double from Mctominay against Brentford, the 4 3 defeat of Liverpool (which was an incredible game, maybe my favourite under him) and finally, beating City on the final. All in all, it was an awful season with one good outcome.

Although I thought his time was up after the final, you can somewhat see why he was given a third chance, maybe he had second season syndrome?

Then season three came, 200m spent in the summer, new leadership and to be honest, it's been a total disaster. It's very understandable why he had to go, there should be no complaints.

Outside of games and performance, I'm super appreciative of his youth development, not all players as I believe he could of done better with Amad, Pellistri, Hannibal etc but he developed Garnacho and Mainoo, two players who will hopefully be world class one day. Let's not also forget the chances he gave to Elanga, although he moved on, he's established himself as a first team premier league player.

If I was to rate him overall, I'd give him a 5 out of 10, last season and this year was just not good enough. Saying that, season one, 7.5 out of 10. I genuinely think he did a good solid job.

Either way, I wish him the best in the future, I think a return to Ajax would be fantastic for him.
 
I think he went as high as we’ve been and as low as we’ve been.
 
Recovered well in the first season, really thought we could win the FA Cup and the Europa League as well in that season but fell short. Second season wasn't great and mired by injuries but we did well to beat Liverpool and City to win the FA Cup. Disappointed this season. For whatever season, we just couldn't find a consistent style, not sure if it was communication or something else. Really wanted him to succeed, comes across as a decent bloke. Had difficult situations with Ronaldo and Sancho and handled them well. I expect him to land another job in Europe and hope he can succeed. Wish him the best.
 
I liked Ten Hag. I was one to always defend him and try see the bigger picture. Results don't lie and I was at the Spurs game and leaving OT that day I felt like there's no coming back from that. He won two trophies and that is an achievement. I think he did have time, I'm annoyed that it was the West Ham game that was the nail in the coffin. Unfortuanelty, he was too stubborn to change his way of playing and that's what cost him IMO. Wish him success in the future.
 
I have nothing against the guy personally. Wish him the best in whatever role comes next for him.

I had lost faith in him probably by the middle of last season, maybe sooner, but I was willing to give him a chance after the FA Cup Final.
 
It was clear he had to go by the end because the results were simply unacceptable (they had been so for a while - he should have been sacked after the final). His tactics didn't work, and he had no plan B at all most games.

That said, I think he was an absolute gentleman who knew how to conduct himself, and despite his seeming lack of charisma, had the balls to deal with a club of this size. Even after big losses or setbacks, he wouldn't lose heart, and this squad never actually gave up on him despite what the league table says. Neither Mourinho nor Ole had that level of backing from the squad by the time they were gone. There was a gritty never-say-die attitude to him that I really liked.

I also think that like all the post-SAF managers before him, he was set up to fail and never had the kind of logistical support needed to succeed. Support is not a single, simple metric of how much he was allowed to spend - I think we should have learnt by now that it is how you spend it more than how much. He didn't have proper teams in place that would take care of recruitment, or youth development, or finances, or squad building and let him focus on being the head coach. He had no support from the club when the refs were shafting us game after game (the final game is a fitting swansong), no support or backing when the new owners were undermining his authority while the media wolves disgracefully attacked him minutes into his final victory presser, and had to deal with toxic players like Ronaldo and Sancho. He was left shortchanged on goalscorers when the club dithered on Greenwood till it was too late, was completely let down by Rashford downing tools for a season, and genuinely annihilated by injuries. I think this phase of transition where the old owners gave no more fecks and the new ones didn't want to take responsibility could have been much much worse if not for the professionalism and level-headedness EtH displayed.

Again, his tactical approach clearly didn't work, and irrespective of whether he should have been involved some of his star signings were abysmal - Antony, Mount, Onana (first season where he single handedly crashed us out of the CL). I think this squad is a much better one to inherit than the one he was left behind by Rangnick.

Good man, unfortunate it didn't work out for him here - I think he'll do well at other clubs and learn a lot from his time here. Thanks for the two cups and some great moments. Time to move on.
 
Gandalf Greyhame said:
It was clear he had to go by the end because the results were simply unacceptable (they had been so for a while - he should have been sacked after the final). His tactics didn't work, and he had no plan B at all most games.

That said, I think he was an absolute gentleman who knew how to conduct himself, and despite his seeming lack of charisma, had the balls to deal with a club of this size. Even after big losses or setbacks, he wouldn't lose heart, and this squad never actually gave up on him despite what the league table says. Neither Mourinho nor Ole had that level of backing from the squad by the time they were gone. There was a gritty never-say-die attitude to him that I really liked.

I also think that like all the post-SAF managers before him, he was set up to fail and never had the kind of logistical support needed to succeed. Support is not a single, simple metric of how much he was allowed to spend - I think we should have learnt by now that it is how you spend it more than how much. He didn't have proper teams in place that would take care of recruitment, or youth development, or finances, or squad building and let him focus on being the head coach. He had no support from the club when the refs were shafting us game after game (the final game is a fitting swansong), no support or backing when the new owners were undermining his authority while the media wolves disgracefully attacked him minutes into his final victory presser, and had to deal with toxic players like Ronaldo and Sancho. He was left shortchanged on goalscorers when the club dithered on Greenwood till it was too late, was completely let down by Rashford downing tools for a season, and genuinely annihilated by injuries. I think this phase of transition where the old owners gave no more fecks and the new ones didn't want to take responsibility could have been much much worse if not for the professionalism and level-headedness EtH displayed.

Again, his tactical approach clearly didn't work, and irrespective of whether he should have been involved some of his star signings were abysmal - Antony, Mount, Onana (first season where he single handedly crashed us out of the CL). I think this squad is a much better one to inherit than the one he was left behind by Rangnick.

Good man, unfortunate it didn't work out for him here - I think he'll do well at other clubs and learn a lot from his time here. Thanks for the two cups and some great moments. Time to move on.
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Good point. I think he could have done a lot more bringing up the injustices himself, seems he only started speaking up when his job was on the line. His niceness cost him with the media.
 
Erik is a top bloke with great principles. We had several amazing moments with him, winning the Fa cup v city when no one gave us a hope was just a beautiful moment, it saved his job short term.
He installed discipline amongst a bunch of difficult to manage players and took no crap no matter who they were or what they cost. He saw a Maguire was limited, he broke up McFred. He wanted Dejong but was given Casamiro.

Ultimately he lacked the ability to find the correct tactics, his teams Were too easy to play against and cut open and for some reason he didn’t grasp it. Respect to the guy for winning two trophies in just 2 seasons after we had nothing for 6 years.

premier league results and performances were largely dreadful post league cup win and for that reason he had to go.
 
@Gandalf Greyhame good point about lack of support. I came in to post that - like all managers post SAF, he was set up to fail, essentially. The amount of incompetence at boardroom level for a club of our size was incomprehensible. It kinda shows that nepo babies like the Glazers, even though they’re billionaires, they can actually be extremely stupid/incompetent but their vast amounts of money will see them through this life comfortably.

Sure, all the managers had some level of backing and at the end of the day, they take most of the accountability for their sacking - which I think each one of them were justified - if anything, they all got a little too much time. But the top level incompetence was staggering, and there’s no way a manager succeeds under that type of leadership, unless perhaps you’re a prime SAF regen.
 
Ish said:
@Gandalf Greyhame good point about lack of support. I came in to post that - like all managers post SAF, he was set up to fail, essentially. The amount of incompetence at boardroom level for a club of our size was incomprehensible. It kinda shows that nepo babies like the Glazers, even though they’re billionaires, they can actually be extremely stupid/incompetent but their vast amounts of money will see them through this life comfortably.

Sure, all the managers had some level of backing and at the end of the day, they take most of the accountability for their sacking - which I think each one of them were justified - if anything, they all got a little too much time. But the top level incompetence was staggering, and there’s no way a manager succeeds under that type of leadership, unless perhaps you’re a prime SAF regen.
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The board also shared this view, which is why he was given this season under a better supporting structure?

The issue is, regardless of support the manager should get a team compact. I wanted Ten Hag to succeed really badly but he was too stubborn and didnt acknowledge his teams were so easy to play against. You live and die by your sword.

This season, he was not set up to fail, he was given all the required tools.
 
The fact that he was sacked because of a dubious VAR decision make this hard to accept. ETH should have been given more time.
 
He probably had the toughest job of our post Fergie managers with all the off field stuff going on and ultimately being in limbo with all of the ownership back and forward. He can leave with his head held high and he’s one of 4 United managers to win trophies in back to back seasons.

Season 1 pre league cup we seen some really special performances. Spurs at home was a particular highlight for me, Barca at home, Liverpool at home and City at home - after the city game in January it looked like we where half in the title race.

Season 2 he tried to change too much to soon and we only looked half competent after the Palace away game once he finally decided to play more compact.

I think his reign even though some very good moments, will be one remembered for his stubbornness to change when the going got tough.

He’ll get another big job and I think he’ll be pretty successful on the continent where the English media aren’t constantly down your throat- I really wouldn’t be surprised to see him at Bayern if Kompany doesn’t work out.
 
Dont wish him any ill at all. Thankful for the two trophies and also for starring to weed out some of the rot E.G. DDG, Sancho, Ronaldo. He was instrumental in blooding Garnacho and Mainoo and Improving them. Conversely and with hindsight, his short comings were in taking decent pro's and not improving them or developing an indefinable style of play with them.

No doubt he will go somewhere like Bayern and be a success.
 
romufc said:
The board also shared this view, which is why he was given this season under a better supporting structure?

The issue is, regardless of support the manager should get a team compact. I wanted Ten Hag to succeed really badly but he was too stubborn and didnt acknowledge his teams were so easy to play against. You live and die by your sword.

This season, he was not set up to fail, he was given all the required tools.
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Yeah, I don't disagree but I think at that point a lot of the damage was already one - a ton of it by EtH himself, I might add. I'm not defending the manager here, i've been very vocal that I wanted him gone before the end of last season (even though like you, I really wanted him to succeed :( ) but I just think the next appointment would be the first one post SAF actually starting from a fairly clean slate, with the proper support structure in place to benefit from, from the start. The rest of them post SAF all operated under some sort of handicap.

Hopefully they can clear the rest of the squad out (old, not fit for purpose, overpaid & underperforming etc.) over the next 2 windows etc.
 
I hope he does well elsewhere. Best of luck to him. I thought He should have gone after the cup final. Last season was not good enough. Finishing bottom of a CL group with Copenhagen and Gallatassaray in it was not good enough. Getting hammered by City and Liverpool over the last few seasons is not good enough. Watching lesser teams celebrate at OT as if they just won the CL final after beating United was infuriating. How can Ten Hag and those players let that happen over and over again?
 
As others have said, he won us some stuff and blooded some youth. We hadn’t won anything for 6 years before this - which is terrible for us - so really not a catastrophic waste of two years in our current state all things considered, especially now that there’s no fear he’s going to stick around indefinitely. In a decade or two or three, an FA Cup final win against City with two academy kids scoring will still be a great memory.

There was something very Moyes about his downfall in the end. That even when we were all pretty confident in him the one nagging obvious doubt was always that he didn’t quite understand what a big step up he’d taken. That he kept trying to buy players from his previous club and stubbornly play in a manner that probably would’ve worked in most games there but was just not going to cut it in the PL. He just couldn’t seem to fathom that he might not have already figured it all out. I bare him no ill though.
 
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Ish said:
Yeah, I don't disagree but I think at that point a lot of the damage was already one - a ton of it by EtH himself, I might add. I'm not defending the manager here, i've been very vocal that I wanted him gone before the end of last season (even though like you, I really wanted him to succeed :( ) but I just think the next appointment would be the first one post SAF actually starting from a fairly clean slate, with the proper support structure in place to benefit from, from the start. The rest of them post SAF all operated under some sort of handicap.

Hopefully they can clear the rest of the squad out (old, not fit for purpose, overpaid & underperforming etc.) over the next 2 windows etc.
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Yup, agreed. What I dont get is all the points scoring from fans, we all want the same thing.

I will back Amorin fully like every manager. We clearly seem to have some sort of plan, we have hired a young coach who has proven that he can deliver success. His spell at Braga and Sporting shows this.

He has shown he can handle pressure, the Sporting job was not dissimilar to the United job now, where the teams have fallen so far of the dominant teams.

Also, I take back everything I said about a manager needing x amount of time. I have learnt over the last 2 seasons that the days of "rebuild" are gone. Managers now have shorter time and they need to hit the ground running, if you are a good coach, we will see principles in year 1.

I suspect we should be able to see enough by end of this season on his style.
 
romufc said:
Yup, agreed. What I dont get is all the points scoring from fans, we all want the same thing.

I will back Amorin fully like every manager. We clearly seem to have some sort of plan, we have hired a young coach who has proven that he can deliver success. His spell at Braga and Sporting shows this.

He has shown he can handle pressure, the Sporting job was not dissimilar to the United job now, where the teams have fallen so far of the dominant teams.

Also, I take back everything I said about a manager needing x amount of time. I have learnt over the last 2 seasons that the days of "rebuild" are gone. Managers now have shorter time and they need to hit the ground running, if you are a good coach, we will see principles in year 1.

I suspect we should be able to see enough by end of this season on his style.
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Fairly much agree with all of that as well. I can forgive results - when there’s clear progress on the field for various reasons (such as lack of quality in playing squad etc), but the style can definitely be implemented from year 1. I think we’re on the right path with this appointment and here’s hoping he can take us to the promised land in a few years!
 
Ish said:
Fairly much agree with all of that as well. I can forgive results - when there’s clear progress on the field for various reasons (such as lack of quality in playing squad etc), but the style can definitely be implemented from year 1. I think we’re on the right path with this appointment and here’s hoping he can take us to the promised land in a few years!
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Yep, I just want us to see us competitive in games this season, going away to City, Liverpool, Spurs Chelsea. I want us to go into those games with confidence rather than in the last few seasons its been by how many?

The good thing is, we are so desperate even us going and getting a 1-1 away from home and deserving it, would be seen as a big step up. I can't recall the last time we went to a top club away from home and feeling wow, we played well.
 
Found it strange that there's no parting statement from Erik to the fans like a letter of thanks and appreciation for the time he was here?
 
Some really good moments. I wonder what might have happened if we had a normal amount of injuries last year. Everything this year has been a carry over and obviously reached a point where ultimately had to go. Has himself to blame for deciding not to implement tactics he used at Ajax. Why would we want to continue playing like we had previous three years?

Ultimately I think he’s been unfortunate though. He’s not had chance to build but won two trophies and left us in a better position squad wise. Good luck for future ETH from a fan
 
romufc said:
Yep, I just want us to see us competitive in games this season, going away to City, Liverpool, Spurs Chelsea. I want us to go into those games with confidence rather than in the last few seasons its been by how many?

The good thing is, we are so desperate even us going and getting a 1-1 away from home and deserving it, would be seen as a big step up. I can't recall the last time we went to a top club away from home and feeling wow, we played well.
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Yeah agreed. We’ve been thumped way too many times - not just against the so called top 6, but even lesser clubs. Hopefully that all changes and we can actually approach those games with hope and a bit of confidence in future. As you say, not a case of writing off the points before a ball has even been kicked. Alas, let us stick to the EtH appreciation theme in this thread.

I have a lot of time for EtH. He seems a genuine guy, who generally conducted himself well here - even when he was faced with some very difficult situations - both on and off the field. I think the squad is also in a decent enough shape for a new manager to come in and get some massive improvement.
 
Ish said:
Yeah agreed. We’ve been thumped way too many times - not just against the so called top 6, but even lesser clubs. Hopefully that all changes and we can actually approach those games with hope and a bit of confidence in future. As you say, not a case of writing off the points before a ball has even been kicked. Alas, let us stick to the EtH appreciation theme in this thread.

I have a lot of time for EtH. He seems a genuine guy, who generally conducted himself well here - even when he was faced with some very difficult situations - both on and off the field. I think the squad is also in a decent enough shape for a new manager to come in and get some massive improvement.
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Agreed, I dont hate Ten Hag like alot of others do, he struggled to get his points across by the looks of it.

The fact that he didn't lose the dressing room like previous managers did, seems to suggest players bought into his style but for one reason or another, it just didn't work.

Benni McCarthy also came out saying he is a very good tactical coach, one of the best, normally the staff that leave always have negative things to say.

The media portrayed him in a negative light but like Laurie from Athletic mentioned, he is a good guy, so I wish him all the best in the future.

I would like to see him go manage another top team and do well.
 
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