Life after ETH — the next United manager

If we sack ten Hag who would you want as manager?

  • Massimiliano Allegri

    Votes: 24 1.7%

  • Rúben Amorim

    Votes: 291 21.1%

  • Michael Carrick

    Votes: 33 2.4%

  • Roberto de Zerbi

    Votes: 18 1.3%

  • Thomas Frank

    Votes: 70 5.1%

  • Sebastian Hoeneß

    Votes: 59 4.3%

  • Eddie Howe

    Votes: 6 0.4%

  • Simone Inzaghi

    Votes: 66 4.8%

  • Andoni Iraola

    Votes: 36 2.6%

  • Thiago Motta

    Votes: 8 0.6%

  • Julian Nagelsmann

    Votes: 255 18.5%

  • Graham Potter

    Votes: 26 1.9%

  • Ruud van Nistelrooy

    Votes: 30 2.2%

  • Marco Silva

    Votes: 8 0.6%

  • Xabi Alonso

    Votes: 217 15.8%

  • Xavi

    Votes: 58 4.2%

  • Kieran McKenna

    Votes: 81 5.9%

  • Unai Emery

    Votes: 90 6.5%

  • Fabian Hürzeler

    Votes: 1 0.1%
  • Total voters
    1,377
It's really difficult to identify who will be the right manager for us to pursue - I see exciting names like Hoeness or Amorim but these guys are coaching in leagues that are far apart from the premier league so it's anyone's guess how they will perform in the premier league - they could be a Ten Hag or end up being a Klopp. Then you have someone like Inzaghi who has slowly risen and has performed very well in a bigger league and in the champions league. However will Inzaghi's 3 at the back style suit us and does he even know the language?

People wanting McKenna or Iraola are unfortunately caught in the romance of that idea - they're far too unproven.

I think we can forget about Alonso based on his history and the fact that there will be at opening at Madrid very soon. Whoever it is, we need to get it right.
 
Freak said:
People wanting McKenna or Iraola are unfortunately caught in the romance of that idea - they're far too unproven.

I think we can forget about Alonso based on his history and the fact that there will be at opening at Madrid very soon. Whoever it is, we need to get it right.
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People want Alonso because he managed the first invincible season in German football (not including international games, but even then the only loss was the EL final). McKenna or Iraola are far more experienced and proven then Alonso was when he took over Leverkusen - even if you take into consideration that the BL is a bit easier than the PL.

Alonso should both be an encouraging and a warning example: You can go for (relatively) unproven managers if they are highly talented, and if you want them you shouldn't move too late, otherwise they might outgrow the United job quickly and go to a better team.
 
stefan92 said:
People want Alonso because he managed the first invincible season in German football (not including international games, but even then the only loss was the EL final). McKenna or Iraola are far more experienced and proven then Alonso was when he took over Leverkusen - even if you take into consideration that the BL is a bit easier than the PL.

Alonso should both be an encouraging and a warning example: You can go for (relatively) unproven managers if they are highly talented, and if you want them you shouldn't move too late, otherwise they might outgrow the United job quickly and go to a better team.
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McKenna hasn't won a single premier league game yet. He's the epitome of unproven.

His current best achievement is something the likes of Neil Warnock, Steve Coppell and Scott Parker have managed with relative ease.
 
ErikElevenHag said:
McKenna hasn't won a single premier league game yet. He's the epitome of unproven.

His current best achievement is something the likes of Neil Warnock, Steve Coppell and Scott Parker have managed with relative ease.
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That's all true, and I am not denying that. But still he is more proven and has experience on a higher level than Alonso had before taking over Leverkusen, that's also a fact. And let's be honest here, right now there isn't much difference between Leverkusen when Alonso took over and United right now. If McKenna should be the right guy for United (just as Alonso was for Leverkusen), he is proven enough.
 
ErikElevenHag said:
McKenna hasn't won a single premier league game yet. He's the epitome of unproven.

His current best achievement is something the likes of Neil Warnock, Steve Coppell and Scott Parker have managed with relative ease.
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Not many managers have taken a club up two seasons on the spin, and on the budget he has, but obviously he's early in his career.

This highlights a point generally. The next Pep or Klopp (i.e. the elite managers of the next decade or two) are working somewhere and if the club are looking to work with them, rather than appoint established and experienced managers, it's up to the footballing structure of the club to identify them. We're told the people appointed are the best, so I suppose we'll see.
 
stefan92 said:
That's all true, and I am not denying that. But still he is more proven and has experience on a higher level than Alonso had before taking over Leverkusen, that's also a fact. And let's be honest here, right now there isn't much difference between Leverkusen when Alonso took over and United right now. If McKenna should be the right guy for United (just as Alonso was for Leverkusen), he is proven enough.
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You're talking about quality of the team and league position, except it isn't just that at united is it.

Leverkusen had 1 German cup and 1 Uefa cup in their entire history prior to taking over. It's a low pressure job, there isn't the same spotlight and weight of expectation to deliver as Leverkusen manager as there would be at Manchester United. Hiring an inexperienced manager who is likely to be chewed up and spat out doesn't seem like a wise idea at this current juncture.
 
RedRover said:
Not many managers have taken a club up two seasons on the spin, and on the budget he has, but obviously he's early in his career.

This highlights a point generally. The next Pep or Klopp (i.e. the elite managers of the next decade or two) are working somewhere and if the club are looking to work with them, rather than appoint established and experienced managers, it's up to the footballing structure of the club to identify them. We're told the people appointed are the best, so I suppose we'll see.
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The ones who have are hardly superstars. Paul Lambert, Nigel Adkins, Graham Taylor.

Getting promotion from the lower leagues is an achievement there is no doubt, but it really doesn't point to being qualified to take on such a huge job.
 
RedRover said:
Not many managers have taken a club up two seasons on the spin, and on the budget he has, but obviously he's early in his career.

This highlights a point generally. The next Pep or Klopp (i.e. the elite managers of the next decade or two) are working somewhere and if the club are looking to work with them, rather than appoint established and experienced managers, it's up to the footballing structure of the club to identify them. We're told the people appointed are the best, so I suppose we'll see.
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Pep is such an outlier that there genuinely might not be another Pep out there. And Klopp spent 7 years at Mainz and 7 years at Dortmund before joining Liverpool, so he was certainly an established manager when he went there.
 
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ErikElevenHag said:
You're talking about quality of the team and league position, except it isn't just that at united is it.

Leverkusen had 1 German cup and 1 Uefa cup in their entire history prior to taking over. It's a low pressure job, there isn't the same spotlight and weight of expectation to deliver as Leverkusen manager as there would be at Manchester United. Hiring an inexperienced manager who is likely to be chewed up and spat out doesn't seem like a wise idea at this current juncture.
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That is absolutely true. Which is why it is not the coaching ability or 'experience' of a McKenna or even Hoeness that for me are a doubt, but their experience and readiness to handle a high pressure job. High pressure in terms of the environment, the media atmosphere, the balance of expectations vs. potential.

Though to be fair Ten Hag staying on after an 8th place finish and a disastrous CL campaign did a lot to lower the expectation and pressure part in terms of actual results..
 
FortunaUtd said:
Though to be fair Ten Hag staying on after an 8th place finish and a disastrous CL campaign did a lot to lower the expectation and pressure part in terms of actual results..
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Exactly what I am thinking as well. I honestly don't see the job of managing United as a high pressure job. The fans are extremely friendly even during excessive failure (as we see right now), the board has incredible patience, and by now not even the media are piling up on EtH, at least not as much as they could.

Who is applying pressure on the manager here? I just don't see it anymore at United.
 
Marcus said:
We are at such a low point that literally almost any other manager would get better results out of this team. BUT just because we have a dead cat bounce of a few positive post-ETH may not mean that that new manager is the right one for United. Therein lies the struggle. How to get a manager who really can improve the team and bring us back to the top. This needs expertise.
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While in an ideal world the next manager can take us back to the top, it's not something we should be fixated on. Somebody coming in, stabilising us and implementing a progressive playstyle, but ultimately not being good enough and having to be upgraded further in 2 or 3 years is absolutely fine. We will then be in a much more attractive position for top managers (either an established one or the next big thing like Alonso is at the moment), who can see that we don't need too much work to get us competing for the top prizes and who will back themselves to do that.

Of course, the huge issue is that if a manager comes in and does a 'good' job, the fan base and media would throw an absolute tantrum if we even thought about sacking him so we could then get a 'great' manager instead. Just look at the ridiculous level of defence that ETH still has (or at least did up until a few weeks ago) despite basically breaking every negative record in the business. The board need to ignore the fans and media and do what's right for the club, and the fans need to get over it.
 
stefan92 said:
Exactly what I am thinking as well. I honestly don't see the job of managing United as a high pressure job. The fans are extremely friendly even during excessive failure (as we see right now), the board has incredible patience, and by now not even the media are piling up on EtH, at least not as much as they could.

Who is applying pressure on the manager here? I just don't see it anymore at United.
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The pressure is somewhere in between, harder to put one's finger on. It is the general vibe that the club needs to be doing much, much better. It is the most acute and rather mean-spirited, let's call it schadenfreudig, attention of the media. It is the fact that us fans have run out of joy and nerve years ago and are generally confused and depressed about whom to blame. The players, some of the most prominent ones of which have already been subjected to toxic social media barrages.

You are right, the immediate pressure to get top results may have evaporated by sustained lack of success, but there is still negative pressure all around the club.
Make no mistake, this is not an easy job to take, it is high risk, low reward.
Because to be really considered a success, we have to beach top 3 again, and there's all of Chelsea, Newcastle, Villa, even Spurs trying for that with similar means and competent personnel of their own. It is no comparison to Stuttgart, Leverkusen, even Newcastle or Spurs. They don't have the lingering expectation and sense of entitlement that we, rightly, have. And neither the exposure.

That all aside, the club needs to try. Ten Hag needs to go now and someone else must be given the chance.
 
Edin Terzic should be an option given his achievements with Dortmund. He's the right profile in as much as he's reached the Champions League final with a team of ok players, he's only 41 and he's out of work!
 
FortunaUtd said:
It is the general vibe that the club needs to be doing much, much better.
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That's a vibe that exists at almost all clubs who sign a new manager (except their successful former manager retired or left for a bigger club), it's nothing special for any manager to be in that situation.
FortunaUtd said:
Make no mistake, this is not an easy job to take, it is high risk, low reward.
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That's still true for sure
FortunaUtd said:
Because to be really considered a success, we have to beach top 3 again
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At this point I think even less than top three would be considered a success. A clear playing style and a rise towards the top six (so qualifying for Europe again) would be a massive increase, maybe a good cup/EL run alongside it. In the long run you are right, but in the current situation I think we have to look at what would be an improvement right now, and everything beyond is more a less a free hit.
FortunaUtd said:
It is no comparison to Stuttgart, Leverkusen, even Newcastle or Spurs. They don't have the lingering expectation and sense of entitlement that we, rightly, have.
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Leverkusen at least have the expectation to be a "CL club", I more or less agree on the others.
FortunaUtd said:
That all aside, the club needs to try. Ten Hag needs to go now and someone else must be given the chance.
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Fully agree.
 
Frank is starting to look more and more tempting to me. No new manager is a given, but I think he would be able to raise our floor substantially. To me that is arguably the most important thing right now.
 
OsloRed said:
Frank is starting to look more and more tempting to me. No new manager is a given, but I think he would be able to raise our floor substantially. To me that is arguably the most important thing right now.
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That's been my feeling since the summer. Whether he would be the long term solution is another matter (and the question I guess is do we want a stepping stone, if that is what he is) but he's an adaptable coach that gets a lot from what he has and will do things outside of the box to enable that. He also works in a wider management structure so would fit the profile of a head coach.

It's also the unknown of how he adapts to the pressure of a big club and working with big names.
 
DavelinaJolie said:
That's been my feeling since the summer. Whether he would be the long term solution is another matter (and the question I guess is do we want a stepping stone, if that is what he is) but he's an adaptable coach that gets a lot from what he has and will do things outside of the box to enable that. He also works in a wider management structure so would fit the profile of a head coach.

It's also the unknown of how he adapts to the pressure of a big club and working with big names.
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Agree with all that. He has also had Brentford playing some really good football when he feels he has the luxury to do so, but his pragmatism is a big selling point to me. Plenty of the best managers, both now and in the past, had a pragmatic streak. Question is if he'd want to jump ship mid-season.
 
Who are these folks suggesting Mckenna as ETH's replacement?
Just stop.
 
Do whatever you have to do to get Julian Nagelsmann through the door.
 
OsloRed said:
Frank is starting to look more and more tempting to me. No new manager is a given, but I think he would be able to raise our floor substantially. To me that is arguably the most important thing right now.
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What has he done that makes you think he'd raise our floor substantially? Seems completely average to me. Has he won anything? Managed in the CL?
 
Now that he is actually gone, hopefully we get Nagelsmann or Amorim, if not then the fella at Stuttgart is an interesting one.
 
Red Royal said:
I voted for RVN but only as a stop gap (few months) see how it goes but no 3 year immediate contract!!!
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RvN has zero credentials to be in the consideration, regardless of what results he produces, he should not be anywhere near the permanent position
 
Xavi plays boring football. We’d struggle to score any goals.

Nagelsmann is the best option, but will be unavailable until after the 26 WC.

Inzaghi or Hoeneß at the end of the season are the best options.
 
Forget the appointments INEOS have made thus far, this one will properly set the tone for exactly how they see us as a club, and what kind of football they want us to play. It's a huge moment.
 
I'm actually excited again. Whoever it is, it's going to feel like a breath of fresh air, at least for a while.
 
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