What Tier of manager is Erik ten Hag, where would you place him?

The Oracle

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In deciding where to place Erik ten Hag as a manager, I have put together the criteria that I believe separates the Top Tier Elite level managers from the 2nd and 3rd Tier level managers:

Top Tier Elite level managers have achieved one of the following:
- Won a league title in one of the top leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, or Germany)
- Won a Champions League Final
- Won multiple Cup competitions in the same season when managing a team from one of the top leagues in Europe
- Operated with a minimal budget (compared to the rest of the teams in the division) and finished in a Champions League position (in one of the top leagues in Europe).

2nd Tier managers have achieved one of the following:
- Won a league title in an inferior league in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Won a domestic Cup competition in an elite league in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, or Germany)
- Won multiple Cup competitions in the same season when managing a team from one of the inferior leagues in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Reached a Champions League Final
- Finished in 2nd place in an elite league in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, or Germany)
- Won the Europa League
- Operated with a minimal budget (compared to the rest of the teams in the division) and finished in a Europa league position (in an elite league in Europe).

3rd Tier managers have achieved one of the following:
- Won a domestic Cup competition in an inferior league in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Won a league title in a far inferior league in Europe (Türkiye, Scotland, Belgium, and Norway)
- Reached a Europa League Final
- Won the Europa Conference League
- Finished in 2nd place in an inferior league in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Operated with a minimal budget (compared to the rest of the teams in the division) and finished in a Europa Conference league position (in an elite league in Europe).


Based on the criteria I have put together, Erik ten Hag arrived at Manchester United as a 2nd Tier level manager (he had won a league title in an inferior league in Europe), and he has continued to be a 2nd Tier level manager (he won the Carabao Cup last season meaning that he had won a domestic Cup competition in a top European league).

It is my opinion that to have any chance of being a Top Tier Elite level manager, you have to be able to react to what is happening during a match. Erik ten Hag doesn’t.
For example in yesterday’s match against Brighton, for the first 15 to 20 minutes we were playing well, Brighton then changed their shape and we didn't react to it, we went a goal down and we still didn’t change anything.
Half time came and went without a substitution being made. He then waited for the hour mark to pass by before he made his first substitution – something that he habitually does, which is predictable to any manager he faces. He then waited until there were just 5 minutes left of the 90 before bringing on the attacking threats of Garnacho and Pellistri – far too late to have a realistic chance of getting back into the match.
Yesterday's example of Ten Hag's inability/reluctance to address what is happening during the game, is something that we have witnessed multiple times from him previously.

My view is that Ten Hag’s inability/reluctance to affect a live match, through him not being able to (or not willing to) adapt his tactics to what is happening on the pitch, and not making a substitution when it is necessary; are obvious flaws that he possesses that will mean he will only ever be a Tier 2 level manager.


Where do you place Erik ten Hag, and if you agree that he isn’t a Top Tier Elite level manager, do you think that he ever will be?
 
Potential to be second tier with an excellent foundation and club support system around him. Which is nothing to be ashamed of, plenty of second or third tier managers have won major silverware.
 
He is definitely not an elite manager. The only elite managers in the game are Pep, Ancelotti and Klopp, with the first two being top 10 of all time (Pep for me is easily top 3, if not top 1).

Is he is in the next tier of managers, where I would put the likes of Conte, Zidane, Luis Enrique, Allegri, Simeone, Tuchel? I would say, no, he most certainly is not.

What about the next tier, when among others I would out Emery, Spalleti, Pochettino, De Zerbi, Mourinho, Nagelsmann, Arteta and another dozen managers? Yes, after all the more down you go in pyramid, the higher is the number of managers in that category. EtH is a good manager, and he has to be in this tier.

The question is can be ever get in the second tier, the tier of managers either winning multiple titles in multiple clubs or winning trebles or multiple UCLs? I think so far there is nothing to suggest that is the case, De Zerbi for example looks much more promising in that aspect.

And finally, can he ever reach the top tier? I think there is more chance of Martial winning the Ballon D'Or.
 
Assuming Tier 1 is basically just Pep and Tier 2 are other proven elite PL/CL winning calibre managers, he'd be Tier 3.

Someone who has done enough to put himself in a position where he could prove himself to be an elite manager, but has yet to do so.
 
Currently he's Tier 3, and not yet shown enough body of work to be considered for Tier2.
 
Overconfident, euro style type of manager with his moments but somebody that refuses to acknowledge football is not a video game and that footballers are human. In all honesty a 4/5 which is a grade lower than the standards of this club
 
Difficult to judge because there's an endless circus in town under these owners and board. A big reason why no ''elite'' manager would touch us with a bargepole.
 
My prediction for ten Hag is that it will all end in tiers.
 
Pep Guardiola is my idol tier?

He doesnt know what his team strength and after 400m and 1 season still dont know how he wants to play. Either he dont know or he can't make the team play accordingly.

Hardly any top or good tier material so far.
 
Revan said:
He is definitely not an elite manager. The only elite managers in the game are Pep, Ancelotti and Klopp, with the first two being top 10 of all time (Pep for me is easily top 3, if not top 1).

Is he is in the next tier of managers, where I would put the likes of Conte, Zidane, Luis Enrique, Allegri, Simeone, Tuchel? I would say, no, he most certainly is not.

What about the next tier, when among others I would out Emery, Spalleti, Pochettino, De Zerbi, Mourinho, Nagelsmann, Arteta and another dozen managers? Yes, after all the more down you go in pyramid, the higher is the number of managers in that category. EtH is a good manager, and he has to be in this tier.

The question is can be ever get in the second tier, the tier of managers either winning multiple titles in multiple clubs or winning trebles or multiple UCLs? I think so far there is nothing to suggest that is the case, De Zerbi for example looks much more promising in that aspect.

And finally, can he ever reach the top tier? I think there is more chance of Martial winning the Ballon D'Or.
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One of your tier 1 managers hasn’t done that
 
Spaghetti said:
One of your tier 1 managers hasn’t done that
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Whom? Pep has won leagues in 3 countries, and UCLs in two. Ancelotti has won each of the top 5 European leagues, and UCL in two leagues (also has won more UCLs than Manchester United). Klopp has won league titles in 2 countries and also UCL (plus another 3 UCL finals).
 
hobbers said:
Winning titles in the Eredivisie honestly means the square root of feck all. De Boer won 4 of them.

The hype around ETH was how he made Ajax competitive in the Champions League. He added a bit of hype with mid season performances and winning the league cup. And it's been all downhill since then.

There's no way you could make the case for him being a better manager than an Arteta or a Tuchel. He's on the same level as Ange, De Zerbi, Howe, Nagelsmann etc. None have done enough yet to distinguish themselves.
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And what has arteta done to be on the same level as Tuchel. He is one lucky manager to have received the backing after finishing 8th twice and bottling a 4th place to spurs. One title challenge where they gave up on all other competitions and suddenly he becomes tuchel like. Sorry let him win something big before he is above Poch or ten hag.
 
He reached the Champions League semi-finals with Ajax, beating Real Madrid and Juventus along the way. For context, the last time a team from outside the top 5 league did that was PSV in 2004/05. Should have won the semi too. That's a more impressive achievement than winning a single league with say Bayern Munich or Juventus 5 years ago.
 
It's hard to determine what stratum he belongs in until his body of work becomes more extensive. Outside of Holland, he's a fledgling manager who, clearly, is still getting to grips with a much tougher and competitive league. He's showing more foibles than things that point toward elevating his status, however.

It may well be that he needs everything optimised to show what he can do. There's no shame in that as it's exactly the same as what Pep has swanned around doing for the majority of his career, but what he isn't showing that you'd expect from any manager you deem particularly special is wowing with innovation or adaptation. There aren't games we can point to and say he did something special to turn the tide or that he outplayed or outsmarted superior teams with ingenuity and these are important factors alongside winning.

Mourinho is a dinosaur now, but he had his era of innovations and cunning, same too with someone like Simeone. Both had their time where they were the gold standard at what they set out to do and ten Hag has nothing of the sort on his CV outside of Holland (yet), so we'll have the blanks filled in over time.

For me, he has to show some of that magical quality of turning water into wine more often - miracles with poor players from time to time, anything that states that this guy is a premium driver being held back by the vehicle he's currently contracted to race in. I want to see him outdo supposed peers with moments of exceptionalism that have others take note and start to respect him. Respect/fear is a huge part of a managers tactical arsenal and he's losing that aura and mystique; it's a very slippery slope if other managers aren't wary of tricks up your sleeve, further still if a blueprint is then set out to beat you, which we so frequently see in the PL when managers get 'found out'.
 
Wow these threads are crazy. ETH has come into a shitshow of a football club and is trying to turn it around, in the meantime he’s had major issues to deal with and the owners of the club hanging it out to dry for 12 months. The entire club is currently in limbo.

With any process things often start getting better and then take a drop for a considerable amount of time, before the transformation appears.

It is absolutely ridiculous to make assumptions of ETH in the current conditions, he is the one manager post SAF that I’m happy to back long term and who seems both extremely capable and having the best interest of the club at heart, rather than himself.

Get a grip.
 
Jeppers7 said:
Wow these threads are crazy. ETH has come into a shitshow of a football club and is trying to turn it around, in the meantime he’s had major issues to deal with and the owners of the club hanging it out to dry for 12 months. The entire club is currently in limbo.

With any process things often start getting better and then take a drop for a considerable amount of time, before the transformation appears.

It is absolutely ridiculous to make assumptions of ETH in the current conditions, he is the one manager post SAF that I’m happy to back long term and who seems both extremely capable and having the best interest of the club at heart, rather than himself.

Get a grip.
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To be fair the club has also back him up with around 380m funds to get the players he wanted over 2 summers. While I think he has done a good job last season transforming our mostly disjointed team into PL 3rd place finish and league cup winner, it seems the progress just isn’t there so far this season, in related to the money he has already spent, and the time which allows him to make proper improvements to the squad.

But we will just have to see, maybe we could re-access the whole situation again in December (as long as we are not near relegation zone), or even end of season (not far from top 5 finish), to see if he is the right man for us.

Sure we could keep pumping him money and let him spend us another billion to bring us back to the top, but we still need to re-access the situation in the mid way to make sure he is the right person for the job. We’ve spent huge. Other managers like Klopp or Arteta doesn’t need to spend that much to challenge for the top.
 
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The Oracle said:
In deciding where to place Erik ten Hag as a manager, I have put together the criteria that I believe separates the Top Tier Elite level managers from the 2nd and 3rd Tier level managers:

Top Tier Elite level managers have achieved one of the following:
- Won a league title in one of the top leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, or Germany)
- Won a Champions League Final
- Won multiple Cup competitions in the same season when managing a team from one of the top leagues in Europe
- Operated with a minimal budget (compared to the rest of the teams in the division) and finished in a Champions League position (in one of the top leagues in Europe).

2nd Tier managers have achieved one of the following:
- Won a league title in an inferior league in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Won a domestic Cup competition in an elite league in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, or Germany)
- Won multiple Cup competitions in the same season when managing a team from one of the inferior leagues in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Reached a Champions League Final
- Finished in 2nd place in an elite league in Europe (England, Spain, Italy, or Germany)
- Won the Europa League
- Operated with a minimal budget (compared to the rest of the teams in the division) and finished in a Europa league position (in an elite league in Europe).

3rd Tier managers have achieved one of the following:
- Won a domestic Cup competition in an inferior league in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Won a league title in a far inferior league in Europe (Türkiye, Scotland, Belgium, and Norway)
- Reached a Europa League Final
- Won the Europa Conference League
- Finished in 2nd place in an inferior league in Europe (France, Netherlands, or Portugal)
- Operated with a minimal budget (compared to the rest of the teams in the division) and finished in a Europa Conference league position (in an elite league in Europe).


Based on the criteria I have put together, Erik ten Hag arrived at Manchester United as a 2nd Tier level manager (he had won a league title in an inferior league in Europe), and he has continued to be a 2nd Tier level manager (he won the Carabao Cup last season meaning that he had won a domestic Cup competition in a top European league).

It is my opinion that to have any chance of being a Top Tier Elite level manager, you have to be able to react to what is happening during a match. Erik ten Hag doesn’t.
For example in yesterday’s match against Brighton, for the first 15 to 20 minutes we were playing well, Brighton then changed their shape and we didn't react to it, we went a goal down and we still didn’t change anything.
Half time came and went without a substitution being made. He then waited for the hour mark to pass by before he made his first substitution – something that he habitually does, which is predictable to any manager he faces. He then waited until there were just 5 minutes left of the 90 before bringing on the attacking threats of Garnacho and Pellistri – far too late to have a realistic chance of getting back into the match.
Yesterday's example of Ten Hag's inability/reluctance to address what is happening during the game, is something that we have witnessed multiple times from him previously.

My view is that Ten Hag’s inability/reluctance to affect a live match, through him not being able to (or not willing to) adapt his tactics to what is happening on the pitch, and not making a substitution when it is necessary; are obvious flaws that he possesses that will mean he will only ever be a Tier 2 level manager.


Where do you place Erik ten Hag, and if you agree that he isn’t a Top Tier Elite level manager, do you think that he ever will be?
Click to expand...

Pep wouldnt qualify for Tier 1 since he has never operated with minimal budget.
You may need to relook that criteria.
 
Revan said:
Whom? Pep has won leagues in 3 countries, and UCLs in two. Ancelotti has won each of the top 5 European leagues, and UCL in two leagues (also has won more UCLs than Manchester United). Klopp has won league titles in 2 countries and also UCL (plus another 3 UCL finals).
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Hasn’t won multiple titles in multiple countries, multiple UCLs or multiple trebles.
 
RedRonaldo said:
To be fair the club has also back him up with around 380m funds to get the players he wanted over 2 summers. While I think he has done a good job last season transforming our mostly disjointed team into PL 3rd place finish and league cup winner, it seems the progress just isn’t there so far this season, in related to the money he has already spent, and the time which allows him to make proper improvements to the squad.

But we will just have to see, maybe we could re-access the whole situation again in December (as long as we are not near relegation zone), or even end of season (not far from top 5 finish), to see if he is the right man for us.

Sure we could keep pumping him money and let him spend us another billion to bring us back to the top, but we still need to re-access the situation in the mid way to make sure he is the right person for the job. We’ve spent huge. Other managers like Klopp or Arteta doesn’t need to spend that much to challenge for the top.
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We've got 6 points this season. From the corresponding games last season we only got 7. And while it’s still less, it’s hardly the nose dive that some outlets would let you believe. Especially considering the amount of players unavailable, including his recent signings.
 
Spaghetti said:
We've got 6 points this season. From the corresponding games last season we only got 7. And while it’s still less, it’s hardly the nose dive that some outlets would let you believe. Especially considering the amount of players unavailable, including his recent signings.
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Sure, it’s poor start but still early time, and as I’ve already said, we will have to re-assess the whole situation again in December or by end of season, because it’s not fair to do it so early in the season.

If we are near relegation zone by end of December, or finished mid table by end of season. Maybe it would be very difficult to not consider sacking. But there are still plenty of time for him to turn things around for sure.
 
The same tier all these experts on here was rating him at the start. Don’t change up now.
 
Spaghetti said:
We've got 6 points this season. From the corresponding games last season we only got 7. And while it’s still less, it’s hardly the nose dive that some outlets would let you believe. Especially considering the amount of players unavailable, including his recent signings.
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Considering our injury crisis; we have played three of the top 6 in-form teams in the league. Not sure who else has had this difficult a run of games.

If we struggle to get results the next 5 games then I would start to worry.
 
sglowrider said:
Considering our injury crisis; we have played three of the top 6 in-form teams in the league. Not sure who else has had this difficult a run of games.

If we struggle to get results the next 5 games then I would start to worry.
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Newcastle, and they have the same amount of points. No media pressure though.
 
Revan said:
He is definitely not an elite manager. The only elite managers in the game are Pep, Ancelotti and Klopp, with the first two being top 10 of all time (Pep for me is easily top 3, if not top 1).

Is he is in the next tier of managers, where I would put the likes of Conte, Zidane, Luis Enrique, Allegri, Simeone, Tuchel? I would say, no, he most certainly is not.

What about the next tier, when among others I would out Emery, Spalleti, Pochettino, De Zerbi, Mourinho, Nagelsmann, Arteta and another dozen managers? Yes, after all the more down you go in pyramid, the higher is the number of managers in that category. EtH is a good manager, and he has to be in this tier.

The question is can be ever get in the second tier, the tier of managers either winning multiple titles in multiple clubs or winning trebles or multiple UCLs? I think so far there is nothing to suggest that is the case, De Zerbi for example looks much more promising in that aspect.

And finally, can he ever reach the top tier? I think there is more chance of Martial winning the Ballon D'Or.
Click to expand...

I see De Zerbi is being hyped up as the next best thing now. He’s managing a very well run club who were doing well before he came in. I’d be amazed if he continues his career in such an upwards trajectory elsewhere.
 
He is 3rd tier, easily.

People are blinded by the fact he had a great generation at Ajax and was the manager of a well run club, much like DeZerbi at Brighton. Also, one good UCL run doesn't mean he wasn't walking the league in a 0 defense championship as they have in the Netherlands.

Nevertheless, one too look out for in terms of managers is surely Xabi Alonso who doesn't have a great generation at Leverskusen, no big budget, plays in a better league and somehow his team plays really good football.
 
RedRonaldo said:
To be fair the club has also back him up with around 380m funds to get the players he wanted over 2 summers. While I think he has done a good job last season transforming our mostly disjointed team into PL 3rd place finish and league cup winner, it seems the progress just isn’t there so far this season, in related to the money he has already spent, and the time which allows him to make proper improvements to the squad.

But we will just have to see, maybe we could re-access the whole situation again in December (as long as we are not near relegation zone), or even end of season (not far from top 5 finish), to see if he is the right man for us.

Sure we could keep pumping him money and let him spend us another billion to bring us back to the top, but we still need to re-access the situation in the mid way to make sure he is the right person for the job. We’ve spent huge. Other managers like Klopp or Arteta doesn’t need to spend that much to challenge for the top.
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5 games in
 
Man Utd is in tier 1 for ruining the reputation of any manager at the moment.
IF I were a top manager, all the tea in China wouldn't convince me to go there, he has my utmost respect for turning up to the office every day.
 
He's just your average PL manager. Nothing standing out as outstanding at this point compared to his peers.
 
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