Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United: Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Manchester United blazer next season?Photo: Sean Ryan/IPS/Shutterstock" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/YasEGygtF.Vi1JYZS1pDEA-/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU3Ng-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/theguardian_763/72ff90df80189d059266 0b53ccd17a58″ data src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/YasEGygtF.Vi1JYZS1pDEA-/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU3Ng-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/theguardian_763/72ff90df80189d0592660 b53ccd17a58″/>

With Erik ten Hag's job at Manchester United secured until the summer, attention is turning to whether or not the club will keep the Dutchman in the long term. While Sir Jim Ratcliffe controls United's football policy, the final decision on Ten Hag's future could well be influenced by the judgment of Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada, the new technical director and general manager respectively. (Assuming no compensation has been agreed with Newcastle, allowing Dan Ashworth to take up his role as head of football at Old Trafford before the summer.) We assess the arguments for and against those in power and who will continue beyond the current remain with the current manager for the season.

Related: The defeat of Coventry was the most scintillating and sickening football experience of my life | Johnny Weeks

The case for

One of the most hateful points in football is that players being in the treatment room or feeling unwell should never be an excuse for poor performance. But when, as has been the case for United this season, the list of unavailable first-team players reaches double figures, injuries and illness are no longer a legitimate excuse but more obvious factors in a team's inability to function. Last season, Ten Hag took United to two cup finals, one of which he won, and to third place in the Premier League with a largely fit and healthy squad. That's probably what he should be judged on, rather than his performance with more limited resources this season.

Showed he can handle a club in motion

Given his nationality, Ten Hag is familiar with the hassle of the boy who sticks a finger in a dike to prevent the flooding of Haarlem. The 54-year-old personifies the story as a United manager forced to use lavish numbers to prevent his plans from being destroyed by numerous outside forces. This trait was on display admirably last season, as seen in the way Ten Hag handled Cristiano Ronaldo's strike (twice) and the Glazers putting the club up for sale. This season, meanwhile, he has dealt with Ratcliffe's shake-up of the club - after the minority shareholder arrived at Old Trafford on Christmas Eve - and has done so with typical dignity and calm.

The story continues

Knows how to reach a cup final

Sunday was undoubtedly alarming for all involved, but it also ended with the club reaching a second FA Cup final in two seasons - Manchester City are the opponents at Wembley on May 25 - and a third final, including last season's Carabao Cup. Ten Hag deserves a lot of praise for this. As he noted after the win over Coventry, they reached a total of three Wembley finals in the decade before he took over at United. Ten Hag has as many on his CV in a fifth of the time and could win a second trophy in successive seasons. Also compare his performances with that of Mikel Arteta, who was also doubted during the first two years of his Arsenal tenure: the Dutchman has a win percentage of 57.94% compared to Arteta's 58%.

Can keep the chair warm Gareth South gate Has an unreliable eye for a player

Ratcliffe and his chief adviser, Sir Dave Brailsford, are admirers of Gareth Southgate, but any attempt to employ him would have to wait until England's Euro 2024 campaign is over. That could well mean that Ten Hag has the first month or so of the new season to make an impact, and if he doesn't, Brailsford can quickly call his good friend to come in and save the day. It is unclear how such a move would go down with United's fanbase.

Has no discernible playing style

The case against

There are qquestions about his coaching Thomas Tuchel is available

Lisandro Martínez, Antony, Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount, Wout Weghorst, Sofyan Amrabat, Marcel Sabitzer and Christian Eriksen: nine of Ten Hag's sixteen signings can be filed under ineffective - Antony, Sabitzer, Weghorst, Amrabat, Eriksen - or weak - Casemiro, Malacia, Mount and Martínez. If it is not the fault of any of the four that they have suffered multiple injuries, it remains the harsh truth that a player who is unavailable for a long time is useless to his manager, and Ten Hag had a big role in signing them all. He also did the same with the former five, whose underperformance has been a major factor in the results.

A view has emerged that Ten Hag's United have no clear approach other than hoping that no goals will follow from the many shots they concede and ultimately outsmart the opponent. Last season, when more key players were fit for longer, this style of play was relatively successful. This season, however, the Ten Hag style, with a long list of injuries and illnesses, seems like a risky, messy gamble. A lack of stability in midfield, which has been fundamental to the recent leak of late goals, has exacerbated this. It may be wise for Ratcliffe and his board to study Ajax's games under Ten Hag and see if his gung-ho approach is indeed his preferred style.

Casemiro admitting United collectively panicked against Coventry is damning for Ten Hag as it points to questionable work on the training pitch and the manager's inability to prepare his team for different match scenarios. A footballer who is constantly reminded of what to do in certain situations certainly has the optimal opportunity to carry out these instructions; If Ten Hag does this and his players do not adhere to those instructions, he must remove them from the starting eleven until they do.

A man who won the Champions League by outsmarting Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the final simply cannot be ignored. To further recommend the German, a scan of his spells at Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich - clubs with fruitful internal politics - and the simple fact that he will be available from June after agreeing to leave his current post to leave the Allianz Arena. Thomas Tuchel's reputation as a temperamental person could put off Liverpool, who are also looking for a new manager, and so United appear to have a golden opportunity to win a series trophy.