Is it finally time to say goodbye to Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag?
If you listen to the pundits–and a large section of the Red Devils’ fanbase–then that answer is a resounding one.
YES!
After a third-straight draw to start its UEFA Europa League campaign Thursday in Turkey, Manchester United fell 2-1 to a struggling West Ham United side Sunday. The loss continued a torrid run of form in the Premier League for the Red Devils, who sank to 14th in the table after nine matches, their worst start in the Premier League era.
After squandering multiple early chances, Manchester United was undone late in the match by a controversial penalty call that was give after a VAR monitor check. It left the Red Devils with just eight points in nine games, with a -3 goal differential, both embarrassing numbers for United.
This latest damning loss was not taken well by fans across social media, nor by talking heads on the various shows Sunday afternoon. The United Stand Host Mark Goldbridge, who has been a vocal backer of Ten Hag over the years, now believes it is time for the manager to depart.
“From our point of view, I think that changing the manager is not what I want to do,” Goldbridge said on his United Stand podcast after the 2-1 loss. “I’m against it, but I think it has to happen, because that is our fourth loss of the season. The players that he bought aren’t playing for him, and you look at Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, and they are not playing anywhere near the levels they can play at, and neither is anyone else.”
Jamie O’Hara gave his verdict on Sky Sports after the loss, and also came to the conclusion that Ten Hag needs to be fired, with No. 2 Ruud Van Nistelrooy the person to come in for now.
“Nine games and in [United] are 14th in the table….come on, this is Man United,” O’Hara said. “You can almost accept if they’re ninth, you know, [being] in the top half and it hasn’t quite happened. They’ve lost four games already this season – they’ve played nine. I’d get rid of him; I would have gotten rid of him three months ago. I wouldn’t have gave him a contract after the FA Cup, I’d have said, ‘Thanks very much, you’ve finished with a trophy, go out on a high.’
“They should have got something from the game today but overall they’ve been poor. I’ve watched them in the Europa League as well, and they’ve been poor. I’d give it to Van Nistelrooy. You’ve brought him in for a reason and that’s because he’s a manager there to potentially take over. I don’t think it can get any worse – they’re 14th in the table. How much worse can it get?
“For me, I would get rid of Ten Hag, give Van Nistelrooy a few weeks, see whats out there in the international break. Xavi’s not a bad option. Ten Hag is not the future of Man United, I’m sorry. He’s not good enough. He’s had his time.”
Will Teh Hag be sacked? He is now listed at even odds to be the next manager fired, but with a Carabao Cup Round of 16 match Wednesday, there may not be enough time to get another manager in place.
We could find out Ten Hag’s fate Monday.
