Winning the FA Cup saved Sir Alex Ferguson’s skin, and now it appears to have come to Erik ten Hag’s rescue as well.
From a dead man walking at Wembley 18 days ago, Ten Hag finally has a vote of confidence and the promise of a contract extension.
“Football, bloody hell,” was Ferguson’s most memorable quote, and it never seemed more appropriate than when news of United’s U-turn broke last night.
An end-of-season review that seemed little more than camouflage for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and new minority owners Ineos to trumpet their work to anyone who would listen ended, rather extraordinarily, with the Dutchman in charge.
The feel-good factor of United’s victory over Manchester City last month, and the palpable rise in support for Ten Hag among the fan base, has clearly turned Ratcliffe’s head.
Winning the FA Cup appears to have been decisive in Erik ten Hag remaining Man United boss
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group have decided to keep Ten Hag and offer him a new deal
The feel-good factor of the FA Cup and the surge in fan support has clearly turned Ratcliffe’s head.
Club sources confirmed last night that winning their second trophy in two seasons – and the way United surprisingly beat City 2-1 – was one of the main reasons Ten Hag kept his job, as was professionalism. and the dignity with which he led. himself in very difficult circumstances.
United also recognized the work Ten Hag has done in developing young players such as Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho – Wembley’s two goalscorers – and concluded that he deserved the chance to prove his worth in a new structure led by the executive director Omar Berrada. athletic director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox.
After poring over United’s worst Premier League season and woeful exit from the Champions League at the group stage, they concluded that a list of chronic injuries and the difficulty in accommodating new signings Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana were worthy of some empathy.
On the other hand, there was a legitimate opinion that if Ineos thought Ten Hag was toast at lunchtime on the day of the Cup final, then they should have stood their ground after he climbed the steps of the Royal Box to receive the congratulations by Ratcliffe.
But how many times have we talked about Mark Robins’ goal that saved Ferguson from the sack before lifting the FA Cup in 1990? Look at what happened after that, and Ineos is presumably hoping there can be a happy ending to this chapter in United’s history too.
We will never know how close they came to sacking Ten Hag and shaking hands with Gareth Southgate, Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank or any of the others, and that is perhaps the biggest cloud on the horizon at the moment.
Can Ten Hag improve his working relationship with the people who were so willing to leave him hanging and discuss his work with other candidates?
It is understood that the talks with Pochettino and Frank took place in the week of the Cup final. Last week, Ratcliffe entertained Tuchel in Monaco.
Man United recognizes the work Ten Hag has done with Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho
There is no doubt that the saga has humiliated Ten Hag even though the Dutchman remains in office.
Last week, former Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel was feted in Monaco by Ratcliffe.
Mauricio Pochettino, left, and Thomas Frank, right, are understood to have held talks in the week leading up to the FA Cup final.
There is no doubt that this entire saga has humiliated Ten Hag and undermined his authority, even if it has had a positive outcome for the 54-year-old.
He is likely to have much less say in new transfers under the new order after spending £400m on players since arriving at Old Trafford from Ajax in the summer of 2022, amid concerns over the influence of his agent Kees Voss. in several United transfers. transactions.
And there’s still a lurking suspicion that, although Ratcliffe didn’t swing the ax this time, Ten Hag may not be safe yet. The new owners like to appoint their own men when they have paid £1.3bn for the privilege.
Southgate, for example, is known to be admired by the owner of Ineos, but taking England to the European Championship was always too big an inconvenience.
Southgate refused to commit at this stage and the final is a day before United’s first pre-season friendly against Rosenborg in Trondheim. The margins were too narrow and the possibilities too varied.
But what if Southgate leaves his job after the tournament, as he suggested in an interview with German publication Bild this week, and is available when we enter redundancy season towards the end of the year?
Gareth Southgate indicated this week that he could leave England after the European Championship
Ten Hag will back himself to turn Man United into a force and deliver more silverware
If Ten Hag has a similar start to the season as last, it could be open again.
But that’s a worry for another day. He is a proud man and will back himself to produce a season more like his first at United than his second, with a decent transfer window behind him and key players fit.
Ten Hag will believe he can turn United into a force in the Premier League and have a good chance of winning the Europa League, another reward for lifting the FA Cup at Wembley.
This is a win for him and it feels well deserved. Like Ferguson, he has been granted a pardon. Now he has to make the most of it.