On May 25, Manchester United will play in the cup final against city rivals City. Will it be with or without Erik ten Hag as manager?
Published: 07.05.2024 10:38 | Updated: 07/05/2024 14:53
“It’s crystal clear that ten Hag is at the end” is the grim pun from the Manchester Evening News.
– What can you say? It’s just proof of how bad things are.
Eivind B. Holth, journalist at United.no, sighs heavily. It is approaching midnight when he talks to VG. He has just watched his beloved Manchester United lose 0-4 to Crystal Palace.
Manchester United’s season is shaping up to be a horror season of the rare kind:
With three games to go, the Red Devils are in 8th place in the Premier League and long out of it the match for the Champions League the match for the Champions LeagueThe top four teams in the Premier League get a place in the group stage of the Champions League 2024/25. -game next season.
Then the criticism naturally falls on manager Erik ten Hag.
– If ten Hag’s future at United was still up for debate, this match ensured that all potential doubts were removed Sir Jim Ratcliffe Sir Jim RatcliffeCEO of Ineos and minority owner of Manchester United. Ratcliffe is responsible for the sporting management of the club. writes The Guardian.
United legend Paul Scholes calls the match “the last nail in the coffin” for ten Hag’s project.
Since Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013, eight different coaches have led United. In the same period, the club has been characterized by repeated protests against the club’s main owners in the Glazer family.
The Glazer family sold 25% of the club’s shares to Ratcliffe and Ineos in February.
– United has been a circus for a long time and I fully understand that it is difficult to be a circus director. He works in a dysfunctional football club, which has been like this since Ferugson disappeared. But, 0-4 for Palace there is no excuse for that, sums up Holth.
Nevertheless, there is one thing that can “save” the season:
Victory in the FA Cup final against Manchester City and with it a place in the Europa League next season.
The question is whether that match goes with or without ten Hag.
– It is a huge dilemma United are facing. Should they keep him and let him get this final? Or cut ties immediately and find someone else who can guide this ship calmly to port? reflects Holth.
VG’s football commentator Vegard Aulstad believes United MUST take action before the final – and that a temporary solution should be an old familiarity:
– They must call Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He sits at home in Kristiansund and is free. He is red through and through and will help United if they need it.
– They are dependent on not losing that final by four or five goals against City. It had become so embarrassing and terrible. Why not try, because I think ten Hag is done after the season anyway, sums up Aulstad.
Two former United players, Michael Owen and Paul Scholes have no doubts:
– They are going to be crushed by Manchester City in front of millions of people. They have to try something new. Anything, says Owen at Premier League Productions.
Scholes launches ten Hags assistant coach Steve McClaren until the end of the season. The 63-year-old was also an assistant under Alex Ferguson from 1999 to 2001 and was England national team manager from 2006 to 2007.
– I find nothing positive about today’s team and Steve McClaren is a leader in the top tier, sums up Owen.
