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Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United tenure has unravelled in a spectacular method and he has been shedding his fan credit score within the financial institution with each unhealthy efficiency.
It’s a far cry from the occasions of final season, the place he ended the membership’s trophy drought and steered it again into the Champions League.
Many followers thought that they had lastly discovered the correct supervisor to steer them into a brand new period however this season has put relaxation to these claims, shocking many.
Depend Michael Owen out of the checklist of people who find themselves shocked and had been dreaming of a profitable future underneath the Dutchman after the top of final season.
In an unique interview with The Peoples Particular person hosted by Betideas, I requested Owen how he noticed Ten Hag’s tenure unfolding amid the euphoria of the primary season.
Owen stated that regardless of their good outcomes final season, he noticed one thing in that staff that informed him that they had been overachieving massively.
He stated: “I don’t assume my eyes mislead me. Despite the fact that they acquired to a cup closing, and gained one other, they had been actually poor in Europe, for instance. Visually, they weren’t a really convincing staff.”
A criticism that has been levelled at Ten Hag partly stems from the truth that the followers are on the lookout for causes behind this collapse and the supervisor’s “new” philosophy of aggressive urgent has been deemed the offender.
Michael Owen doesn’t subscribe to that idea, saying they haven’t modified a lot.
He stated: “I don’t assume they’ve modified an terrible lot. I nonetheless watch them and don’t assume something totally different than what I did in months and years passed by.
“On paper, that they had an OK season however I wouldn’t assume many followers can be blissful about what they had been watching.”
Owen’s idea, totally different from the prevailing consensus, arguably is smart too, as even final season, as quickly because the harm bug hit United, their performances nosedived, significantly after the Carabao Cup win in the beginning of 2023.
Nonetheless, by that point, United had constructed up a number of momentum which carried them by way of to the top of the season. Nevertheless, the harm scenario has been dire this season and it seems like Ten Hag is on the brink.
Owen predicted doom for the Dutchman’s profession at Outdated Trafford, particularly with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new regime spreading their legs on the membership.
He stated: “To be as profitable as Sir Jim has been, you’ve acquired to have the ability to make massive selections.
“I’d be shocked if Ten Hag is the supervisor subsequent season. For the time being, the one factor is that there’s a lack of huge standout candidates who can take over, particularly with different massive golf equipment additionally having a emptiness, like Liverpool and Bayern Munich, for instance.”
United have been linked to names like Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Antonio Conte, and Roberto de Zerbi, to call just a few however to Owen’s level, there are particular asterisks subsequent to each title.
There is no such thing as a clear alternative as there was when United had been selecting between Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino in the summertime of 2023.
Maybe this can give Ten Hag an extended leash to press residence his credentials until the top of the season not less than, however persistence might rapidly run skinny if outcomes proceed to deteriorate, bringing Owen’s prediction to fruition.
