The real reasons why Ten Hag lost the Man Utd dressing room, reveals SAMI MOKBEL
Erik Ten Hag is expected to retreat to his Austrian hideaway in the coming days to reflect on what has been a chastening week. In truth, a chastening two and half years.Truth be told he was convinced his time was up in the summer, telling his closest confidants that he expected to leave after the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
Erik Ten Hag is expected to retreat to his Austrian hideaway in the coming days to reflect on what has been a chastening week. In truth, a chastening two and half years.
Truth be told he was convinced his time was up in the summer, telling his closest confidants that he expected to leave after the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
The decision from Ineos, despite speaking to various managers, to not only stick with Ten Hag but offer him an improved contract merely prolonged the agony - wasting time and money in the process.
Privately, Ten Hag is taking the strengthening of his financial position after signing a new deal in the summer as a victory, however tenuous.
But his sacking after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham will hurt - and will for a while.
He will return to management one day. His reputation in Germany, for example, remains strong following his time coaching at Bayern Munich for two years from 2013. But for him to be a success will require a change in approach.
A talented coach? Unquestionably, yes. A hard worker? Absolutely, yes. A good man-manager? Probably not. A good communicator? Not quite.
These are all things he can work on, of course, and for Ten Hag to prove his doubters wrong he’ll need to adapt. There is little nuance to the Dutchman's management style. It’s black or white.
But football, like life, is about balance. Give and take so everyone can co-exist within an environment that offers at least a semblance of harmony.
That isn’t Ten Hag’s strength, however. He often spoke about ‘trusting the plan’. But in reality, what he meant was trusting his own plan.
He was so convinced about his methods and strategy that when a group of players approached him about the possibility of altering his tactics, he didn’t listen.
When his team lost games, his answer was to work harder. Long training sessions. More team meetings. Longer hours.
Ten Hag would often arrive at United’s Carrington HQ at 6.30am, long before anyone else.
For all his faults, you can’t question his work ethic. But people are different. Players are different.
Members of United’s squad switched off during Ten Hag’s sessions and meetings. Sometimes less is more.
Ten Hag was so convinced his way was the right way that he developed an obsession with persuading his players of exactly that.
That obsession provides an insight into why Ten Hag developed a penchant for signing players he’d worked with at Ajax or was familiar with from Holland.
Matthijs de Ligt’s arrival was pushed by Ten Hag, but a signing not universally approved behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
Bringing in Antony from Ajax for £86million is one of most costly recruitment errors in Premier League history.
But De Ligt and Antony were players Ten Hag had success with. Ten Hag disciples. In the end, though, there weren’t enough who believed in his methods.
‘He is an intelligent guy but he isn’t really a people person,’ said a well-placed source.
The souring of his relationships with Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire, David De Gea, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford adds substance to those assertions.
Winning over the dressing room, having them believe in you so much that they would undertake all the cliches - the extra mile, the brick wall - is at the very heart of successful management.
Ten Hag’s mannerisms meant that he struggled with that side of the job. Some players describe a lack of warmth, perhaps even an awkwardness.
There was no humour. In such an intense environment, players and staff can do with a laugh every now and then. By all accounts, Ten Hag lacked the sort of charm and charisma that players often respond to.
Indeed, it was part of the reason Daniel Levy fell short of offering Ten Hag the Tottenham job in 2021 following Jose Mourinho’s exit.
On a Zoom call, there was a sense the Dutchman lacked magnetism, while those on the call also noted that his English would create communication problems.
Issues with the language have continued to restrict Ten Hag at United as did his inability to delegate.
‘He wants to control absolutely everything because unless it is one of his own people he doesn’t trust them,’ said an insider.
Ten Hag put faith in his own vision; not that of now-departed football director John Murtough. His relationship with United’s technical director Jason Wilcox, who joined the club in April, has also been questioned by Mail Sport sources.
After being informed of his sacking, Ten Hag boarded a private jet to Amsterdam before making way his way to Sports Entertainment Group’s (SEG) HQ in the Duivendrecht area of the Dutch capital.
His much-documented over-reliance on SEG, the management agency that handles his affairs, is symptomatic of his reluctance to relinquish control of the operation.
Kees Vos, founder of SEG, was a regular at United’s training ground, striding around the facility almost as if he was part of the staff.
But Vos’s frequent appearances made for an uncomfortable dynamic at times. You wonder how Murtough felt about it all.
Those close to the situation suggest Ten Hag’s over-bearing influence, and that of SEG, on United’s recruitment went unchecked for too long.
Even in the last window, long after Murtough had left, De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui arrived at the club due to Ten Hag’s recommendation.
Many will say the manager should always have the power to sign the players he wants. But football simply doesn’t work that way any more.
Ten Hag was handed too much power. Time has told us that the power was misspent.
Silva's release clause revealed
Marco Silva would have cost Manchester United £10million in compensation had Old Trafford chiefs followed through on their pursuit of the Fulham head coach.
Ruben Amorim is on course to be appointed Erik Ten Hag’s successor at United but Silva, who held exploratory discussions over the United job during the close season, was among the fall-back options.
And Mail Sport has now learned the huge sum it would have cost to buy out Silva from his Fulham contract.
Silva, whose current deal expires at the end of next season, has built a reputation as one of the most accomplished coaches in the Premier League with United chiefs impressed at the way he has consolidated Fulham’s top-flight position since guiding them to promotion from the Championship in 2022.
And he was identified by United alongside Amorim, Thomas Frank and Xavi as a potential candidate to replace Ten Hag.
Sources indicate that Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe liked the idea of appointing a homegrown manager, or at least one with Premier League experience.
But members of the club’s leadership committee, including sporting director Dan Ashworth, CEO Omar Berrada and Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford, wanted to cast their net wider and chose Portuguese coach Amorim.
Meanwhile, Manchester United coach Rene Hake’s position at the club is in doubt following the sacking of Ten Hag.
Hake, who is one of Ten Hag’s closest confidants, assisted interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy in the 5-2 Carabao Cup win over Leicester on Wednesday night.
But there is an expectation in the Netherlands that Hake, given his bond with Ten Hag, will leave Old Trafford once Amorim and his coaching staff are in place.
After the win over the Foxes, Van Nistelrooy intimated that he is keen to stay.
Duran settles hefty bill
Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has settled a hefty bill for thousands of pounds worth of damage he caused to a rental property he lived in last season.
Mail Sport has learned that an angry landlord submitted the compensation claim - understood to be in excess of £15,000 - for the duration of Duran’s stay in the property in Shenstone, an affluent village near Lichfield.
The issue has now been resolved, with the Colombia striker covering the costs from his own pocket after a Villa representative inspected the property.
There is an acknowledgement that there was some damage to the house - but the harm caused was not extreme.
In 2022, Shenstone was listed as one of the top 54 ‘poshest villages’ to live in by property firm Savills.
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According to Rightmove, the average cost of a property in the area is in the region of £665,000.
With that in mind, there is an acknowledgement that any bill for damage would be far more expensive than it would in a lower-costing house.
Having originally been infuriated with the damage, the landlord is said to be satisfied with the resolution. Duran has now moved out of the property.
Upon his arrival from Chicago Fire in January 2023, Villa found the property for Duran as he settled into life at his new club.
The 20-year-old has emerged as one of Villa’s stars of this season, scoring eight goals in just 14 games already.
Wolves standing by under-fire O'Neil
Gary O’Neil maintains the immediate backing of the Wolves hierarchy but is facing mounting pressure to turn the club’s season around ahead of two crucial Premier League games.
The Molineux club are second-bottom with two points from nine games and are one of three teams still without a win this season. They also have the worst defensive record in the top flight, conceding 25 goals.
Wolves face crucial home games against Crystal Palace and Southampton before the international break, with those two teams already looking like relegation rivals this season.
And while sources insist O’Neil’s job hopes do not hinge on winning both matches, the prospect of losing the games would place uncertainty over his position.
Despite their poor league position, the club have been generally satisfied with performances so far. But supporters' reactions to the next two games could factor into their decision.
Meanwhile, Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs’ fight against an FA charge is likely to be hampered by the fact it is his second similar offence.
Hobbs was charged with misconduct by the FA for an incident following the loss to Manchester City earlier this month, confronting the match officials in the tunnel after the full-time whistle following John Stones’ late winner.
Stones' header was eventually awarded following a VAR pitchside review by referee Chris Kavanagh after it had initially been disallowed for offside because Bernardo Silva had been standing in front of goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Hobbs is said to be have been ‘abusive’ to the officials. But the fact it is a second similar charge inside the space of a year is set to count against him.
In November 2023, Hobbs was given a one-game stadium ban and ordered to pay £4,000 after admitting using 'improper and/or abusive and/or insulting' language towards a match official following a draw with Newcastle that saw the Magpies awarded a controversial penalty after Hwang Hee-chan challenged Fabian Schar.
Mbappe supports Tuchel's England appointment
Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as England head coach has been endorsed by none other than Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Tuchel and Mbappe worked together during the German’s spell in charge at Paris Saint-Germain, and the France striker is understood to have privately offered a glowing appraisal of Tuchel’s coaching abilities to his international team-mates.
Tuchel will take the England reins from January 1 with the aim of winning the country’s first major trophy since 1966 at the next World Cup in 2026.
And Mbappe certainly believes England will be in better shape to end 60 years of hurt with Tuchel at the helm.
Terzic eyes Premier League move
Edin Terzic is prioritising a move to the Premier League as he plots his return to management this season.
The 41-year-old is ready to return to work after leaving Borussia Dortmund in the summer and has been touted as a potential replacement for West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui, who has been under pressure owing to an indifferent start to the season, while he is also said to have been discussed as a contender to replace Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United.
Having led Dortmund to the Champions League final this year, where they lost to Real Madrid at Wembley, Terzic is keen to work in England, with a representative of the German agency that looks after his interests actively seeking potential management opportunities.
VAR controversy divides north London
It did not go unnoticed at Arsenal this week that Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven escaped a red card for his foul on Crystal Palace attacker Ismaila Sarr on Sunday.
Spurs defender Van de Ven pulled Sarr back with the Eagles forward through on goal but was only booked for the incident, despite the foul being reviewed by VAR.
Arsenal defender William Saliba was sent off, following a VAR review, in the loss to Bournemouth earlier this month - a decision that resulted in the France star being suspended for last Sunday’s 2-2 home draw with Liverpool.
This column revealed last week that Arsenal compiled a video dossier of similar incidents that only resulted in yellow cards, to support a potential appeal against Saliba’s red card.
Suffice to say Van de Ven’s escape will make the next showreel if Arsenal are faced with a similar sense of a miscarriage of justice.
