Moments of inactivity have become a battlefield for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, with ample speculation routinely surfacing regarding his future.
The likelihood of departure talks for the Dutchman was inevitable. But the manner of various reports within hours of the start of the international break was quite something – even for your weekly offenders.
Having attended Sunday’s stalemate at Villa Park, Sir Jim Ratcliffe partook in several Monday meetings and is amongst a group scheduled to attend a highly-publicised committee gathering in London this morning.
Various topics, including the form of the first team, are on the agenda, with some claiming the billionaire ‘thinks enough is enough.’
Joel Glazer is attending alongside Ratcliffe, with a pragmatic examination of the manager and the squad, and an undeniably poor start to 2024-25 to be deliberated alongside football leaders at the club.
Winless in five, without a Premier League goal since September 14 and mounting supporter frustration are stacking against Ten Hag, but a resolute Ineos team has remained firm in their support.
It is important to note these are not reactionary (or crisis) talks as sensationalists will have you believe. This London get-together is planned for some time.
That said, despite public words from the manager about his confidence in retaining the hierarchy’s backing, uncertainty will inevitably surface when such negativity exists.
What do we know?
With the Dutchman abroad on holiday, he departed the UK confident in his position.
“I don’t have any idea that is different because they should have told me [if not],” he informed Sky Sports at the weekend.
“We communicate very openly and transparently. I speak continuously with them. Every week, I would say every day, we talk, so I expect I will speak with them.”
Unsurprisingly, he reiterated that speculation surrounding his future was “external noise”, confirming that everyone internally is disappointed with the form and acknowledged the need to improve.
Earlier in the week, Ratcliffe briefly spoke with Dan Roan about his perspective on the managerial situation. As has been the case since his arrival on the scene, he opted not to weigh in on the Dutchman’s future.
“I think, I don’t want to answer that question – I like Erik,” the billionaire told Roan.
“I think he’s a very good coach, but at the end of the day, it’s not my call – it’s that management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.”
While the recent form is nowhere near the expected standard in the North West, it is imperative to consider the facts.
As Ratcliffe highlighted, this best-in-class backroom team is still finding its feet as a collective unit.
“That team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July,” he continued. “They weren’t there in January, February, March or April – they have only arrived, [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [Sporting Director] Dan Ashworth, they only arrived in July.
“They’ve only been there, you know, you can count it in weeks almost – they’ve not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.”
It may seem like an eternity ago, but it is a little over a month since Berrada and Ashworth publicly backed their manager, with the highly-rated CEO confirming it would take more than a handful of defeats to sway their feelings.
“Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely,” the Chief Executive stated before kickoff against Liverpool.
“We think Erik is the right coach for us, and we’re fully backing him.”
Ultimately, regardless of who or what we know, the outcome of this meeting will not determine the future of Ten Hag – that conclusion has already been reached.
From a personal perspective – something we do not often write about – I believe the board should stick with the man.
May was the time to part company, and backtracking now would highlight a worrying trait at the top.
Furthermore, regardless of the ability to do so, why would you heap unnecessary financial burden with the additional compensation resulting from a contract extension – it makes little to no sense.
For me, you need to cock your chest out and back the fundamentals that brought you to the decision initially.
If you are willing to scrap something you believed in after two months, what does that say for the future of the footballing department?
How do you feel about the future of Erik ten Hag at Manchester United?
Let us know in the comments or across our social channels.
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