Manchester United has had a difficult start to the season, with the 20-time English champions currently sitting 14th in the Premier League table, and the club’s new leadership is dissatisfied with the pace of change under Erik ten Hag. Amid the team’s struggles, the Dutchman was fired on Monday, October 28, 2024.  This comes after Erik Ten Hag’s complete failure in the Premier League despite having all the reported resources provided by the club for a uniform stint.

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Man United fires Ten Hag after woeful start to the season and reportedly in talks with Amorim

Manchester United finally ran out of patience and fired manager Erik ten Hag on Monday after a troubled start to the season which has left the 20-time English champions languishing in the Premier League amid a period of major upheaval at the club.

Ruben Amorim, the coach of Portuguese team Sporting, was in talks about replacing Ten Hag, British media reported.

Ten Hag won two domestic cups in his 2 1/2 years in charge but the Dutchman paid the price for leading United to its worst start to a season, with the team in 14th place and having lost four of its opening nine league games.

Heavy home losses to fierce rival Liverpool and Tottenham left Ten Hag under severe pressure and seemingly changed the mood among United fans who previously were prepared to give him more time. A 2-1 loss at West Ham on Sunday proved to be his last game in charge.

United has won just one of its last eight games in all competitions.

Amorim, who has been Sporting’s coach since 2020 and won the Portuguese league in 2021 and 2024, appears to be a top candidate to fill the vacancy, with local newspaper the Manchester Evening News reporting that he has agreed in principle to become United’s next manager and a compensation package was being negotiated.

United has not commented publicly about Amorim.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank, who has previously been linked with United, was asked about his interest in the job and replied: 

Others linked were former England coach Gareth Southgate, former Chelsea manager Graham Potter and former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez.

Ten Hag joined from Dutch giant Ajax in 2022 and was tasked with the responsibility of bringing the good times back to a club that has been in decline since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Despite winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup this year, United was showing no sign of improving on its worst league campaign in 34 years, having finished in eighth place last season.

Already 12 points behind first-place Manchester City in the Premier League, United — which never had a distinguishable style of play under Ten Hag and often conceded late goals — appears to have little hope of challenging for the title and is in danger of missing out on qualification for the lucrative Champions League once again.

Ten Hag only held on to his job following an unexpected victory over fierce rival Man City in the FA Cup final in May and an extensive end-of-year review by United. He was then handed a one-year extension to his contract to 2026.

However, the club’s new soccer leadership — fronted by new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe — was unimpressed with the pace of change and the recent results under Ten Hag, who has overseen the spending of about 615 million pounds ($800 million) on new players since his arrival. In the Premier League, only Chelsea has spent more in that time.

Ratcliffe, the British billionaire, has taken over control of United’s soccer operations, with a new CEO, sporting director and technical director all installed in recent months. They now have to appoint a sixth permanent manager since Ferguson’s departure, following David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag.

Bruno Fernandes, United’s current captain, posted on Instagram his best wishes to Ten Hag.

United winger Alejandro Garnacho also took to Instagram, saying: 

United’s next game is at home to Leicester in the English League Cup on Wednesday.

(AP)