UNDER HARD PRESSURE: Erik ten Hag before the match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday evening. It ended with another low point in his time as United manager. Photo: Matthew Childs / Reuters / NTB
Is the manager of Manchester United at one point or another doomed to end up in a power struggle with the players?
Reporting from Manchester on Wednesday 8 May at 03:11
The short version
- Crisis in Manchester United: United connoisseurs and experts believe that a lack of sporting management can lead to a power struggle between manager and players
- The word “mutiny” spreads after the loss against Crystal Palace, manager Erik ten Hag receives strong criticism and faces an uncertain future
- The construction of the new era may bring changes and a more solid club structure, but a choice about the future manager in the short term must be made
Sea view
There could be something in that, believe the United connoisseurs and experts VG has spoken to.
– There has never been a strong sporting leadership since Sir Alex Ferguson, says Jamie Jackson in The Guardian.
– What has come out quite clearly now is that there will be a separation from the managers’ rules to the club’s rules. It is startling in itself that they do not have an incorporated club regulation, says Eivind Holth from United.no and the podcast UNO.
– I believe that we are talking here about the biggest problem at Manchester United. I think it is unthinkable that so many managers with such different backgrounds and characteristics have ended up in problems without the underlying reasons being strong, says Viaplay expert Lars Tjærnås.
The word mutinyA situation where the crew on the boat refuses to do what the captain obeys, hoping to change the leader. began to spread during Manchester United’s disastrous 0-4 loss to Crystal Palace on Monday. Manager Erik ten Hag is the one who will suffer the most, his future seems more uncertain than ever.
When Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after 26 years, there was naturally a power vacuum. A void left by a strong leader disappears, which ideally needs to be filled with new, strong leaders.. Many believe United have still not been able to fill the void.
Several high-profile managers have come and gone, while the sporting management has either been accused of being incompetent This was the most common criticism against former director Ed Woodward in a sporting context. or not present John Murtough has been sporting director in recent years, but has received criticism for not being involved in the everyday challenges the club may have.. Or both.
Ultimately, this may mean that the players answer exclusively to the manager. And if they then become dissatisfied, a power struggle can start directly with the person who also selects the team – without the manager being able to look around for support higher up in the system.
– They need the extra buffer between the team and the manager in this area, says Jackson.
Perhaps a Norwegian can be the savior in the short term?
He draws a parallel to Manchester City last season.
When left-back João Cancelo challenged manager Pep Guardiola’s authority, he was loaned out to Bayern Munich faster than he could say “que?”. The problem was averted before it affected the group.
Ten Hag’s house rules – which Holth was in on – are largely enforced by, well, Ten Hag himself and his support staff. This is how he came to terms with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho, which became long, tenacious and energy-sapping conflicts.
And even if there is some supporters further up the hierarchy:
– He is very much alone in that, points out United journalist Holth.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of the club may bring about changes. Several renowned club managers are already on their way in: the foundations of the new era are to be built.
It is expected that they will also define a set of regulations for the club’s players, with the players’ influence when they are written down.
– Then it will not depend on who is the manager, the same rules will apply regardless. Then Manchester United will stand much stronger as a club against the player power many associate with them, says Holth.
But Sir Alex Ferguson managed it, right? Why can’t others do it then?
– Now there are more people around the stars, strong agents and others who often build a strong ego in the players. The media part is far more extensive and demanding – and the sum of all this is that the job has grown even further. In progress it flows, but in adversity, either sportingly or in the case of disciplinary problems, a manager without an apparatus around him has bigger problems than others, says Lars Tjærnås.
Too big a problem for Ten Hag and it is expected that this summer the club will make a choice: Continue with the Dutchman and give him confidence in the new era, or replace him.
Jamie Jackson in The Guardian thinks ten Hag will stay, and is probably in the minority right now. Tjærnås believes that the (missing) surrounding structure does not exonerate ten Hag here and now.
– The way the team looks now – especially with a chaotic structure – is entirely his responsibility. I think that will cost him his job. Paradoxically, it is a miserable time to lose it, because I think United are now building the club and structure in exactly the right way.
Can’t get enough? Here are 29 minutes from Tuesday’s broadcast about the United crisis: