This turned out to be a Red October.
'Bluffer' is the biggest insult Roy Keane could ever level at anyone. A time-served United player used that word to describe Ten Hag in his first season.
Players who had seen managers come and go and seen some offsaw through Ten Hag, a source close to one of them said.
From April, Ten Hag started to linger by the Old Trafford tunnel and milk the applause of the United supporters. It was a deliberate and desperate measure to demonstrate the apparent adoration reserved for him. He even did it when he re-emerged for the second half against Liverpool in September. The problem was United were 2-0 down.
Eight days after Arne Slot schooled Ten Hag, a United staff member clarified the team coached by Ten Hag in Mark van der Maarel's testimonial at FC Utrecht had actually won the game. Some desks had erroneously reported Ten Hag was on the losing side.
Seeking a correction was fair and someone at United was irked by the 'anti-Ten Hag' narrative. Ten Hag still had allies to go into bat for him but he was on a sticky wicket.
Ten Hag's last act was to conduct a pre-match press conference at West Ham for a match he will not manage in. That is a suitably shambolic conclusion to his stint under the amateurish Ineos overlords.
THE BUBBLE BURST AT WEST HAM FOR TEN HAG
United have gone backwards and Ten Hag's coaching has become backward thinking. He has overused the word 'rotation' to account for illogical substitutions and selections, he has not chimed with the matchgoers in well over a year and ceased to be the most popular coaching staff member in the dugout.
Industry figures feel the farce atUnited is a comeuppance for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos. "They've disrespected football," a club executive said, referring to the presence of former cycling team principal Sir Dave Brailsford among United's decision-makers.
This story is from the October 29, 2024 edition of Manchester Evening News.
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This story is from the October 29, 2024 edition of Manchester Evening News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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