The new club hierarchy were conscious of how supportive the mood was after the FA Cup win, and that it would have been a hugely unpopular decision to sack the Dutch coach at that point. If there’s now a temptation to wonder whether that stance was influenced by potentially fleeting fan emotions, you wouldn’t have thought so on Sunday.
The team may have looked weak in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool but support for Ten Hag and his team stayed strong. Old Trafford has for a long time been a stadium that sings for the side no matter what. There can be boos and empty seats, sure, but United’s modern Premier League era has never seen the kind of open revolt against a manager that has been visible at other stadiums.
By contrast, external criticism often only serves to amplify support for the man in charge, while bringing considerable pushback against critics. You only have to listen to phone-ins or look at social media. The point of this isn’t to stage yet another discussion on Ten Hag’s suitability and whether fan support is justified. It is more about how fascinating it is that this supporter stance has been so consistent through five manager cycles after Alex Ferguson.
We can all recognise familiar patterns and even a sense of “end game” – although the club insist they fully back the manager – but still hear the same support. United haven’t even seen an equivalent of the situation at the club perhaps closest to them in this when Liverpool supporters just rejected Roy Hodgson. There can be anger in the concourse and pubs, as supporters at the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City attest, but that doesn’t find an outlet pitchside.
As Barney Chilton, the editor of the long-running fanzine Red News. says, “There is a mindset from matchgoers to support the manager at games come what may.” The crowd have certainly taken Ferguson’s valedictory request to heart, that their job now is to stand by the new manager.
This story is from the September 06, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 06, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
It's important we also focus on joyful pregnancy stories
Weeks away from giving birth... and surrounded by traumatic headlines, depressing tales and stats, Lucy Thackray went in search of mums who are happy to share positive experiences
STUCK IN A SPACE JAM
Rationed clothes and freeze-dried food might not sound ideal but astronauts stranded on the International Space Station insist they're having a 'great' time
Red Roses open stadium in style with New Zealand win
Never let it be said that these Red Roses don’t know how to throw a housewarming party.
Norris's F1 title hopes hit in Baku after dire qualifying
Lando Norris’s title hopes were dealt a huge blow after he suffered a shock elimination from the first part of qualifying as Charles Leclerc took pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the fourth year running.
Ruthless Man Utd survive a shaky start to claim victory
Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford scored shortly after Andre Onana’s spot-kick save to put Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United on course for a much-needed 3-0 victory at promoted Southampton.
Slot receives first unwanted lesson as Liverpool struggle
A historic occasion on Merseyside, just not the sort Arne Slot could celebrate.
Hong Kong journalists face unprecedented harassment from pro-China ‘patriots'
At least 15 Hong Kong journalists and their families have been facing harassment and intimidation from self-proclaimed pro-China “patriots” in recent months, the city’s largest journalist association has said.
Choose the lesser evil, Pope advises US Catholic voters
Pope Francis has waded into US politics in a rare intervention, criticising both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris as being “against life” and urging American voters to pick “the lesser evil” between the two.
Four children and six adults killed in IDF strike on Gaza
At least 10 Palestinians have been killed, including four children, in an Israeli airstrike on a home in Gaza, local media has reported.
Medvedev threatens to turn Kyiv into 'grey melted spot'
The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warns of a very harsh response if long-range Western missiles are used