The ex-Ajax boss has been fired and leaves after his side were embarrassed on a number of occasions over the past two-and-a-half years
And so it's over. The patience at Manchester United has finally worn out, with Erik ten Hag having been sacked by the Red Devils following Sunday's controversial defeat at West Ham. The Dutchman leaves having won trophies in each of his two full seasons in charge, but with United languishing in 14th in the Premier League table after a historically bad start to the new campaign.
Though Ten Hag did taste success during his time at Old Trafford, he is likely to be remembered more for the litany of embarrassing affairs that he oversaw, with United regularly coming under fire after humiliating results, with a number coming at the hands of their biggest rivals.
Ten Hag did his best to try and recover from these awful results, but in the end the job proved too big for him, and he becomes the latest coach to come unstuck at England's biggest club since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
Below, GOAL takes a look at the absolute worst of Ten Hag's reign – look away United fans!…
Getty Images12Newcastle 1-0 Man Utd – December 2, 2023
It only finished 1-0 but it should have been more and there was no hiding from another dismal away display. United were trapped in their own half for much of the game and Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were utterly lifeless in attack.
Newcastle legend Alan Shearer summed up United's woeful performance after the game with an uncharacteristically brutal assessment of the Red Devils. "For me, there are too many bad eggs in that Man Utd team. Too many bad attitudes," he said.
"It's alright when things are going well for you, you can get your feet on the ball, play and pick your head up when things are nice and rosy. But, when it's not going for you, when you're a bit tired and you've got to roll your sleeves up, there's not enough characters in that team." Few United fans could disagree with him.
AdvertisementGetty Images11Man Utd 2-3 Galatasaray – October 3, 2023
Ten Hag's first Champions League group stage game at Old Trafford should have been a great occasion but it soon unravelled into a nightmare. Rasmus Hojlund twice gave United the lead but each time they threw it away with diabolical defending and a shambolic display from Andre Onana, who gave the ball straight to Dries Mertens, leading to Casemiro giving away a penalty and getting sent off.
Mauro Icardi missed the spot kick but made amends to sink United and hundreds of Galatasaray fans rubbed salt into the Red Devils wounds by wildly celebrating the winner from the home section of the stadium. And no wonder: it was the Turkish giants' first win on English soil in 11 attempts. United's ludicrous defending made it possible and the defeat led to them finishing bottom of their group.
Getty10Man Utd 0-3 Liverpool – September 2, 2024
After United went unbeaten against their fiercest rivals during the 2023-24 season – including a famous victory in the FA Cup – Arne Slot reasserted Liverpool's recent dominance when the two old enemies met at Old Trafford in September 2024.
Casemiro was the arch-villain of the piece, making two heinous errors in the first 45 minutes before being gratefully hooked by Ten Hag at the break with his reputation further diminished. The Red Devils weren't much better in the second period, either.
Although Casemiro rightly took the bulk of the criticism, every United player was pretty hopeless. It was very difficult to recognise what Ten Hag's plan was and the fact that the humbling took place on home turf made it all the more difficult for the supporters to swallow.
Getty Images9Chelsea 4-3 Man Utd – April 4, 2024
A few days after United had leaked bucketloads of chances to Brentford and finally been punished for it in added time, they did the exact same thing against Chelsea and got burned twice.
It was the most entertaining game of the season, with United fighting their way back from two goals down to lead 3-2, only to undo all their good work by switching off yet again deep into added time.
A clumsy foul by Diogo Dalot gifted Cole Palmer a penalty which he netted. Less than a minute later he scored again after several United defenders had pointed at him but not gone over to block his shot.
