Manchester United have finally announced that the current coach of Ajax, Erik ten Hag will become the coach of the club at the end of the 2021-2022 season. He will replace United’s interim manager, Ralf Rangnick who will move on to become the club’s consultant for two years at the end of this season.
Erik ten Hag is coming to Manchester United with so much promise at a period in the history of the club where it seems nothing is working at Old Trafford. The 52-year-old Dutch coach has proven to be a winner in the Dutch league as he has won two Eredivisie titles and two KNVB Cups.
Also, Erik ten Hag has proven to be a team builder and has a great skill in identifying great talents and developing the talents maximally. He is expected to bring all those characteristics to Manchester United which also have its peculiar problems.
Ten Hag’s critics and the critics of Manchester United will start expecting improvement at the club from the 2022-2023 season even though the coach has until June 30, 2025, before his contract with United expires.
🇳🇱 Made in the Netherlands. Ready for Manchester.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 21, 2022
🔴 Erik ten Hag's next step is United.#MUFC || #WelcomeErik pic.twitter.com/SwsCwFja10
Below are the top three problems Erik ten Hag must solve in his first season at Manchester United to win the hearts of United’s fans
- Make Manchester United a winning team again
Since Manchester United’s legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson retired from coaching, the Red Devils have tried four permanent coaches with the hope that they could continue the legacy of Ferguson. But none could impress the club’s board and fans as much as Ferguson did.
Things have gotten so bad at Manchester United that the last time the Premier League club won a major title was in 2017, the year coach Jose Mourinho helped the club to win the Europa League.
Currently, Manchester United are on the verge of failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in a season they brought back the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, signed Raphael Varane, and signed a once high-flying Jadon Sancho. If United fails to qualify for the Champions League this season, it will make it the 4th time in nine years that the club had such a woeful season.
Hence, Erik ten Hag must use his first season in charge of Manchester United to turn the club into a winning side to win the hearts of the club’s fans. Though it might be unrealistic to ask him to win the Premier League title in the 2022-2023 season, he is expected to help the club to finish in the top four and also win at least a domestic title for the club.
- Keep Cristiano Ronaldo scoring or get rid of him
Cristiano Ronaldo started making his name in football at Manchester United in his first spell at the club (2003-2009). But his return to the club in August 2021 has not been as rosy as expected.
Even though many believe he is a problem at the club, he is the club’s highest goalscorer so far this season. He has scored 21 goals in all competitions for United this season.
Before United announced the appointment of Erik ten Hag as the club’s coach, reports claimed that the Dutch coach wanted Ronaldo to exit the club before his arrival. The fear is that the Dutch coach has never managed a player with Ronaldo’s level of success and ego.
Hence, Erik ten Hag has to find a formula that would help Ronaldo to keep scoring or ensure that the 37-year-old Portuguese legend exit the club before the 2022-2023 season commences fully. This is necessary because the happiness of Ronaldo at Old Trafford will make Erik ten Hag’s journey easier and the player’s sadness will be a huge problem for his reign at the club.
- Make the right recruitment or signings
Between 2012 and 2022, Manchester United spent a whopping €1.5 billion on signing new players. Despite the unprecedented investment in players recruitment, the club has managed to win just one Premier League title (2012-2013 season), one FA Cup title (2015-2016 season), one EFL Cup (2016-2017 season), two Community Shield ( 2013 and 2016), and one Europa League (2016-2017 season).
The above showed that the €1.5 billion Manchester United spent on improving the club’s squad was not spent as effectively as expected. If it was properly spent, Manchester United would remain a major Premier League title contender to date.
Hence, Erik ten Hag is expected to correct that starting from this summer transfer window. He must identify the right players he needs at the club and also get rid of the players that cannot help him to accomplish his goals at the club. If he can do that before the 2022-2023 season starts fully, Manchester United’s fans would have a course to be happy with him as he commences his three years reign at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag created something very special at @AFCAjax 🙌❌❌❌🙌#UCL pic.twitter.com/wXZiiGDo9w
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 21, 2022
