- United make official announcement regarding Dutch manager’s departure
- Announcement comes after 2-1 loss to West Ham leaves United in 14th place in the Premier League
- Ruud van Nistlerooy will take over as interim manager at United while a permanent replacement is found
Manchester United once again find themselves in familiar territory: Having to appoint a new manager after their previous appointment flattered to deceive, leaving the Old Trafford club well adrift of their rivals. Erik Ten Hag has today become the latest in an increasingly long line of post-Sir Alex Ferguson managers who have failed to restore the 20 time champions of England to their former glory.
The Dutchman leaves Old Trafford with United lodged in lowly 14th place in the Premier League table, with just three wins from their opening nine matches. The Red Devils have won just one of their last eight in all competitions and are coming off the back of their worst ever Premier League finish, last season. However, Ten Hag’s team did win the FA Cup during the 2023/24 campaign, defeating local rivals Manchester City 2-1 in the final at Wembley.
WHO NEXT FOR THE RED DEVILS?
While former United striker and current coach Ruud Van Nistelrooy is being placed in temporary charge, it is not believed that the Premier League title winning Dutchman, who scored 150 goals in 219 appearances for the Red Devils between 2001-2006, is being considered for the job full-time.
But who is likely to be on the shortlist for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co? The United manager’s job has been a poison chalice for over a decade now, with several reputations taking a battering after trying and failing to take the three-time European Champions back to the promised land of Premier League supremacy.
Names across Europe have already been linked, with a couple of coaches closer to home also expected to be discussed by INEOS, who control football operations at the club, following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s partial takeover in February of this year.
Here’s who could, and maybe should, be on that shortlist.
RÚBEN AMORIM – SPORTING CP
Amorim was heavily tipped to become Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Liverpool over the summer, but the Portuguese coach remained with Sporting CP, where he has led Leões to two Primeira Liga titles as well as winning the league’s Manager of the Season award twice. Although relatively brief, the former Portugal international’s coaching career has already yielded a lot of success and features an impressive win % ratio of 72.39%.
The 39-year-old has begun the current season on a white hot streak, with Sporting winning their opening nine matches, scoring 30 goals and only conceding twice in the process. The impressive form has carried over into continental competition also, with Sporting winning two and drawing one of their opening three Champions League ties.
Amorim is believed to be extremely reluctant to depart Sporting midway through a season, however, and has also been tentatively linked to the Manchester City job once Pep Guardiola calls it a day at Eastlands. File this one under the ‘highly unlikely’ column.
JULIAN NAGELSMANN – GERMAN NATIONAL TEAM
INEOS are believed to think highly of the former Bayern Munich boss, who many believe was harshly treated by the Bavarian giants, being sacked in March of 2023, less than a year after lifting the Bundesliga Title at the Allianz Arena. At the time of his dismissal from Bayern, Nagelsmann’s team sat just a point behind Borussia Dortmund in the title race and had just humbled Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, to qualify for the competition’s quarter-finals.
Nagelsmann’s sterling work at RB Leipzig is also a major feather in the 37-year-old’s cap, as is the fact he was entrusted with the German national team from such a young age.
However, Nagelsmann is unlikely to give up the opportunity to lead his country to a World Cup in less than two years time in favour of a job he could more than likely end up loathing very quickly.
GARETH SOUTHGATE
A favourite with the bookies and currently unattached, following his departure from the England manager’s job over the summer. While well liked and respected, Southgate has not coached club football since 2009, when he was sacked by Middlesbrough a few months after their relegation from the Premier League to the Championship.
Southgate’s work with the England national team was lauded by many, understandably so, as he led the Three Lions to two consecutive European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final. However, performances were often criticised, especially during this summer’s Euro’s campaign, where Southgate’s tactics and team selections made for some unbearable football.
England’s relegation in the Nations League was also a source of embarrassment and Southgate’s inability to see off major challenges in each of the tournament’s he coached England is hard to ignore. His availability and probable low cost in comparison to other options will make him a likely candidate for the role under INEOS, though.
XAVI
Barcelona’s iconic midfield maestro is out of work after he left the Catalan club in the summer, following some back-and-forth decision making between himself and club President Joan Laporta. While he did deliver Barca’s first La Liga title in four years, last year, Xavi’s time in the Camp Nou dugout was a mixed affair.
The glory of the La Liga triumph in 2023 was tempered by poor performance in the Champions League (group stage exit in his first full season, quarter-final exit to PSG in his second, in which they lost the home leg 4-1) and a difficult second term, where Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid pulled well clear, lifting a La Liga and Champions League double.
Currently on a yearlong sabbatical before undertaking his next project, Xavi may be tempted to end his time off early to take over at the Theatre of Dreams, given the size of the challenge and the fact he came close to joining United during his early, difficult days in Barca’s first team. Bearing in mind how much work is required on United’s first team, though, the Champions League and World Cup winning icon is probably not the best fit at this moment in time.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE
A serial winner as both a player and manager, Zizou’s name is one that has been bounced in the direction of Old Trafford on multiple occasions since he left the Real Madrid dugout in 2021. A two-time La Liga winner and three-time Champions League winner, the 52-year-old Frenchman certainly has the credentials and experience necessary for an elite club management job. But then again, in his three years out of work, the offers haven’t exactly been rolling in for Zidane across Europe when other major roles were available.
Much like Xavi, Zidane isn’t a manager suited to an overhaul. At Real, the Frenchman benefited from inheriting a squad full of superstars who were only 18 months removed from winning the Champions League (and only a few months away from winning it again). Of course, leading any team to a hat-trick of European Cup successes is an extraordinary achievement, especially when you consider the scrutiny and pressure that comes on every boss at the Bernabeu.
Yet, had Zidane took over a Real team that had been horrendously mismanaged for several seasons and were sitting in lower midtable, it’s unlikely his trophy laden era at in the Spanish capital would have been so glittering. A Hollywood appointment, but probably one United chiefs should avoid. For now, at least.
RETURN OF THE MOYESIAH?
Elsewhere, the unemployed likes of Graham Potter, Edin Terzic and Massimilliano Allegri could also be looked at, although it is unclear how long INEOS will likely want to take with the decision. A Van Nistelrooy led resurgence could lead to the Dutchman keeping the role until the end of the 2024/25 campaign, which may allow for a bit more flexibility in finding the right man for the job, as it becomes easier to negotiate with managers attached to jobs in the post-season.
Then again, United could just bring back David Moyes. He’s not doing anything else, right now.
