Erik ten Hag is the best decision taken by Manchester United in years. It also seems to be no coincidence that this was a choice taken after Ed Woodward left the club.
Woodward made his long awaited exit in early 2022 after overseeing a decade of failure and false dawns at Old Trafford.
The chief executive announced he was quitting after the Super League fiasco, a resignation Manchester United fans had been hoping for ever since he oversaw the disastrous summer transfer window in 2013.
Way back then when David Moyes was in charge, and ever since, it has always felt like Manchester United’s managers were being hamstrung by Woodward.
His scattered transfer policy saw United chase big names, usually fail, or sign the wrong ones. The number of good signings over the past decade can be counted on one hand.
It’s even arguable to suggest Ten Hag has had as many ‘hits’ in one summer in the transfer market as his predecessors had over the past decade.
The key to this has partly been Ten Hag himself, who has a keen eye for a player and knows what he wants. But it is also getting the freedom to sign the players he wishes.
David Moyes did not get the players he wanted, and Louis van Gaal did not either. Jose Mourinho was undercut too, eventually leading to his departure.
The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ‘project’ seemed cooked up to buy Woodward more time. Eventually that time ran out, after a typical Woodward-esque move to sign Cristiano Ronaldo ramped up the pressure on the manager.
READ: 10 moments which defined Ed Woodward’s spell in charge at United
Ten Hag is the right man
Erik ten Hag appears to be the best manager Manchester United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson. Everything feels right. United are winning regularly, with a combination of team spirit and attacking football.
It’s fair to wonder if Ten Hag would even be here if Ed Woodward was still in charge.
Warned off the job by Van Gaal, Ten Hag could take his own view, and will have been encouraged by Woodward’s departure suggesting that there were genuine changes being made behind the scenes.
Woodward too may not even have chosen Ten Hag. BBC Sport reports Mauricio Pochettino spoke with Woodward on three separate occasions. However well the Argentine might have done, it’s unlikely he would have the team flying like Ten Hag has right now.
Ten Hag made clear that he wanted ‘control’ and a major say in the players United sign. Current chief executive Richard Arnold has granted him that, and has done all he can to try and make it happen. The manager has been backed.
Woodward’s departure was the key cog in making all this happen. It looks just as important as the decision to hire Ten Hag.
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