The news many Manchester United fans were anticipating came as Erik ten Hag has been sacked as the manager after a dismal start to the season.
Fans were expecting the nature of this news but the timing still caught many off guard as there were no indication from Ineos that his job was being reviewed, let alone decided upon.
As the decision is made, further details are emerging of, and around the sacking which sees Ruud van Nistelrooy take interim charge of the team.
He will be in the dugout for four consecutive home games before the international break as the Ten Hag era ends.
Information about the meeting where Ten Hag was sacked has emerged and three words are used to describe it.
Details of meeting where Erik ten Hag was sacked
The new executive team assembled by Ineos was precisely to take these kinds of decisions so the scrutiny on them will be intense now.
Fans would argue this decision has already been late, but the far bigger decision is to handle and choose a replacement.
There is also the matter of communicating the news effectively to Ten Hag, considering his last act as United manager was doing a press conference for a game he won’t manage!
That is hardly the right way to treat an outgoing manager who, for all his faults, never let the club get engulfed in toxicity like, say, Jose Mourinho.
Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail reports that the meeting in which Ten Hag was sacked was ‘respectful’ and ‘dignified’, as the Dutchman’s conduct off the field remained ‘decent’ until the end.
He reports: “I’m told Erik ten Hag was summoned to a meeting at Carrington with Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth this morning where he was informed that it was over. That meeting has been described to me as ‘respectful and dignified’. His conduct off the field remained decent to the end.”
Ten Hag leaves with no bridges burned
It didn’t work out at United and near the end of his tenure, his remarks about the trophies he won and the progress he was making came across as a bit tone-deaf.
However, his conduct, as the report states, never went against the club and even as he looked out for himself and defended his record, it didn’t come at the cost of putting the club down.
Even Mourinho, who left in a scorched earth manner, managed to mend his bridges since he was always in the fans’ good graces so Ten Hag also leaves with no bridges burned.
The last meeting which decided his sacking only reinforces the point known about him already.
A decent and dignified man who just couldn’t make it work at Old Trafford.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
