Less than five months after giving Erik ten Hag a contract extension, Manchester United are back to where they were all summer.
Erik ten Hag‘s job is under scrutiny after a run of just three wins in 11 games, he keeps talking about the trophies he’s won and deserves more time, and a barrage of coaches are linked to the job.
As was the case in summer, Thomas Tuchel heads the list of coaches, if only because he’s immediately available and coming off a nice break.
With a final decision yet to be taken on the manager, he’s the most accomplished name out there in terms of his pedigree at top clubs.
Fans are increasingly getting tired of Ten Hag’s platitudes and his biggest defence at Man Utd has already been dismantled by Tuchel in an unseen interview.
Thomas Tuchel vs Erik ten Hag
It seems like if someone has watched one post-match press conference of Ten Hag after a loss, they’ve watched every single one of it.
That’s because they all follow a similar pattern, filled with the same buzzwords, defences, and the manager frantically trying to paint his time at Old Trafford in a positive light.
The biggest buzzword among all, which is almost becoming a trending stick to beat him with is “process”.
The Dutchman talks about the team being in a process before and after every game but each poor and disjointed performance contradicts it.
Into his third year now, even considering the mitigating factors of a new structure above him, an identity should have been established so his pleas of it being a process are increasingly falling on deaf ears.
Tuchel gave an interview last year after leaving Chelsea and his words are indistinguishable from what many Man Utd fans are thinking right now.
He said: “It is very common to say it’s not only about the result it’s about the result but my experience everywhere- It’s about the results.
“You can overcome one loss, you can overcome a short period of missing results if the players feel we’re on the right way but it can’t be too long because then nobody trusts the process anymore.
“To really worship the process on a daily basis is most important and that’s where I’m really strict with the players. It’s also a mindset. I am always observant.
“How do they treat guys in the kitchen, do they put their plates back after eating? Are they taking care of their recovery? When you take care of the little details, that’s when the process works.” [Relevant comments begin near 32.00 minutes]
A losing battle
As Tuchel says, Ten Hag has been talking about the process for too long but in the absence of results, the trust in him is wavering.
Outside of going on a winning run after the international break, no amount of “process” talk is going to save the manager.
Even in the summer, Ineos were not shy of admitting that they spoke to other candidates before finalising their support for Ten Hag.
Although the manager’s market hasn’t changed much since then, Ten Hag’s position and fan credit in the bank certainly have.
It has gone from “Who can do better than Ten Hag” after he had just won the FA Cup with an injury-ravaged team to “Who would do even worse than Ten Hag” after the trainwreck this season with a mostly fit squad.
Tuchel doesn’t sound like a bad shout anymore. His comments already align with the fans’ ideals in stark contrast to Ten Hag’s words.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
