Old Trafford could drag Erik ten Hag down before he has a chance to turn Manchester United around

Erik ten Hag might have shown himself to be one of the most accomplished managers around in his time at Ajax, but Manchester United’s problems could easily overwhelm him. Ten Hag has to be thankful for the work and support he was given by the figureheads at Ajax, in particular Edwin van der Sar during his time at the Amsterdam side. When a club’s infrastructure is built by figures with a working and positive relationship, then clearly it will be more effective than elsewhere.

Compare that to life at Old Trafford. Ad/> Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho have both succeeded elsewhere, and both of them are demanding figures. The Netherlands coach was reportedly promised Sergio Ramos only to be given Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

The Roma boss wanted Toby Alderweireld only to be given Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. Premier LeagueRonaldo offers apology following reports Man Utd striker smashed Everton fan's phone09/04/2022 AT 21:32 A transfer window of Fred, Lee Grant and Diogo Dalot was enough to get the Portuguese setting fire to the living room curtains as he realised he was wasting his time on Ed Woodward. Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there was little improvement.

A trolly dash delivered Edinson Cavani and Donny van de Beek, two positions that the Norwegian had no interest in reinforcing but Woodward did not listen. Repeatedly he proved himself incapable of acting as a useful director of football, and then appointed John Murtough to take over that role when it was far, far too late. Who is John Murtough? Darren Fletcher probably isn’t even sure.