It is reported that Manchester United will fire coach Erik ten Hag after the match against Aston Villa at 8:00 p.m. on October 6 (Vietnam time), regardless of the result.
How did people react to this news? It seems that few people felt satisfied, or raised the adjective to “satisfied” or “content” because “this day has finally come.”
In fact, the atmosphere in the media and social networks is not very exciting, on the contrary, there is still a lot of skepticism. Because this type of news has appeared before Man United's last match of the 2023-2024 season - the FA Cup final.
At that time, it seemed that the "Red Devils" Board of Directors had run out of patience with Ten Hag because of the team's performance. However, surprisingly - and shockingly - Man United played well and won the cup after defeating Manchester City.
It turned everything upside down. Or rather, it was the fulcrum to once again give hope that Man United would really come back.
And a summer of heavy investment has taken place. Man United entered the 2024-2025 season with excitement with a victory over Fulham in the Premier League. The only goal was scored by Joshua Zirkzee - one of the new recruits.
But then, the joy was short-lived. The Old Trafford team returned to chaos and lacked conviction in most of the matches.
They have won just two of their eight games since then, but even those wins have not been exactly celebrated, despite scoring seven goals against Barnsley, who are in League One.
Not only that, Man United also had 2 disappointing matches in the Europa League, increasing the pressure on Ten Hag. The 3-3 draw with Porto is considered 1 of 2 matches for Ten Hag to save the situation...
But it doesn't look too optimistic. More pessimistic, because today will be the away trip to Villa Park, where Aston Villa just sent the mighty German Bayern Munich home empty-handed in the Champions League.
Ten Hag still talks about being patient with Manucians as his team is “going in the right direction”. What will happen after 90 minutes at Villa Park?
The possibility of Ten Hag leaving Old Trafford through the back door is greater than ever, when he could have walked out the front door, even with his head held high.
Ten Hag did not listen to the advice of a very close friend of his for over 40 years.
Leon Ten Voorde, who grew up in Holland with Ten Hag, urged him to leave the club after the FA Cup win, but his friend was adamant he could succeed.
Ten Voorde told De Ballen Verstand of the TC Tubantia podcast: "I advised him to leave last summer. He won the FA Cup, so he had to leave immediately, through the front door.
He had a lot of injuries last year. But then he thought: 'I can turn things around'."
Ten Hag's long-time friend added: "How long do United think this can last? That question now hangs over them and Ten Hag. Overall, he's calm and relaxed. But I can't imagine that this has left him completely unaffected."
For now, Ten Hag still uses the excuse of 2 trophies at the end of the season to ask Manucians to be patient. It is true that Man United need trophies, but it is the Premier League, Champions League, or at least the Europa League as Jose Mourinho used to do.
But when Man United perform like under Ten Hag, the FA Cup or Carabao Cup are not so valuable.
So if possible, Ten Hag resigning would be more respected!?
