Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford has ended, two and a half years after he was named Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s permanent successor as Manchester United manager. Following Sunday’s 2-1 loss to a generally lackluster West Ham team this season, United’s management took action on Monday and said Ruud van Nistelrooy would step in temporarily until a permanent replacement could be identified.
As shocking as any significant breaking news item, Ten Hag’s dismissal may have surprised some, but in reality, the writing has been on the wall for a while.
Although it’s hard to dispute that the team is in a better situation than when he took over, especially considering Sunday’s loss put them in 14th place in the Premier League standings, the Dutchman won a trophy in each of his two full seasons in command.
This is what caused Ten Hag dismissal;
He lost too many games.
We can even acknowledge that occasionally, using data can lead to overcomplication. In Ten Hag’s case, the sheer amount of games United lost is maybe the most damning statistic of all. Sometimes the most straightforward statistics convey the most powerful message.
Of the 85 Premier League games he managed, 27 were losses. His loss rate of 31.8% is the second-worst of all United managers in the Premier League era, behind David Moyes (32.4%), who was only in charge for 34 games. It is the most total of losses by any United manager since Alex Ferguson.
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