ERIK TEN HAG’S final glory at Manchester United might have not happened if he had persisted with his originally planned tactics in the FA Cup final.
The Dutchman was sacked from his post as Man Utd manager on Monday following a controversial 2-1 defeat to West Ham.
Erik ten Hag won the FA Cup with Man Utd in May[/caption]
But the tactical tweaks made before the game came after hours of debate led by Darren Fletcher[/caption]
It left Man Utd down in 14th place in the Premier League after their worst-ever start to the season.
Ten Hag, 54, was kept in the position by new bosses Ineos over the summer after winning the FA Cup final against Manchester City, courtesy of goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
However, the result of that game could have turned out very different.
That is because, according to The Independent, Ten Hag’s original plan was to go “toe-to-toe” against the league champions.
And only after hours of debate led by then-technical director Darren Fletcher – who has since become one of Ten Hag’s coaching staff after Jason Wilcox joined – Ten Hag relented.
The tactical tweaks he made prior to the game worked as a treat, as the 4-4-2 shape helped United defend against Pep Guardiola‘s side and gave United the ability to be dangerous on the counter.
Reports at the time suggested that Ten Hag had also listened to the advice of Wilcox to use Bruno Fernandes as a False 9 for the final, which yielded the captain an assist for the winner.
Man Utd have tried going toe-to-toe with teams this season, and come up embarrassingly short against Liverpool and Tottenham in 3-0 defeats at Old Trafford.
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Behind the scenes, one senior member of the Ineos hierarchy is said to have said: “I told you this would happen,” in key meetings, where the main dividing factor was what was next.
However, after getting their first transfer window out of the way Ineos now appear to have made swift progress on appointing a potential successor.
According to reports, Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim has agreed to become the new Red Devils boss.
United will have to pay his £8.5million buy-out fee, but the 39-year-old has impressive credentials behind him with two league titles ending a 19-year league drought at the club.
The “Special One 2.0” has been heavily linked with replacing Pep Guardiola at Man City, while was also linked with Liverpool, West Ham, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Amorim has a distinct style with his 3-4-3 system and will have a five-point checklist of things to do upon arriving.
The former midfielder has already broken his silence on the prospect of taking the job, admitting: “I was already expecting this question [about Man Utd] and obviously I’m not going to talk about the future, because otherwise I’ll always have to comment.
“I’m very proud to be Sporting coach, that’s all.”
The Portuguese tactician actually already has a tenuous link to Man Utd, having faced them three times in his career, including one player who he is now set to coach.
