De Ligt getting Ten Hag sacked: A fitting end to Man Utd farce

Tom Weber

Updated: 4 Oct 2024 09:55 BST
4 min read

Matthijs de Ligt, Erik ten Hag, Man Utd — © IMAGO

Erik ten Hag's days as Manchester United boss appear numbered and one of his favourite players will have to shoulder some of the blame for his inevitable sacking.

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The Red Devils slumped to another disappointing result on Thursday when they only managed a 3-3 draw with Porto. While 10-man Man Utd's spirit to earn a point was commendable, it should never have come to that stage after storming into a comfortable 2-0 lead.

After back-to-back draws with Crystal Palace and Twente Enschede and a dismal 3-0 loss to Tottenham, this latest result appears to have made Erik ten Hag's sacking inevitable.

There is still the chance for redemption against Aston Villa, and some have played down suggestions that he could be axed next week, but the game in Portugal illustrated that his team has not progressed - and, if anything, regressed - since his promising debut season in 2022/23.

© IMAGO - Matthijs de Ligt and Erik ten Hag

De Ligt getting Ten Hag sacked

At this stage, it looks like Ten Hag could end up getting sacked because of one of his favourite players: Matthijs de Ligt. The Dutchman has had a tough time of it lately and he was again at fault against Porto.

De Ligt endured a dire international break in September but appeared to have overcome the worst when he put in a solid performance against Southampton. However, he again came under heavy fire against Spurs and now even more so after Porto.

Described by Jamie Carragher as being 'out of position all the time' at the weekend, a similar issue was again apparent on Thursday when 20-year-old striker Samu Omorodion caused him 'nightmares.'

The youngster outsmarted, outmuscled and outmanoeuvred the former Juventus and Bayern player for two of Porto's three goals and De Ligt, along with centre-back partner Lisandro Martinez, was hooked by Ten Hag after 78 minutes to be replaced by Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire.

The latter, ironically, ended up securing a point for Man Utd by heading home a late equaliser. De Ligt getting Ten Hag sacked would be a fitting and symbolic end to the farce of the past 14 months.

There is no excuse for Ten Hag anymore. This is his team, these are his players - some of them, like De Ligt, he quite literally nurtured and made the athletes they are today - and the fact that he can barely get a tune out of them is a massive indictment of him on every conceivable level.

Handing Ten Hag a contract extension after the previous season was a mistake - and an expensive one at that. After spending €660 million on new players under the Dutchman, Man Utd should not be in the position they are in right now.

It's been one step forward and two steps back for over a year. Sir Jim Ratcliffe wanted to root out the mediocrity at Old Trafford - it's time to put his money where his mouth is.