SO LET’S reduce by means of all of the you-know-what and get to the nub of the scenario.
However this seems to have been painted, Erik ten Hag does not have a new Manchester United contract.
There are not any new assurances and nothing has modified.
Yesterday’s grand announcement left the Dutchman on the identical skinny ice he was negotiating earlier than profitable May’s FA Cup closing in opposition to rivals City.
Ten Hag has successfully agreed to remain and work with the new controllers of soccer operations who, not way back, have been looking another person for the job.
All that has occurred is that the additional yr in his authentic contract has been triggered to take it to 2026.
It is just not the ringing endorsement of a new 4 or five-year deal.
The 12-month pay-off will keep the identical if what appeared inevitable on the finish of the final Premier League season is delayed till the following one if issues don’t begin nicely.
Ten Hag stated: “I am very pleased to have reached agreement with the club to continue working together.”
In different phrases: “OK, I’ll stay.”
Erik ten Hag is not any safer now than earlier than FA Cup win
By Neil Custis
After Manchester United introduced Erik ten Hag was staying on, they tried to elucidate why it has taken over two weeks for the reason that Dutchman paraded the FA Cup at Wembley to really inform him he nonetheless had the job.
A radical evaluate of the season was wanted regardless that Ten Hag stated earlier than the Cup closing that this had been executed.
The membership stated that they’d ‘considered all eventualities’.
In different phrases ‘which manager would be best for us, and not necessarily the bloke we have got?’.
And the membership have been additionally at pains to make it clear how a lot they admired Ten Hag’s ‘dedication, dignity and professionalism’.
In different phrases he didn’t publicly flip his lid on the appalling means he was being handled regardless of asking Ratcliffe for a public vote of confidence months earlier than the top of the season.
Let us bear in mind Ratcliffe didn’t even namecheck Ten Hag in his ‘congratulations message’ after the FA Cup was received, regardless of the very fact it was all all the way down to him and the best way he outthought Pep Guardiola on the day.
Read the total column from Neil Custis on Manchester United.
Elsewhere he claimed: “We have found complete unity in our vision.”
Meaning all of them wish to win trophies — nicely that’s a reduction.
He added: “We are strongly committed to making that journey together.”
How they handle that’s one other factor as a result of proper now the strings are being pulled from totally different instructions, with Ten Hag in peril of being the puppet.
After all, the teaching group he put collectively has been dismantled and changed, with Go Ahead Eagles boss Rene Hake and membership goalscoring legend Ruud van Nistelrooy coming in.
Or the longer term supervisor and assistant, should you take heed to extra cynical watchers of what’s going on on the membership.
Striker coach Benni McCarthy has gone and Ten Hag’s former Ajax right-hand man Mitchell van der Gaag appears to be on his means too.
Why has Ten Hag agreed to all this? Leaks from inside Old Trafford say it’s as a result of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s phrase is regulation.
On leaks, a current e-mail — apparently warning workers to cease leaking what was happening on the membership — was LEAKED.
Ratcliffe has put individuals in place in Sir David Brailsford, new sporting director Dan Ashworth, CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox to do his bidding.
Newcastle launched Ashworth this week and he stated: “Erik has reinforced his record as one of the most consistently successful coaches in Europe.”
If that’s the case why have been talks held with Thomas Tuchel, because the hierarchy admitted to a dismayed Ten Hag?
Ashworth added that “the club’s review of last season highlighted areas for improvement”. Cheers, Sherlock.
While these phrases have been being penned forward of yesterday’s 11am launch, not one of the large names was on present because the devastating information was given to a workers assembly that 250 of 1,100 have been out of a job.
It is honest to say that morale is just not at an all-time excessive at Old Trafford proper now.
Meanwhile gamers who have not been on worldwide obligation return to coaching on Monday.
Roll-up, roll-up, the circus continues to be very a lot on the town.