Manchester United fans were relieved to see the back side of Erik ten Hag, whose reign of terror at Old Trafford may have been somewhat softened by Kobbie Mainoo’s FA Cup-winning heroics, however, that victory had the negative consequence of keeping the dreadful Dutchman around for a few more months of ineptitude.
It wasn’t just the fact that Ten Hag dragged Manchester United further into a hopeless abyss, but he was also eminently unlikable, squabbling with virtually any well-known player in some sort of an ego trip, which included, in hindsight (and at the time, to those with common sense), in an unbelievably petty feud with club legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Well, Ten Hag somehow failed upward into a job with 2023/24 undefeated Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen as a Real Madrid-bound Xabi Alonso’s replacement, and he immediately experienced a max exodus of talent, with fans speculating that nobody wanted to play for him after watching his lunacy at Old Trafford.
Unsurprisingly, Bayer Leverkusen are already having buyer’s remorse on Ten Hag, as Die Werkself hit a new low with a pathetic performance against Werder Bremen on Saturday, blowing a comfortable lead to draw 3-3 with a relegation-threatened side that was blown out 4-1 on Matchday 1 by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Fired after two Bundesliga Matchdays?
According to a report from top German insider Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany, Erik ten Hag is already facing an “immediate exit” from the BayArena following the match against Werder.
It has taken just two matchdays for one of the worst Manchester United managers of all time to be under pressure in a much less pressurized situation in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen.
Per Plettenberg, ‘”no final decision” has been made on Ten Hag just yet and that there will be “further analysis” with the manager “determined” to remain at the club and “oversee the major rebuild”.
Leverkusen fans surely don’t want to move on from a manager this early, but having seen Ten Hag’s awful work at Manchester United and watched two pathetic performances from a previous title contender, it may be better to make a move sooner rather than later to save the season.
Manchester United fans have been suffering after Ten Hag because of all the rubbish he did to drag the squad down, but after a productive summr transfer window and a win over Burnley, they now have the headspace to simply point and laugh at an arrogant failure of a manager.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.