Darren Fletcher talked Erik ten Hag out of shocking tactical decision before FA Cup final | OneFootball

Manchester United’s decision to part ways with manager Erik ten Hag appears to be increasingly valid as new insider information on his time at Old Trafford comes to light.

It was a harrowing start to the Premier League season under Ten Hag, with Man United slumping to 14th in the table following the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United.

As explained by Statman Dave on X, “When Manchester United were relegated in 1973/1974, they won 3 of their first 9 games and scored just 8 goals. So far this season, Manchester United have won 3 of their 9 games and have scored just 8 goals.”

Unfortunately, the statistics only continue to get worse, with United producing a horrific xG performance of -7.69 for the season to date, as was acknowledged by The Peoples Person. This was the second-worst xG out of all teams across Europe’s top five leagues, beaten only by Real Betis.

In order to make sense of United’s poor statistical record under Ten Hag, it’s important to understand where the Dutch manager failed in his tactical decision-making, as revealed in a new report released this morning.

The Independent claimed that while United marched to victory in the FA Cup final, this triumph was not the result of Ten Hag’s own tactics.

“In the days before May’s FA Cup final, the Dutch coach was insistent on going “toe to toe” with Manchester City,” the report read. “It was only after hours of internal debate, led by Darren Fletcher, that Ten Hag relented. He had to be told to go with different tactics.”

The report added that, prior to the final, United knew that they wanted to sack Ten Hag – they only continued with him as they couldn’t decide on a replacement or upset the fans following the unexpected FA Cup victory.

Still, a lack of confidence in the manager is believed to have persisted. “One senior member of the Ineos hierarchy is known to have said, ‘I told you this would happen,’ during key meetings, where the main split was about what next,” the article continued.

“No one can understand why Ten Hag is still there,” is allegedly another comment that was thrown around, with one experienced coach even allegedly calling Ten Hag a “fraud.”

Several of Ten Hag’s peers seem to agree with the view that he simply did not employ the required tactics while managing United.

Following the disappointing 1-1 draw at home with FC Twente in the Europa League, Ruud Gullit claimed that Ten Hag had “no recognisable playing style in terms of pressing and building up.”

Former Arsenal player Jermaine Pennant made no effort to hide his desire to see Ten Hag depart United, and while he wrongly predicted that he would only have one game left to save his job near the beginning of the month, the final outcome was very much the same.

For Fletcher and his team to have to intervene with Ten Hag’s game plan before the FA Cup win is a major concern. After all, the organisation should have confidence in the manager’s ability to guide his team to victory, trusting in his tactical decisions. The fact that a disagreement over tactics even took place shows that Ten Hag had already lost the faith of his United colleagues, all but sealing his fate.