MY ACCOUNT
As Manchester United search for a permanent manager, Louis van Gaal has warned fellow Dutchman Erik ten Hag not to take the job.
The Ajax chief is in the running for one of the most high-profile roles in world football alongside Paris Saint-Germain tactician Mauricio Pochettino.
Netherlands boss Van Gaal — who lasted just under two years in the United hotseat — said: “Erik ten Hag is a great coach and that is always good for Manchester United,
“But Manchester United are a commercial club, so it’s a difficult choice for a coach. He’d better go to a football club.
“I’m not going to advise him, he’ll call me himself. But he must choose a football club and not a commercial club.”
As United continue their hunt, we look at the seven men to sit in the dugout since legendary Scot Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
David Moyes (July 2013 to April 2014)
Alex Ferguson hand-picked fellow Scot David Moyes to be his successor and the former Everton boss was handed a six-year contract.
The heir apparent started by winning the Community Shield in August but that turned out to be the only silverware of his 10-month tenure.
United’s season quickly derailed and in January Moyes’ side were knocked out the FA Cup by Swansea — the Welsh outfit’s first win ever at Old Trafford — and lost to Sunderland in the League Cup semis.
Moyes, who brought Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata to Old Trafford, was swiftly sacked from the club to the delight of many United fans in April 2014.
Ryan Giggs (April 2014 to May 2014)
Manchester United turned to Ryan Giggs to see out the rest of the 2013-14 season but made it clear they did not feel the Welshman had the necessary experience to land the job full-time.
He was at the club for just shy of a month, winning two and drawing one of his four matches at the helm.
After finishing seventh, the Red Devils failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 1995 and missed out on the Premier League top three for the first time ever, although the balme lies with Giggs’ predecessor.
The former Old Trafford winger admitted to losing sleep over selection decisions before a win over Norwich and stepped aside at the end of the season.
Louis Van Gaal (July 2014 to May 2016)
Van Gaal called the squad he inherited “broken” and vowed to bring through talent from the youth team after taking the reins.
He lived up to his bargain — handing debuts 15 players, including Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.
In addition to raiding the academy, LVG was given plenty of money to spend and splashed out a British-record £59.7million to sign Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid soon after taking the job.
He managed to secure Champions League football in his first season but was sacked a year later — days after winning the FA Cup amid reports of dressing-room unrest.
After leaving the club, Van Gaal took a five-year hiatus from management before returning to the dugout to take up his current role with the Netherlands.
Jose Mourinho (May 2016 to December 2018)
Jose Mourinho had won at least one league title at every club he managed until taking the United job.
His first season was promising as the Special One delivered the Community Shield, EFL Cup and Europa League to Old Trafford.
Mourinho splashed out on Romelu Lukaku, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic before the 2017-18 campaign and managed a second-place Premier League finish — the club’s best post-Fergie — but became increasingly frustrated with media criticism.
And he was gone by Christmas in his third season after a run of just seven wins in 17 league games, leaving with a win ratio of 58.33% from 144 matches.
Like Van Gaal, Mourinho has since criticised events behind the scenes at Old Trafford, with the man who won the Champions League with underdogs Porto claiming that second-place finish was his greatest achievement.
In 2019, he said: “If I tell you, for example, that I consider one of the best jobs of my career was to finish second with Man United in the Premier League, you will say, ‘this guy is crazy, he won 25 titles and he is saying that a second position was one of his best achievements?’
“I keep saying this because people don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. And sometimes we, in this side of the cameras, analyse things with a different perspective.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (December 2018 to November 2021)
United hero Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was initially handed the job as a caretaker but secured the full-time gig after winning 14 of his first 19 matches.
Those victories included a famous comeback over Paris Saint-Germain which inspired Rio Ferdinand’s infamous ‘Ole’s at the wheel’ comments.
But after signing his permanent deal, Solskjaer finished the campaign with just two wins in 10 matches and crashed out of the Champions League with a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Barcelona.
The former United striker is the longest-serving boss since Ferguson and managed two full seasons in the hotseat, finishing third and second in the league.
But after failing to deliver any silverware, he was axed in November after conceding 15 goals in five league fixtures to slump to seventh in the table.
Michael Carrick (November 2021 to December 21)
Manchester United stalwart Michael Carrick stepped in while United were searching for Solskjaer’s replacement and went unbeaten in three matches in charge.
Beating Villarreal and Arsenal, as well as securing a draw with Chelsea, Carrick performed admirably in difficult circumstances before stepping down upon Ralf Rangnick’s appointment.
Ralf Rangnick (December 2021 to present)
Rangnick has been brought in to steady the ship at United and also help decide who should be the next man at the helm.
He initially suggested that man could very well be himself but a patchy record since means he is more likely to go upstairs.
Ten Hag, Pochettino, or whoever else takes the job, will inherit a squad with several glaring weaknesses and a high wage bill.
Missing out on the Champions League could be a blessing in disguise, allowing the next man up time to settle in with slightly reduced pressure.
But such is the status of the position, there will be plenty of attention on them from all over the country, as well as the watchful eye of Ferguson looking over his former kingdom.
