Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Manchester United following the club’s abject start to the season. United’s defeat to West Ham on Sunday left the team 14th in the Premier League and on its second-lowest points tally after nine games of a Premier League season. Ten Hag had been at the helm since 2022. He ended the club’s six-year trophy drought by winning the 2023 League Cup, and followed that with an impressive FA Cup triumph, beating local rivals Manchester City in this year’s final. But those victories don’t compete with past glories, and weren’t enough to mask the club’s domestic form and European performances. Last season ten Hag’s side finished eighth in the Premier League. It was knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage and has performed poorly in the Europa League this campaign. The club is now searching for its sixth permanent manager in the 11 years since the departure of Alex Ferguson.
