Erik ten Hag’s Tenure: A Statistical Review

Data compiled by Transfermarkt indicates that Erik ten Hag’s eventful tenure at Manchester United has concluded. The ownership of Manchester United opted to terminate the Dutchman’s management role subsequent to a contentious 2-1 loss against West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday. This decision follows a challenging commencement to the 2024-25 season, which finds the Red Devils positioned 14th in the league standings. During the summer, it seemed Ten Hag had previously received a reprieve after new co-owners Ineos were reported to have engaged with prospective candidates prior to offering the former Ajax manager a renewed contract. Nevertheless, the outcome of the match at the weekend appears to have been the decisive factor. The question arises: was the club justified in parting ways with Ten Hag? Over his 850 days at the helm across all competitions, the 54-year-old oversaw 128 matches, securing victory in 72 of them, resulting in a win percentage of 56%. Of the six managers who have held permanent or interim positions since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, Ten Hag’s win percentage places him second, surpassed only by Jose Mourinho (58%). His 56% record exceeds that of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (55%), Louis van Gaal (52%), David Moyes (51%), and Ralf Rangnick (37%). A comparison of his Premier League performance against these previous managers presents a less favorable outlook for the Dutchman. His average points per game, at 1.72, positions him beneath Mourinho (1.89), Solskjaer (1.81), and Van Gaal (1.79). Indeed, Opta data reveals that his league goals per game average of 1.45 is merely superior to Rangnick’s 1.38, while his goals conceded per game figure of 1.32 is only below that of the German’s 1.32. Additionally, he leads the six managers in the metric of shots faced per game, with an average of 14.74. Given these statistics from his tenure, it might be somewhat unexpected to discover that, in a Premier League table compiled since the commencement of the 2022-23 season, Manchester United would occupy fifth place with 146 points – merely one point adrift of the high-performing Aston Villa. Ten Hag’s period at the helm was not devoid of achievements – securing a Carabao Cup and an FA Cup in consecutive seasons is noteworthy – however, it appears that the inconsistency and perceived absence of advancement under the Dutchman ultimately led to his dismissal.