Erik Ten Hag could not save Manchester United job by emulating Alex Ferguson

Manager’s credibility has been so undermined that not even repeating the FA Cup win of 1990 could avert the sack

MAGIC OF THE CUP: Sir Alex Ferguson greets Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola following the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday June 3, 2023.

This isn’t 1990, but it isn’t 2016 either. Alex Ferguson may have kept his job by winning the FA Cup in 1989-90 while Louis van Gaal learned of his dismissal while celebrating on the pitch at Wembley after the 2015-16 final, but the difference in the situations wasn’t just to do with the diminishing value of the FA Cup.

Perhaps it was always a little anachronistic in 2024 to be wondering whether Erik ten Hag might be saved by victory in Saturday’s FA Cup final, but this had been a weird throwback of a campaign for Manchester United. As it is, the decision has been taken and Ten Hag at least will not face quite the indignity suffered by Van Gaal.