It’s been a tough week for Manchester United.
Although the club announced on Thursday that Erik ten Hag was the new permanent manager, the pain remains from Tuesday night’s 4-0 defeat against Liverpool — on top of what has already been a challenging campaign for fans.
Let’s take a look at 5 things we learned this week.
Erik ten Hag confirmed as the new manager
As I wrote for the BBC, I am excited to see what Erik ten Hag will bring to Manchester United.
I am expecting to team to adopt an attractive style of football and a sense of identity on the pitch, but I’m not naive to believe there won’t be bumps along the way.
We’ve changed managers and we’ll soon change some players. Can we change owners next?
Micthell van de Gaag will be Ten Hag’s assistant
Micthell van der Gaag will become Erik ten Hag’s assistant manager at Manchester United.
The 50-year-old, who is currently Ten Hag’s right-hand man at Ajax, is set to turn down an offer to stay at the Eredivisie club.
It makes sense for Ten Hag to bring his coaches with him. People he knows and can trust.
Ten Hag throwing his weight around early doors
Apparently United tried to push back Ten Hag’s wish to add Steve McClaren to his backroom staff.
Thankfully, it sounds like Ten Hag has a bit of a chip on his shoulder to say no, that’s what I want, end of story.
It now looks like McClaren will be returning to United.
Two leading scouts leave Manchester United
This week we say goodbye to Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout.
Lawlor, the club’s former chief scout, joined United in 2005 and was promoted to chief scout in 2014. It goes without saying that he oversaw a poor period in terms of recruitment.
On the other hand, there is Bout, who worked initially as a coach under Louis van Gaal. He was retained despite Van Gaal’s questionable transfers. All of 13.
Harry Maguire bomb scare
This news left us appalled.
Apparently someone sent Maguire an email saying they had planted a bomb at his house, which led Cheshire police and sniffer dogs to the premises. They conducted a search on Thursday.
We really hope they find whoever is responsible.