It’s happening again. Manchester United have a new manager.
After one permanent head coach in 26 years, it’s probably a case of things statistically evening themselves out that they’ve now had 6 in 11. The latest man in the Old Trafford dugout below the leaky roof is a hotshot Portuguese.
For the equivalent of that Mike-Ross-in-Jail season in Suits, it’s Ruben Amorim at the Theatre of Dreams. For the Man United parallel to the Game of Thrones season when Jon Snow comes back to life, it’s the former Braga and Benfica midfielder.
Take 6 is here, and it’s Amorim, who begins his reign at Ipswich. But how did his previous post-Fergie permanent predecessors start their Premier League tenure in the red half of Manchester?
David Moyes (August 2013)
“Your job now is to stand by the new manager”. When Sir Alex Ferguson finally called it a day in May 2013, his replacement was David Moyes, and it seemed like a no-brainer. The incoming Scot earned his shot at the big job with Everton, and his spell at Goodison Park also showed that he had one-club-man longevity. Moyes started his time as United with an away trip to Swansea on the opening day of the 2013/14 season.
What Happened Next: Robin Van Persie picked up where he left off from the previous campaign, scoring twice in a 4-1 win. “It’s easy managing this Manchester United lot”, said commentator Ian Crocker. Well, Ian was wrong, as United lost three of their next five league games, and as the season went on, the manager noted his side had to improve in areas such passing, finishing, defending, you know, the small stuff. By April 2014, after a defeat to Everton (would you believe), and with United very much outside the Top Four, Moyes was sacked.
P.S: If you want to know how long ago 2013 is, United’s two starting central midfielders from that Swansea game are both currently trying to lead their teams to Championship promotion... as managers.
Louis van Gaal (August 2014)
By August 2014, United were starting the Premier League season against Swansea again. But this time, it was at Old Trafford, and this time, there was more uncertainty than optimism. Louis van Gaal was taking charge at Old Trafford – after leading the Netherlands to third place in the 2014 World Cup – and United needed to not finish 7th again. LvG started that game with Jesse Lingard at wing-back, and Darren Fletcher was also a starter, as were Javier Hernandez and a young Tyler Blackett. Michael Keane was on the bench, as was Reece James (not that one), and Nani.
What Happened Next: “King Louis is here, but there’s no sign of a coronation” was Peter Drury’s full-time verdict in the commentary box as United walked off to a defeat at Old Trafford. They did recover to finish 4th in the league, but the football never worked out properly. As Grace Robertson aptly put it, Van Gaal at Old Trafford was Rian Johnson in the Star Wars franchise, and while United fans didn’t cry that Luke Shaw/Skywalker didn’t look cool anymore or launch massive tirades that Asian actors were on-screen, LvG-Ball just never worked out. An FA Cup win in 2016 and emergence of Marcus Rashford didn’t stop the Dutchman’s second season from being his last at the club.
Jose Mourinho (August 2016)
Inevitably, the Old Trafford chair spun to (more Star Wars lingo) football’s Palpatine. In December 2015, Jose Mourinho was sacked as Chelsea manager, and nearly become Real Madrid manager again. But in the summer of 2016, he was part of the Managerial Revolution happening in the Premier League (led by Claude Puel, obviously). Alongside Jose came Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and a returning Paul Pogba to Old Trafford, the latter being suspended for the opening day game at Bournemouth.
What Happened Next: United won 3-1 away to the Cherries, and started with three successive league wins, but followed that up with three defeats in five (including a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Jose’s former club Chelsea). They did go on a 25-game unbeaten run in the league (even though 10 of them were draws) and despite finishing 6th, won the League Cup and Europa League. United finished 2nd in Jose’s second season, recording their highest points total since Fergie, but Third-season Mourinho Third-season Mourinho’d, as in December 2018, after a run of three wins in nine, the Portuguese was let go.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (December 2018)
In Mourinho’s place came former Red Devils forward Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, initially on a temporary basis. Ole fit the perfect ask for United at the time – not being Mourinho, and the Norwegian took charge less than a week after Mourinho left, away at his former club Cardiff.
What Happened Next: United ran riot at Cardiff. Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba, and Anthony Martial, players who suffered a crisis of faith and confidence under Mourinho, all scored. That kick-started a run of 10 wins in the first 12 league games under (Rashford scored six times in that run), plus a bonus of beating PSG in the Last 16 of the Champions League. ‘Ole’s at the Wheel’ became the mantra, and he got the permanent job in March. But then 10 wins in 12 gave way to two victories in nine matches (which included five defeats), and United’s season petered out to a 6th-place finish. The following two seasons saw United play jump-rope with inconsistency, but still manage to finish 3rd and 2nd respectively, the only times they’ve finished in the Top Four in successive campaigns since 2013. By the third full season, United began with five unbeaten, and brought back you-know-who. It didn’t work out, and after five defeats in seven, Solskjaer was taken off the wheel in November 2021.
Erik Ten Hag (August 2022)
Ralf Rangnick saw off the rest of the 2021/22 season as caretaker manager, before NOT becoming involved in recruitment.
Erik Ten Hag became the next permanent gaffer in the summer of 2022, after impressing in four seasons at Ajax. “Eras come to an end”, he said, laying down a verbal marker that he was coming to challenge the duopoly of Pep Guardiola (Man City) and Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) in the Premier League. But first up was a home game against Brighton.
What Happened Next: United started with a defeat at home to Brighton, then followed it up with being smashed 4-0 at Brentford, and were already in crisis after Game 2. But they did rally under ETH to finish 3rd – two places above Klopp’s Liverpool (hello!!) – and won the League Cup. It went downhill from there. United found no conviction or consistency in the second season under Ten Hag, and despite winning another domestic trophy in the FA Cup in 2024, were lucky to finish 8th in the league. New stewardship of the footballing side of Old Trafford in INEOS, a long short-lived search for a new manager, more former ETH players being signed, and a defeat to West Ham later, the Dutchman was sacked. If it’s any consolation, he did leave the Premier League after Klopp.
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