Erik ten Hag stood stoically in the technical area at Wembley, the trousers of his cup final suit riding up to reveal milky white ankles. Socked in the morning?
Another Dutchman who led United to an FA Cup final with his neck in a noose knows exactly what this feels like.
Louis van Gaal was in Ten Hag’s shoes eight years ago in 2016. Van Gaal also won that day, beating Crystal Palace and taking the cup shortly before his P45.
He believed the promises the United hierarchy had made to him, even when his wife Truus warned him that former United chief Ed Woodward was grinding the axe.
“A woman has an instinct for this kind of thing,” Van Gaal later recalled. ‘I didn’t see what Woodward was up to. I really didn’t feel like they were up to anything.
Erik ten Hag’s future remains uncertain despite Man United’s victory over City in the FA Cup
Eight years ago, Louis van Gaal was sacked as Man United boss after winning the FA Cup final
Whatever happens, Ten Hag fell in love with fans and players after the match
‘I was completely convinced that I could see out my contract and have a third season at United.’
Ten Hag also thought reaching the cup final would be enough to bomb the third year of his contract at Old Trafford, and he believes in Ineos’ reassurance that he was still their man – even if they have held secret talks with Thomas Tuchel. and Kieran McKenna, the first candidates lined up for his job.
When he spoke to us on the eve of the cup final, he didn’t sound at all like a man who believed this would be his last game in charge.
Ten Hag took a similar stance in an interview with Voetbal International published on Saturday, saying: ‘Ineos have told me that they want to rebuild together with me. Let me be clear. It’s been bad. It’s been c**p. Last year (they say) I could walk on water, this year I am the worst manager in the Premier League. But despite everything, we are going to play an FA Cup final.
‘Manchester United last won the League in 2013, eleven years ago. Yet they expect us to win every match while competing at the top; This club is not ready for that.
‘We were supposed to build something and last year we took the first steps, but then you find out how big this club is and that no one is ever satisfied. Well, then you have no sense of reality.’
An hour before kick-off, Ten Hag’s tone had changed dramatically. Reports that he would be sacked regardless of the outcome, amid deafening silence at Old Trafford and Ineos, suggested his time was up.
Before the match, ten Hag claimed he wanted to focus on the cup rather than his own future
Alejandro Garnacho scored Man United’s opener and changed the tone of the match
“I don’t talk about my future,” he told the BBC. ‘It’s not about me, it’s about the team and winning the cup.’
And he did indeed win the cup, his second in two years at United, taking his team to the Europa League.
Here in the Wembley sunshine, fans showered Ten Hag and his players with love after they beat City 2-1, avenging last season’s defeat by the same scoreline and denying the Premier League champions the double.
It feels like they still have his back, even if the owners don’t necessarily.
After a season decimated by injuries, Ten Hag will argue that this win showed what he can do when more of his key players are available. It also had a lot to do with a tactical victory over Pep Guardiola. Far too often United have left themselves wide open and paid the price. Here Ten Hag set up his team in the equivalent of basketball’s half-court press to keep City at bay.
The plan was to try to gain possession and hit the opponent on the break, and he succeeded twice.
The fact that United’s goals came from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo – the first teenagers to score in the cup final since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004 – was particularly sweet for Ten Hag.
“Sometimes it’s just luck that you develop a young player, but it was a plan,” he said afterwards. “We were planning to bring Garnacho and Mainoo into the team last summer.”
Ten Hag spent much of the first half pacing the technical area in his dark suit and red tie, arms folded. But when Mainoo scored United’s second goal in the 39th minute, he tensed away and stuffed his hands in his pockets as if to contain his excitement.
As City’s chances came and went in the second half – Erling Haaland hit the crossbar and Julian Alvarez spurned two chances – it started to feel like this might be United’s day.
When seven minutes of extra time had passed, Ten Hag danced with Lisandro Martinez on the pitch, just as he did after winning the Carabao Cup in his first season.
He then climbed the Wembley steps to the Royal Box to collect his medal and shake hands with the three men who will decide his fate – Ratcliffe, Joel and Avi Glazer – before courageously turning his back on them to to join his players in abolishing the FA. Cup.
Ratcliffe patted Ten Hag on the shoulder as he walked past, but would not comment on the manager’s future as he left the stadium shortly afterwards.
Ratcliffe had a brief conversation with Ten Hag, but declined to comment on the Dutchman’s position
The stunning win ensured United’s difficult season ended on a high
United’s billionaire co-owner later issued a statement congratulating the players and staff, conspicuously refraining from naming Ten Hag personally – just as he has refrained from giving the manager any public support.
It felt like a stingy thing to do. Ten Hag will fly out of Manchester on holiday on Sunday with his future still up in the air.