Revealed: The staggeringly low percentage of fans that think Erik ten Hag should STAY at Manchester United
Erik ten Hag has got Manchester United off to a poor start to the season, prompting speculation about whether they will get rid and who might succeed him
Manchester United fans and the world at large have issued a rather bleak verdict on Erik ten Hag's future at the club, a FourFourTwo poll can review.
We have been canvassing opinion on the Dutchman, asking whether he should be removed from his job after a less than satisfactory start to the 2024/25 season - and who you feel Manchester United should bring in as ten Hag's replacement.
There is, however, some sympathy for ten Hag's plight even as the overwhelming majority have voted for him to get the ol' heave-ho.
Just 11 per cent of fans think Erik ten Hag should keep his job at Manchester United
First, we asked you whether Manchester United should sack ten Hag - and a whopping 85 per cent responded with a resounding 'yes'. That's an approval rating lower than any US president in history, and worse than Rishi Sunak had before the UK elections earlier this year.
Just 11 per cent felt United should retain Ten Hag's services for the time being. Keeping in mind that we didn't limit the poll to United fans, we can't rule out the possibility that some rivals were having a bit of mischief with that response, either. The remaining four per cent were unsure, which would make Socrates proud.
In spite of that, more than half of you actually think that ten Hag has been unlucky at United: 59 per cent indicated you thought that was the case.
Quite what you mean by that could mean any number of things, but we suspect the general sense that the club has been in a chaotic decline with no clear strategy for a decade or so weighs heavily on that verdict. It's not like Ten Hag's predecessors since Sir Alex Ferguson have exactly shone either, after all.
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For the time being, INEOS seem to share the view that there is a far bigger job to be done at United than simply in the dugout.
Nonetheless, the United board have food for thought, especially with no obvious successor waiting patiently by the phone.
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None of the potential contenders are particularly setting the imagination alight at the moment. Former England manager Gareth Southgate got the most votes, but still only came out with 30 per cent.
Current assistant boss and former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is next with 19 per cent, while Brentford boss Thomas Frank or an unspecified 'other' candidate received 15 per cent of the vote. Former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter got 11 per cent.
Thomas Tuchel was previously high on the bookies' lists, but has of course since taken the England job.
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.