Erik Ten Hag: In Or Out?

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Just want to take a moment to thank you all for the support on the newsletter so far. As of writing this post, there are 1,610 of you lovely football fans in the audience and we appreciate that you’ve all decided to join Today FC. 

And now, onto the football. Today we talk about:

• Bayern Munich, and their shocking loss in the DFB Pokal on Wednesday.

• Erik Ten Hag’s future at United, as we break down the argument for and against the Red Devils letting the Dutchman walk.

• Why the Copa Libertadores final might be pushed behind closed doors due to violence ahead of the match. 

But first, here’s your FRONT THREE. 

Cue dramatic news music

Reading time: 4 minutes, 29 seconds. 

The Front Three

Bayern Munich knocked out of German Cup by third-tier side:

• Wednesday night, Bayern Munich suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat to third-tier Saarbrücken in the German Cup's second round.

• Marcel Gaus scored the goal of his life, cooly slotting the ball into the bottom corner second-half stoppage time to give his team the win. 

• Bayern had taken the lead in the first half through veteran Thomas Müller, but Saarbrücken came back strong, equalizing just before halftime.

• Bayern's coach, Thomas Tuchel, played a heavily rotated side, although his team still couldn’t get out of the match without a key player going down as Matthias de Ligt came off with a knee injury. 

Major shoutout to Saarbrücken for pulling off the upset. Here’s footage of the matchwinners giving some love to their home supporters:

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Speaking of which, Thomas Müller had some choice words for many of his teammates for not clapping the fans after the game:

“What is not possible at all is that only three or four players understand how to respect the support…They came here I don't know how many 100 kilometers during the week…The most important thing is to understand how to give something back. Of course it doesn't work that way.”

Spanish club face disqualification from the Copa del Rey:

• Granada's future in the Copa del Rey is in jeopardy due to a potential improper alignment issue.

• They won 0-3 against Arosa in a match but may be disqualified from the tournament.

• The problem centers around goalkeeper Adri López, who is 24 years old and playing with the reserve team.

• Copa del Rey rules stipulate that players must be Under-23 for non-professional competitions, and Adri López will turn 25 in just over two months.

• Last season, he didn't face this issue in the cup matches as they were played before his birthday.

• Sporting de Gijón also faced a similar situation with a goalkeeper over 23 and didn't call him up due to these rules.

• Arosa plans to challenge the situation, potentially leading to Granada's disqualification despite their 0-3 win.

Manchester United legend Eric Cantona and his new singing career:

• Plot twist: Eric Cantona, Manchester United legend, has started a music career.

• His live show includes autobiographical songs, one of which references his infamous kung-fu kick incident in 1995.

• His hour-and-a-half-long set may seem extravagant for a musician with only four studio-recorded songs, but the Frenchman always preferred to make an impression. 

• 

In or Out? The Case for and Against Sacking Erik Ten Hag

It’s no secret that Erik Ten Hag’s tenure has been one of ups and downs, to say the least. To give you a snapshot of the public perception of the former Ajax manager right now, please see the below:

However, the one issue that not even Manchester United fans (as well as the rest of the football world) seem to be split on is whether or not the club will be better off letting him go. My perspective here, but there are valid arguments for both sides, so we decided to outline both and let you decide. 

Let’s start off hot. Here’s the argument for sacking Ten Hag:

The Stats Ain’t Pretty…

• Ah, the timeless old saying: men lie, women lie, numbers don’t. And the numbers say this is Man United’s worst start to a season since 1962. 

• In the Premier League, United has lost as many games as Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa combined.

• Erling Haaland has scored 11 Premier League goals, matching United's total as a team in 10 league games.

• United's 11 Premier League goals are the lowest among the top half teams, less than half of Aston Villa and Newcastle's tally.

• Key United players have contributed only one goal and one assist in the Premier League this season.

• United's home performance has declined significantly, losing five of their first 10 home games this season.

• United has only scored five of their last 16 goals at Old Trafford.

• United has not beaten any of the big six teams away from home under Ten Hag.

• They face challenging away trips to St. James' Park, Anfield, and the London Stadium before Christmas.

“He’s Lost the Dressing Room!”

• There have been a number of moments this season to suggest that Erik Ten Hag has not been able to control the United dressing room.

• Not only have players like Ronaldo, and more recently, Jadon Sancho come out and publicly defied him, but there have also been numerous reports of leaks from the dressing room expressing discontent with Ten Hag, his treatment of players, and his showing of favoritism towards others. Here’s an example from Reuters:

“Ten Hag was asked about a number of leaks coming out of the dressing room, including one report about players being unhappy with his treatment of former United goalkeeper David De Gea, but the Dutch manager was unfazed. ‘I don't know if it's a leak but I know opinion, so I know my players. Everyone can make suggestions, we are okay with it. At United, you have to win every game so it doesn't change anything,’ Ten Hag told reporters.

The lead-up to last weekend’s Manchester Derby was also rife with questions about an anonymous Twitter account that had been leaking information about lineups. 

In-Game Management…Or Lack Thereof

• In Monday’s issue we talked about how frustration with Ten Hag’s in-game management seemed to boil over during the derby when Ten Hag brought off new signing Rasmus Hojlund to chorus of boos. Here’s what we said:

“For most of Ten Hag’s tenure, most of the frustration has been towards the ownership for their continued neglect of the club. However, after some polarizing decisions regarding squad rotation, some United fans have begun to question Ten Hag’s fitness for the job,  the culmination of which was a chorus of boos when the former Ajax manager decided to take off Rasmus Hojlund early in the second half of this match…The overwhelming sentiment among Man United fans seems to be that while City were always going to win this game, Ten Hag didn’t give them much of a chance by his team selection and his use of substitutions.”

• Ten Hag’s insistence on playing the team’s most creative player and natural CAM Bruno Fernandes on the right is one of the biggest examples of Ten Hag refusing to move away from formations that haven’t been working for the team. 

And now, the argument for keeping Ten Hag:

#GlazersOut

• Yes, we understand, Erik Ten Hag was given £400m, and the fact that it’s been spent poorly is mostly on him, but the ownership of United has still created a culture of confusion that few managers have thrived under. 

• Here is a timeline of Manchester United managers leading up to the signing of Ten Hag:

• Manchester United managers have all fallen on hard times after initial positive spells due to a variety of factors: bloated squads, players failing to perform, and turmoil between the ownership and the fans.

• While each manager that has taken over United in this post-Fergie era has had his flaws, it’s clear that the problems at United run deeper than who’s on the touchline.

• How far in their process could it set United back to bring in a brand new manager, who will expect the board to shell out just as much as Ten Hag got for new players? 

  The key question that even fans who are Ten Hag out surely can’t help but ask is: if we sack Ten Hag, who else could come in and realistically succeed?

  But now, we’ll turn it over to you. Are you Ten Hag in or out? Reply to this email and let us know.

Quote of the Day

In the first installment of this new segment we’re trying out here at Today FC, we’d like to feature Benfica winger and Argentine international Angel Di María. The former Real Madrid, United, and PSG man aimed Lothar Matthäus after the former German international was quoted as saying that Erling Haaland should have won the Ballon D’Or over Di María’s fellow countryman, Lionel Messi. 

Here was Di María’s response:

It’s safe to say that Di María had NO TIME for anything even resembling Messi slander But what do you think? Should Haaland have won the Ballon D’Or over Messi? Reply to this email and let us know. 

Also, feel free to use the picture above in Twitter replies whenever a rival fan complains about their team not getting a call. 

Scary Scene Breaks Out Between Boca and Fluminense Fans

Violence erupted last night in Rio de Janeiro ahead of Boca Juniors and Fluminese’s clash in the Copa Libertadores on Saturday. 

Here’s what happened:

• A Boca Juniors fan was arrested for allegedly throwing bottles at police during a clash on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

• The confrontation involved fans of Boca Juniors and Fluminense, who are set to face each other in the Copa Libertadores final in the city.

• The beach had been used as a 'fan zone' before the altercation, which led to police intervention.

• Another Boca fan was arrested for reportedly kicking a dog and attempting to attack another man.

• Video footage on social media showed fans walking peacefully on the beach before fights broke out.

• Emergency control vehicles and armed police were present at the scene.

• The cause of the clash remains unclear, and it's uncertain whether one group of fans targeted another.

• The build-up to the game was already problematic, with Boca players experiencing luggage issues upon arriving in Brazil, causing travel delays.

CONMEBOL have released the following statement, to major blowback:

The Copa Libertadores will still be played, according to a report via twitter from Martin Souto of ESPN Argentina. However, Souto also claims that there are talks of playing the match behind closed doors. 

In the event of a final open to the public, Diego Monroig reported last night that Conmebol has hired more private security to patrol the area as they have deemed the local police to be not compliant with safety regulations. Monroig also stated that the “highest authorities of Argentine police” arrived in Rio last night.  

Full Time. That’s all we have for you today, but as always, thank you so much for spending your Friday with us. Because we love you all so much, we’ve got some more stuff we think you’ll like at the bottom of this page. Also, if you’re interested in giving us some feedback about today’s edition, feel free to complete the quick survey directly below.

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More Good Stuff 👍

We still can’t figure out how Endrick brought the ball down to score this goal. Looks like Real Madrid are getting a good one 👀

The announcers’ reactions to the defending on this goal was priceless 😂

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