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Manchester United's season had already been littered with <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/manchester-united-player-ratings-vs-copenhagen-rasmus-hojlund-marcus-rashford/blt899b01b0a623946f" target="_blank">crushing lows,</a> with <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/man-utd-player-ratings-vs-bournemouth-anthony-martial-scott-mctominay/blt6c71f715544664ad" target="_blank">the cataclysmic defeat at home to Bournemouth</a> ranking among the must brutal. But Red Devils fans learned long ago that the mantra 'things can only get better' is a total lie and they always can, and often do, get worse.And so it was that United travelled to play West Ham in their final game before Christmas, and after failing to put decent chances away, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/man-utd-player-ratings-vs-west-ham-rasmus-hojlund-kobbie-mainoo/blt0e8e64472840b9ee" target="_blank">fell to a disheartening 2-0 defeat</a>. It means United have lost eight of their 18 Premier League matches this season, and have been beaten an astonishing 13 times in all competitions.<a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/relegation-man-utd-record-13-defeats/bltda5ed1104f3b7f9d" target="_blank">It is the first time United have lost as many games before Christmas since the 1930-31 season</a>, the year they finished bottom of the old English First Division. Most managers that have presided over a season as horrendous as this would be long gone, yet Erik ten Hag's job, somehow, remains safe for now.<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

Worst pre-Christmas form in over 90 years and over 350 minutes without a goal - so why hasn't Erik ten Hag been sacked by Man Utd yet?

Premier League

Ipswich

United supporters pride themselves on not turning on their players as quickly as other fanbases do, but the sight of fans leaving Old Trafford or away grounds early has become all too familiar this season.When Marcos Senesi headed in Bournemouth's third goal in their shock 3-0 win at Old Trafford, thousands of disgruntled United supporters immediately headed for the Old Trafford exit doors, prompting Bournemouth's visiting contingent to gleefully chant "Is this a fire drill?" By the time the full-time whistle sounded, there were barely any Reds left in the ground. And after Mohammed Kudus scored West Ham's second goal at the London Stadium in the 78th minute, scores of travelling fans started filing out of the away end. Who could blame them for wanting some respite from the nightmare unfolding in front of their eyes? It was far from the first time they have seen their team let them down this season.

Fans can no longer bear it

The loss at West Ham - made more painful by the fact it was against former United boss David Moyes - was United's sixth away defeat of the season in all competitions, and they still have not beaten a top-nine team away under Ten Hag. But their home form is even worse.United have lost seven matches at Old Trafford and let in three goals in five separate games there. They have conceded the first goal in six of their nine league home games, and only bottom club Sheffield United have let in more opening goals.United's dismal home form is a far cry from last season, when they turned Old Trafford back into a fortress and won 27 matches there, beating Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Barcelona. This season, their one-time fortress has turned into a free-for-all.

From fortress to free-for-all

United have lost eight out of 18 matches in the league, three more than both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had lost when they were sacked in December 2018 and November 2021, respectively.The points total is pretty similar too. Ten Hag has averaged 1.5 points per game compared to Mourinho's 1.5 and Solskjaer's 1.4. Louis van Gaal, meanwhile, had averaged 1.7 points per game when he was sacked at the end of the 2015-16 season despite winning the FA Cup.United are currently eighth in the table, two places below where they were when Mourinho was fired and one below where Solskjaer and David Moyes were when they were dismissed.And unlike his three predecessors, Ten Hag does not have his Champions League record to fall back on. Mourinho and Solskjaer had taken United to the verge of the knockout stages when they were sacked, while Moyes had reached the quarter-finals.But Ten Hag and his players <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/not-good-enough-for-europa-league-man-utd-champions-league-bottom/blt6145f25312ccb051#cs09cf52c87be2db1d" target="_blank">crashed out of the Champions League</a> and finished bottom of Group A, leaving them without the Europa League as a consolation.

History repeating

So why is Ten Hag still in the job? Despite the alarming recent results, the Dutchman still has the backing of the current United hierarchy. It is a situation quite unlike Mourinho's, whose relationship with then-chief executive Ed Woodward soured when he was not backed in the transfer market in the summer of 2018.Executive co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer have entrusted Ten Hag to lead a cultural reset after years of falling standards and increased player power. When justifying his decision to banish Jadon Sancho from the squad in September for speaking out against him on social media, Ten Hag revealed he had been encouraged to enforce discipline."Strict lines is the point," he said. "It's what the club asked me to do, because there was no good culture before last season. So to set some good standards, and that is what I did."The low levels of discipline were laid bare by Nemanja Matic recently, and Ten Hag has made it his mission to clean United up. The spate of dressing room leaks last week regarding a <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/man-utd-jadon-sancho-erik-ten-hag-premier-league/bltf1610157567ac8c2" target="_blank">rebellion against him</a> suggest he has not quite completed that task, but the fact that the club's response to those leaks was to temporarily <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/man-utd-ban-four-media-outlets-pre-chelsea-press-conference-reports-erik-ten-hag-losing-dressing-room-nightmare-start-to-season/blt6a4541328450c18f" target="_blank">ban the journalists who published the stories from press conferences</a> suggest they are standing by him.

Glazers still onside

The fact that the club's strategic review took more than a year to be resolved has also played into Ten Hag's hands. Although it emerged that Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS had agreed to buy a 25% stake in the club in exchange for managing the football affairs, beating Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani in the takeover bid, the deal took more than two months to be confirmed by the club, with it <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/man-utd-confirm-sir-jim-ratcliffe-partial-man-utd-takeover-christmas-eve/bltf115e1c0a3e3d3b7" target="_blank">eventually being announced on Christmas Eve</a>.The petrochemicals tycoon and his team are still not in the building, however, as the deal needs to receive regulatory approvals, including from the Premier League. So despite the relief at the deal finally being confirmed, the club still remains in a state of limbo until it gets the green light.Jean-Claude Blanc, the CEO of INEOS Sport who has been described as "the Lionel Messi of sport business", and director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford are due to join United's executive board and when they do, Ten Hag's position will be more at risk.Interim CEO Patrick Stewart did not have the authority to sack a manager but Brailsford and Blanc will, and INEOS have been known to be rather trigger happy in the past with Nice, sacking four managers after taking over the Ligue 1 club in 2019. They will not stand for continued decline.However, it has been reported that Ratcliffe and his INEOS colleagues largely respect Ten Hag, who they met when they visited the club in March. That perception may have been altered by the drab results and, according to reports, they would consider appointing Graham Potter or Julen Lopetegui if results continue to spiral. Even so, they are unlikely to sack Ten Hag as soon as they get the keys to the club.As United found out when they sacked Solskjaer in November 2021 and ended up appointing Ralf Rangnick as interim boss, finding a top-level coach in the middle of a season leaves you short on options compared to in the summer.In the long run INEOS may want a manager who they have hand-picked themselves, and Ten Hag's recent steering of the team will certainly not help his cause, but it seems unlikely that sacking him will be top of their to-do list.

Club still in limbo despite INEOS deal

Ten Hag's <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/see-my-record-defiant-erik-ten-hag-fires-back-at-man-utd-critics/blt0d34f5fa726c9eb8" target="_blank">impressive previous record in management</a> is also buying him time. His Ajax stunned European football when they reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 by playing spell-binding football, and he presided over an era of domestic dominance which has dramatically dissipated since he left for United.His first season with United was also a huge success, delivering a first trophy in six years by winning the Carabao Cup, reaching the FA Cup final and finishing third in the Premier League.Even though he is having a harrowing second season at Old Trafford, he is still regarded as a quality manager and would be in high demand if he left United. The same cannot be said for Solskjaer, who has not worked in management since he was dismissed.

Protected by his track record

It has also been reported that the club are in such dire financial straits that they might not be able to afford to sack Ten Hag even if they so wished. The manager is under contract until the summer 2025 and is on a salary reported to be around £9m ($11.4m). Sacking him could therefore cost the club in the region of £15m ($19m), and then they would need to commit more money to hiring a replacement.It is no secret that United are struggling financially. They have had to make use of a credit facility to finance transfers and have made very little income recently from player sales. They have also taken <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/true-cost-man-utd-knocked-out-champions-league/bltdae43713a98ca76a" target="_blank">a big financial hit</a> from not qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League or even dropping into the Europa League.Unlike in previous years, United do not have much spare money to throw around in pursuit of a manager. And even though Ratcliffe's arrival will boost the cub's finances initially, it does not change the fact that the club are teetering on the edges of the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules.

No money to sack him

Worst pre-Christmas form in over 90 years and over 350 minutes without a goal - so why hasn't Erik ten Hag been sacked by Man Utd yet? | Goal.com Cameroon

Erik ten Hag has lost 13 matches already this season, but the Manchester United manager is still clinging onto his job