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Have Man Utd’s Plans Suffered Another Blow?

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There is no denying that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford has so far seen more failure than success, and whilst his supporters will point to the well known problems that he inherited within the first team squad, and the off pitch ownership changes that have taken place, it has been speculated that his job has long been at risk.

Ten Hag’s potential future at Old Trafford was one of the main stories on the summer transfer window rumour mill, and with a number of possible replacements being name checked by numerous outlets across those weeks, one of the stand out favourites for the job was said to be, now former England head coach, Gareth Southgate.

The 54 year old resigned from the national role following the defeat to Spain in the final of the 2024 European Championships back in July, and press reports at the time suggested that he would very quick take on management duties at the Red Devil’s, but as we entered the month of October, Ten Hag’s future was apparently safe and there had been no progress on Southgate’s claimed impending arrival.

With most fans gearing up for England’s Nations League qualifier with Greece on Thursday evening, ahead of the game Southgate went public with his thoughts on his more immediate future and he stated that he fully intended to take a full 12 months off to fully recharge his batteries after his spell in charge of the national side.

The former Middlesbrough boss was speaking at the European Club Association general assembly in Athens and it was during that speech that he confirmed that he had already decided to take 12 months off, and effectively rule himself out of an immediate return to the game of management – and ergo quite clearly, the Manchester United job.

Given all the rumours and the strength of some of the claims that were being made, there will be those who wonder if United were blindsided by his decision and that is ultimately why Ten Hag remains in place, and others will simply feel it was the typical media rumour mill continuing to throw out nonsense as fact in the search of money.

As for Southgate, he confirmed his international journey was now over and if, and when, he does return to the game of football it will be at the club level. With former Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp quickly taking on the role of global head of soccer at Red Bull, the former Crystal Palace centre half confirmed that the business side of football was of real interest to him.

For now, he was simply going to enjoy the alternative options that had presented themselves and he referenced the fact that he had been invited to speak at Harvard, and he planned on enjoying ‘exciting life experiences’ like that for a while as he continued to take a step back from the game.

Many will think it notable that he also took time out to speak about the fact that he believed clubs could only be successful in the game if ‘everything is aligned’ for that success right from the top, down to the bottom, of the organisation and there will be those who wonder if that was a reference to some potential future suitors and the way they are currently organised.

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