Image source, Getty Images

Speaking on his YouTube channel,, external former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand added: "Erik ten Hag recruited a large part of this squad and Ruud van Nistelrooy, as interim manager, has to work with that squad.

"If you look further ahead, at the replacement of the manager. What are they going to do with this squad? Because this is a bunch of players who have underperformed for numerous managers now.

"Some of these players have been here for one, two, three managers and we've still had the same results, where [the team] hasn't been performing, hasn't been consistent enough and hasn't challenged for anything, of any sort. Someone's got to come in and change that now."

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

Erik ten Hag had all the hallmarks of a manager being submerged in his closing days at Old Trafford - delusional and defying the logic staring everyone else in the face.

Ten Hag accused respected, long-serving reporters on the Manchester beat of making up "fairytales and lies" about his position - those same stories having been vindicated today.

And his post-game analysis increasingly flew in the face of the evidence of our own eyes.

One example came when he claimed the red card for captain Bruno Fernandes just before half-time "changed the game" in the 3-0 defeat at home to Spurs - when United had been over-run and outclassed even before that decision.

I wrote at time: "If it was decided to stage a world straw-clutching championship, Ten Hag would have a good chance of winning with that one."

That day gave every impression of a managerial tenure nearing the end. And so it proved.

Here's another revealing stat from data suppliers Opta.

• Since the start of 2022-23, the only Premier League side to concede more goals in all competitions than Manchester United (165) is West Ham (180).
• Man United have conceded three or more goals in 24 different games in that time, the joint most along with Bournemouth.

As a reminder, some of those defeats include:

• 4-0 loss at Brentford (August 2022)
• 6-3 loss at Manchester City, after United were 4-0 by half-time (October 2022)
• Record 7-0 home defeat by Liverpool (March 2023)
• 4-3 loss at Chelsea despite United leading deep into stoppage time (April 2024)

Image source, Getty Images

A certain former Manchester United manager once said that "attack wins you games, but defence wins you titles." Unfortunately for Erik ten Hag - his United side were a million miles away from being good at either of those things.

And defensively speaking, the statistics do not make for pretty reading.

No manager post-Sir Alex Ferguson allowed their side to have a higher 'expected goals against' nor did one have a team that faced more shots on their goal. United faced more shots on their goal (1253) and had a higher expected goals against (136.07) under Ten Hag than they did Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - despite the latter being in charge for 24 more games.

Under Ten Hag, United were conceding an average of 1.32 goals per game and 4.58 shots on target per game, with only Ralf Rangnick posting worse numbers of 1.38 and 4.79 respectively.

Comparing with a man who was in charge for a similar timeframe - United conceded 26 less goals under Jose Mourinho and had an 'expected goals against' of 97.87 nearly 40 less than Ten Hag. Mourinho was in charge for eight more games.

Emily Salley
BBC Sport

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said it feels "unfair and unjust" that his team fell to a 2-1 defeat at West Ham after conceding a controversial late penalty.

His side missed a host of chances and should have been out of sight by half-time, but Jarrod Bowen's penalty condemned United to their fourth Premier League defeat of the season.

After waving away initial penalty appeals, referee David Coote was sent to the pitchside monitor by the video assistant referee (VAR) to review Matthijs de Ligt's challenge on Danny Ings.

Coote pointed to the spot after a lengthy stoppage and ignored protests from United's players over a handball by Ings before Bowen slotted home in the second minute of injury time.

"Before the season there was the instruction about VAR only interfering in clear and obvious mistakes," Ten Hag told BBC's Match of the Day.

"That is definitely not a clear and obvious mistake from the on-field referee."

Click on the video at the top of the page to hear Ten Hag's thoughts after missed chances and a controversial late penalty meant West Ham beat his side 2-1 on Sunday.

Here is Opta's look at the Premier League table in the two-and-a-bit seasons since Erik ten Hag took charge of Manchester United, with his side fifth overall from those 85 games

How does Erik ten Hag's points per game record in the Premier League compare with other managers in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era at Manchester United?

We've included United's five permanent bosses since then, plus Ralf Rangnick's lengthy 'interim' period.

Alex: Erik ten Hag and "plays fantastic football" shouldn't go in the same sentence. United's football has been woeful. Any team can go on a cup run, the league positions show how good ETH has, or rather, hasn't been.

Henry Winter
Football writer on X

Erik ten Hag had to go. He would have been long gone at another club with less patient fans. MUFC were going nowhere under him. The team lacked identity, balance, belief and direction.

Recruits he pushed for haven’t yet delivered. Ten Hag voiced frustrations over injuries and refereeing decisions but all managers have that to varying degrees. Likeable guy, a fascinating interviewee when relaxed but lacked the natural authority to be a United manager.

Gary Neville
Former Manchester United defender on Sky Sports News

After that defeat by Tottenham, Manchester United would have chosen the next big moment, or bad loss, to make that decision. I think they would have started the process then.

I think the lack of identity and style is something that has been a mystery for two-and-a-half seasons. The recruitment has not been the best, awful at times. Yesterday I was shocked to see Casemiro starting and Manuel Ugarte, who is supposed to be replacing him, on the bench.

If I was the club owner looking at that, I would be asking questions. A lack of style with the players has been big and Erik ten Hag has not been able to get a consistent performance out of them, and a lot of them are his players.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy returned to the club in the summer to become assistant to Erik ten Hag as part of a coaching reshuffle.

He enjoyed five prolific seasons as a striker at the club after joining in 2001, scoring 150 goals, putting him 11th on the club’s all-time list.

He had been out of work since quitting as PSV Eindhoven manager just before the end of the 2022-23 season after he had won the Dutch Cup in his first term, with players unhappy about his coaching methods.

The 48-year-old has also had two spells as assistant manager with the Netherlands, but will his relative managerial inexperience and his involvement in the current regime work against him?

Managerial record: Played 33 Won 22 Drawn 6 Lost 5 Win percentage 66.7% (top-flight matches only)

Joe Rindl
BBC Sport

Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag and temporarily replaced him with his assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy is adored by United fans from his five-year spell as a prolific striker at the club, but lacks experience having only managed at senior level for one season.

It seems a risk, but those who know the 48-year-old former Netherlands international say he is "driven", "strong-willed" and "obsessed with perfection". He also absolutely loves Manchester United.

Have the club found the ideal candidate to replace Ten Hag sitting alongside him, or will this just be a temporary fix?

Here, Joe looks at what Van Nistelrooy has done to develop his coaching career.

Image source, Getty Images

ICYMI, Ruud van Nistelrooy has become Manchester United's interim boss after the sacking of Erik ten Hag.

The former United striker returned to the club in July as an assistant coach to fellow Dutchman Ten Hag.

Here's more on why Ten Hag was sacked and what's next for Man United?

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand has been speaking live on his YouTube channel,, external following the news of Erik ten Hag's sacking:

"I look at Ineos and I think about the way things panned out at the end of the season. Did they back themselves into a corner, with the way that they handled stuff in the summer?

"They'll look back and go 'we could have handled it better'. I think having a manager in place and actively looking for new managers and it becoming public knowledge, isn't a great way to do it.

"It isn't a great way to advertise for the job. It's hard for the guy coming in, to come in under that cloud.

"It's also even harder for the guy whose in the hot seat, still the manager and then they keep him as the manager and he has to face questions constantly about his standing within the organisation.

"It's not easy to navigate through a situation that is so public, a club the size of Manchester United but if they're honest, Ineos - they could have done that in a better way."

We're getting plenty of non-Man United fans enjoying this live text. Keep your reaction coming...

Gary Neville
Former Manchester United defender on Sky Sports News

I thought it was coming. Looking at that game against Tottenham (3-0 home defeat) it looked like the kind of game I have seen before. It was a bad day for Manchester United and a bad one for Erik ten Hag. It's got worse and yesterday, missing chances was unacceptable.

The challenges of the result and performance is the owners have decided to sack Ten Hag. There will be those who say they have been proved right, but there's millions of Manchester United fans who wanted to continue under Ten Hag.

The big shock for me is how bad they have been with the new signings. That they are in 14th is unacceptable. I was hoping it would end differently, and that the faith shown would pay off, but it was not to be the case.