Erik ten Hag lost his Man United job because of the question he couldn't answer in very first press conference

Erik ten Hag was eight minutes into his first Manchester United press conference when he got the question that every new manager should be expecting at some point. How do you like your teams to play?

In an era of managerial philosophies and stylistic dogma, every new boss comes with a style of play that they are expected to integrate at their new club. Ten Hag's Ajax had been an attacking side, throwing players forward into attack and trying to dominate territory.

As he tried to explain his particular style on day one in the job, he touched on his successful Ajax side but left the feeling that he wasn't particularly wedded to one approach over any other.

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“Maybe you have seen Ajax? I like that," he said on May 23, 2022. "But players dictating the way of play. I have the idea, I will line up my best team and my players like that to get the best out of them, that they can go the maximum and they feel comfortable in their roles. It’s about getting success together."

The problem for Ten Hag is that we still don't really know how he wanted his team to play. After nine league games of his third season at Manchester United, we were no closer to understanding the patterns of play or to spotting an overarching philosophy or a particular idea to build around.

Ten Hag's final month in charge probably summed it up. From the extremes of the chaos at Estadio do Dragoa and a 3-3 draw with Porto to the tedium of Villa Park and a goalless draw everyone wants to forget, the two performances had no common thread running through them, and that is ultimately what has done for Ten Hag. We don't know what he stood for or where he was trying to get to.

That answer he gave at Old Trafford back at the very start of his reign hinted at being adaptable, at switching his style depending on the players available. But a club of United's statute want more than that. As Ten Hag explained in a separate answer that day, "I have to bring something to the club." By the end, it didn't feel like he was bringing anything.

That hasn't always been the case. He delivered a Carabao Cup in his first season and an FA Cup in his second. The Wembley wins against Newcastle United and Manchester City were memorable days in their own right.

Thinking back to that 2-0 win against Newcastle on February 26, 2023, it really did feel like United were on to something. It was their first trophy in six years, four days after Barcelona had been beaten at Old Trafford. That remains the standout European result in Ten Hag's tenure.

A week later, the same team lost 7-0 at Anfield and you could argue they never really recovered. The success of that first season - and it was undoubtedly a success - was built on admirable pragmatism from Ten Hag. He quickly recalibrated his plans after defeats to Brighton and Brentford. He relied on an outstanding defence, influential signings in Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro and Marcus Rashford having the season of his life in front of goal.

Season two always carried an expectation to take the script forward, and this is where things faltered. Ten Hag tried to get United to play with the dominance of his Ajax side, but that was never going to be easy to achieve in the Premier League. Injuries didn't help, but a desire to press more aggressively, get the full-backs high up the pitch and send midfielders ahead of the ball was naive.

Since the start of last season United have shipped two or more goals more than 30 times and often look defensively vulnerable, with huge holes in midfield. When they do tighten up, as they did at Villa Park, they look poor going forward. Finding a balance has been impossible, maybe aside from that FA Cup final success.

Ten Hag was compromised by those injuries - and continued to be hampered by the absence of a left-back. There have also been transfer failings. The signings of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee haven't produced enough goals. Antony was an astonishing waste of money, and Casemiro's impact lasted one year of a four-year contract. Too long was spent on a fruitless pursuit of Frenkie de Jong in the summer of 2022.

But the biggest argument for ending Ten Hag's time at the club was the question he struggled to answer on day one. Nearly two-and-a-half years on, we still don't really know what kind of football he wanted to bring to Manchester United.