Amad ending to a mundane derby

As soon as moonlighting left-back Matheus Nunes aimlessly connected with the twinkling toes of Amad Diallo, the 196th Manchester derby flipped on its head.

United should have had a penalty earlier in the tie when Ruben Dias sent Rasmus Hojlund sprawling to the turf, so this time justice was done. Even Anthony Taylor could not find a reason to overturn the award of a spot-kick this time around. 

Up stepped United captain Bruno Fernandes to stroke past Ederson and bring United level - deservedly so. It was the 88th minute and the Reds were good value for their point. Even against this pale imitation of a Manchester City side past the peak of their considerable powers, a draw at the Etihad should not be sniffed at. 

Last May's FA Cup final win over the champions will never be forgotten, and nor should it. But considering where we are at this point in time, with our recent record at the Etihad and everything that's happened since that day, our 81st triumph over our nearest and dearest will live long in the memory. 

The Diallo derby

Yet there was more to come. Lisandro Martinez - as good here as he was poor against Nottingham Forest - looked up and clipped the ball into the path of our jet-heeled Ivorian. Amad still had a lot to do, sandwiched as he was between the advancing keeper and two City players on the goal-line. Yet that did not matter for this generational talent, a man criminally ignored by the now departed Erik ten Hag. 

Amad glided beyond Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, leaving them for dead to clip the ball over Ederson and roll into the net from the tightest of angles. How City failed to clear their lines with four players in close proximity I will never know but, as Clive Tyldesley once said: "With the greatest respect, who cares" 

Yet again, Amad was the instigator of Manchester United's latest act of derring do. Twice now in 2024 he has struck last gasp, ice-cold winners against our two most hated rivals. Whatever else this lad goes on to achieve, he has already done enough to go down in the annals as a folk hero at Old Trafford. Our biggest task now might be keeping hold of him. To think Omari Forson was chosen ahead of him. Marcus Rashford's time at United may be nearing its end, but - in Amad - United have a player to run with the baton - a 22-year-old Ivorian in the form of his life with his stock soaring through the ceiling. 

As he once again shot United to their rip roaring zenith, this was the undoubted nadir of Pep Guardiola's season. Surely even his entire managerial career. Watching his City side stumble and then fall down the cliff face into oblivion has been as baffling as it is enjoyable. 

Ailing City out of time and steam 

It says a lot that, even at 1-0 down with five minutes to go, I never feared for United. City's opener, a deflected mishit which fell kindly to Gvardiol, was fortuitous. A Phil Foden shot aside, they barely created anything. This a team which, much like United used to do, have had opponents beaten before a ball is even kicked. But here, City melted away like an ice cream in the desert and United needed no invitation to feast on their banquet of ineptitude. 

Now this finest of footballing sides look cowed, vulnerable, terrified of their own shadow and a fading collection of ageing and battle weary superstars on their last legs. Guardiola's runaway, all-conquering juggernaut has officially run out of steam. The express train has hit the buffers. Everything has a 'best before' date. This is not simply down to the absence of the metronomic and irreplaceable Rodri. This is a side with tired minds and battered bodies that has been allowed to grow old together in Guardiola's relentless pursuit of perfection. The threat of unprecedented sanctions in the wake of their 115 charges hangs heavy over the Etihad and the nucleus of their side are all the wrong side of 30. 

With one win in eleven games (eight of those are losses), this is worse than even the depths of our post-Ferguson days. It is not simply a blip, more a fully blown crisis. Any other manager would have been sacked by now. Not only that, but Guardiola looks lost and a man at odds himself in a position he's never been in before. 

Ruthless Ruben takes tough stance 

For Ruben Amorim, United's dapper Portuguese gaffer, this was a superb early feather in his Old Trafford cap. In only the seventh game of his fledgling United tenure, he has gone where his predecessor did not. ten Hag's record away to City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal - indeed, even the likes of Villa, Newcastle and West Ham - was just one of the many reasons why he had to be moved on. Amorim has prevailed in his first crack at one of the big boys on his derby debut. He has beaten Guardiola twice in the space of a month. This time with a United team still finding our feet and restoring our confidence in these tentative early days of transition. For this manager and his side to go to the Etihad and win whilst still learning on the job is extraordinary. 

He did so without Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho (article as per Sky Sports). Two of United's leading lights, two of this side's big names and two lads for whom omission from this game would have been unthinkable. Their absence sent out a clear message: no one is too big to be cast adrift. Finally it seems we have a manager not afraid to get tough and make difficult decisions if needed. No one can criticism him for it either. We won. It worked. No one is safe under Amorim and that's exactly how it should be. 

In a parallel universe, Amorim could have been heading for the opposite dugout as Guardiola's successor in the summer, but United's decision to bring him in looks to have paid dividends. It's still early days, there's a long way to go and we've seen this film before, but the green shoots of recovery are beginning to sprout through the surface. 

Ch-ch-ch-changes 

This was a statement win of the highest order. United were far from perfect but we are improving. Much better both with the ball and without it. Braver, stronger, more organised. Patterns of play developing, a style forming. Results might have been up and down but at least now we can see a clear way of playing. 

Harry Maguire was simply colossal in the middle of the back three, forcing Erling Haaland to the fringes. Mathijs de Ligt had his best game in the Red of United and Martinez was superb. In midfield, Manuel Ugarte shone like a diamond in a galaxy of stars. In the exalted company of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva, Ugarte was the best player in the middle of the park. Hojlund got no service but linked play superbly and teed up Fernandes for the one on one he should have buried. Kobbie Mainoo was good off the bench and Noussair Mazraoui once again a shining light at right wing-back. 

When Fernandes equalised, I knew we could win it. Back in the old days, even as recently as last season, if City did not batter their opposition, they saw games out. A shirt pull here, a tactical foul there, or summon their 60m reserve striker from the bench. But even this United side - a side that has endured our worst ever start to a Premier League season, had City rattled at the gentlest probing.

How often can you say you've gone to the Etihad and had as much of the ball as City? Not only that, but even had better chances than a Guardiola side? Amad was unlucky with a header, forcing a good save from Ederson. Fernandes should have scored having been put through by Hojlund and Mainoo fired wide. 

What now for Amorim's United?

This brilliant win at the Etihad - even against a City team in this shape -  cannot be merely a flash in the pan. We have to build on this now. United travel to a strange and unpredictable Spurs team in the cup on Thursday, then welcome high-flying Bournemouth to Old Trafford in the last game before Christmas. Too often, wins like this have come to nothing so we've got to kick on. Prior to the City game, we had our lowest ever points tally at this stage of a season in the Premier League era. But, for all our travails, we head into the penultimate weekend of the year only five points behind. 

UTR!! 

Opposition in profile: FC Twente

There will be no room for sentiment when Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag welcome Eredivisie side FC Twente to Old Trafford.
The United boss still holds a torch for his former employers but will cast those feelings aside as his Reds team face the side he represented as a player when they come to M16 on Wednesday. 

And so it begins

United earned a spot in the new-look Europa League by virtue of winning the FA Cup and find ourselves in the first season of the competition's new format. We will face eight sides (four at home and four away) and need to finish in the first eight to progress straight through to the knockouts. 
A first ever competitive meeting with the Enschede-based Eredivisie side provides the Reds with a tricky early test and one which should provide an early examination of our European credentials. On paper, this a relatively kind looking encounter ahead of tougher tests to come at Porto and Fenerbahce, led by a certain Jose Mourinho.
Beyond that, Norwegians Bodo/Glimt (yes, an actual football team not a Wi-Fi password), PAOK and Rangers visit Old Trafford with trips to the Hungarian capital Bucharest and another new opponent in Czech side Viktoria Plzen.
But first things first, let's take a look at tomorrow's opponents who come to Old Trafford with no pressure and nothing to lose

Twente times, Twente times...

FC Twente are the last side from outside their country's traditional 'Big Three' (PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord) to win the Dutch title. We may not have ever played them before, but that's not to say there aren't links between the two sides. As already mentioned, ten Hag plied his trade for the men from Enschede in the early 00s, and their manager in that title winning season of 2009-10? Once of this parish, now departed for the sunnier climes of the Caribbean, Steve McClaren, who served as our number two under first Sir Alex and then ten Hag. Football really can move in mysterious ways sometimes...

This current crop have impressively muscled in on their nation's football status quo, blooding the noses of the Eredivisie's more established order. A third placed finish last term opened the door for a European return, and only a narrow 5-4 aggregate loss to RB Salzburg denied them a place at the top table.

Joseph Oosting has been the man at the helm at 'De Grolsch Veste' since last summer and is well known in his native Netherlands for producing and developing young talent whilst stringing together eye-catching results. As if to underline that trend, they will head to Old Trafford with confidence after a 5-0 thumping of Almere on Sunday. 

Whilst most of their squad will be largely unknown to those outside Enschede, the Reds will need to be wary of last season's top scorer, 22 year old, 19-goal attacking midfielder Sem Steijn. The wonderfully-named Ricky van Wolfswinkel may have endured a miserable spell in east Anglia with Norwich but has rediscovered his mojo under the tutelage of compatriot Oosting. Steijn scored twice in that aforementioned thrasing with van Wolfswinkel, Sam Lammers and Anass Salah - Eddine also on target. 

Despite never having played United before, FC Twente's record against sides from England leaves a lot to be desired. Our visitors have won just one of their last 13 meetings with English opponents in all competitions (D5L7), with 'Ze Tukkers' solitary win a 1-0 against Fulham back in 2011. 

Man United..

United have spent more seasons at this level than we would have liked in recent years since winning the tournament in 2016-17 (we were also runners up in 2021). We go into this term's tournament as among the favourites for victory alongside the likes of league phase rivals Porto, Olympiakos, Roma, Real Sociedad and our feeder club Ajax. 
United have had a promising start to the season with our summer signings catching the eye and a strong cup pedigree under ten Hag. 

The Reds will be without Leny Yoro, Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw but Rasmus Hojlund is fit again and in line to start. The young Dane's return to action is timely with United looking to increase their output in front of goal. Hojlund came on for the closing stages of the frustrating 0-0 draw in south London on Saturday which almost saw us punished for profligacy despite dominating most of the game. ten Hag may have one eye on Sunday's home game with Tottenham and with more margin for error in the expanded league phase. That said, he will want to avoid any early stumble so we still expect a strong side. 

Match odds: Man Utd to win 2/9
Draw 7/2
FC Twente to win: 8/4

Man United predicted XI: Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Mainoo, Ugarte; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee. 
FC Twente predicted XI: Unnerstall; Van Rooj, Hilgers, Bruns, Salah - Eddine; Regeer, Eiting; Rots, Steijn, Van Bergen; Lammers. 

Farewell, Scott, and thank you for everything

There have certainly been better footballers than Scott McTominay to have donned the iconic Red of Manchester United.
There have been players of immeasurable skill, incredible, historic feats of derring do and we've had some of the finest ever exponents of our great game strutting their stuff at Old Trafford.

Limited ability but massive in heart 

But for desire, heart, passion and pure love for our club, McTominay stands out above most, as one of the most feted Academy stars of his generation. Foreign exports may bring the flair, the silk and the style, but it's those lads that bleed United whom truly resonate with us fans. McTominay epitomised all that and more. As a footballer, his scope was maybe limited, but there can be doubt he loves Manchester United and gave absolutely everything for us every time he pulled on that jersey. A popular and much loved figure in the Old Trafford dressing room, you would struggle to find anyone who has a bad word to say about him. 

As a young Lancashire-born Scot, McTominay's United career - rising through the ranks from promising graduate to fully fledged first teamer - is one that will stand the test of time. He was, quite simply, one of us. 

One of the reasons why we love home grown players so much is they represent us on that pitch: we'd all love the chance to represent our beloved team and play out our shut eyed fantasy. McTominay certainly did that: he acted out every United fan's dream in front of us all on one of the biggest and most iconic stages in the game. He understood our 'DNA' and has given his blood, sweat and tears for us during a difficult period in our history. I'll always be thankful to him for that. 

Arrivederci, Scott 

255 games and 29 goals later, McTominay has completed a £25m deal to sign for Antonio Conte's Gil Azzurri as part of a makeweight for the incoming Manuel Ugarte. 

Now, as McTominay heads to Napoli to begin a new chapter in his career, he departs for Serie A with the very best wishes of everyone here at United Faithful. He leaves not just for a new club, but he leaves the only home he has ever known. Whilst he could not outrun his limitations, he has more than contributed to the cause during his seven seasons in the spotlight. 

So how will history remember McTominay's United legacy? 

McFred 

McTominay was given his breakthrough as a tall, rangy, 20-year-old by Jose Mourinho in 2017 and quickly established himself as a key cog in the United engine room. He was very highly rated by Mourinho, so much so the Portuguese created an end of season award especially for him. When Mourinho was sacked, in came Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the affable Ole also took a shine to McTominay. Sitting deep with Brazilian international Fred in Solskjaer's 4-2-3-1 system, he started 28 times as United reached the Europa League final and secured a second placed finish in the Premier League. 

But the flaws in 'McFred' were obvious - both players were too similar and would run through walls for their manager and the club. But neither of them offered anything either going forward, or as an effective shield for the defence. It wasn't until the arrival of Erik ten Hag that 'McFred' finally broke up with the addition of Casemiro and emergence of Kobbie Mainoo. 

He earned his place in the team as one of those type of players every side needs: a workhorse, a grafter, a player who covers every blade of grass and would rather die than stop running. But McTominay is 27, and with INEOS on a mission to resurrect United, he represents the type of mediocrity they want to stamp out. 

McTominay becomes our second Academy graduate to depart United this summer, after Willy Kambwala left for the sunnier climes of Villarreal. But the Carrington conveyor belt still continues to turn brightly at United, with Alejandro Garnacho, Mainoo and Marcus Rashford regular starters and Toby Collyer and Ethan Wheatley on the periphery of stardom.

Best ever season in worst ever team

Surprisingly, McTominay managed to outlast Fred at United, and even saw his role change as ten Hag's side evolved. Last season turned out to be the best of McTominay's career at Old Trafford in United's worst ever Premier League team.

There were a series of clutch, game-winning goals as McTominay stepped off the bench to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at home to Brentford with two roof raising injury time strikes. He turned one point into all three at Champions League chasing Villa, scored twice at home to Chelsea and also notched his first Champions League goal in the Istanbul firepit.

He ended the season with double figures in terms of goals with a career highest of ten and his past existence as a striker firmly in evidence. But there were issues too: when he didn't score, his lack of contribution was damning and McTominay was often left stranded by ten Hag's high pressing but low block blueprint. Casemiro's legs started to fail him and McTominay spent most of the season running around aimlessly. 

For me, I'm at peace with his departure. I'm grateful for everything he's done, for the loyal and unstinting service he has given our wonderful club. But I also know he's not the level of player we need.

Who can forget that generational 40-yarder in the derby as lockdown loomed back in 2020, or the two goals in a minute against Leeds in that 6-2 thumping the following season? He scored in that stonking quarter final win over the Scousers and in the semi at Wembley en route to winning the FA Cup last term. There was the night he channeled his inner Xavi in the Parc des Princes, and those totemic, lung busting performances in four major finals. There are so many fantastic memories that will last a lifetime. 

Brighter future ahead for United and INEOS

McTominay can look back on his United career with a sense of pride, and of duty, as he embarks on his Italian Job. Meanwhile, for INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, their Reds revolution continues apace. Ugarte becomes our fifth summer signing after Leny Yoro, Mathijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui. Replacing substandard or disruptive players with young, hungry and top class upgrades, ruthless calls are being made to set us up for a brighter future. There is no room for sentimentality.

Ratcliffe's overhaul has stepped up another gear as a new set of players bid to scale the heights McTominay and his colleagues weren't quite capable of. 

Thank you for everything Scott and all the best in Italy. Bravo! Maybe see you around some time..

FA Community Shield: From de Ligt to despair at Wembley - but plenty of positives

As we walked down Wembley Way, there was that feeling in the North West London air. The feeling every football fan gets at this time of year. The belief, the hope and the expectation only the start of a new football season can bring. Of course, it could pop like a balloon, but it’s always fun while it lasts, right?

Whatever’s gone before becomes irrelevant as we look ahead to the next ten months - ten months in which our lives will once again be shaped by a group of strangers kicking a bag of leather around the length and breadth of this fair isle. Yet year after year, for the love of our club, we put ourselves through it.

With the buzz of a United matchday in full swing, came the dopamine hit: United’s summer spending was not done yet. As we finished our pints in Wembley’s United fanzone, there it was in black and white: United had agreed a deal to sign not one, but two, Bayern Munich players. Mathijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui were on their way to swell United’s defensive ranks, for a combined fee of £60m as per BBC Sport. Could the day get any better?
This may have ‘only’ been the Community Shield, and a far cry from May’s FA Cup final epic, but the mood was still one of high tension: as a United fan, you always want to get one over on those bluenoses from over the road, no matter the scene or setting.

Yet despite Bernardo Silva’s late equaliser when so close to victory, even when Jonny Evans skied the 15^th penalty of the shootout into the wide blue yonder, there was optimism. There was a positive feeling. United had played well and did more than enough to win. We may have lost on penalties but there are far more positives than there are negatives. So what now?

 The narrative suggests the Community Shield has little bearing on the season itself. Often, the opposite is true. Only once in the last 13 years has the winner gone on to become Premier League champions. The last three Shield losers have gone on to win the league that season. United again proved we can go toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s City slickers on the big stage and run them close.

For the first time in a long while, United head into a new campaign on an upward trajectory. The winds of change are certainly swirling around Old Trafford. We’ve four new additions and a new look coaching staff spearheaded by a manager with the ink barely dry on his new contract. With de Ligt and Mazraoui set to be included in Friday’s matchday squad, the future is bright for 2024-25. As we sang loud and proud on Saturday, we're on the march with ten Hag's Army. 

Manchester United began this campaign as the last one had ended ten weeks ago - with a derby day dust up against that mob in blue from across the city. At the national stadium, with silverware on the line and the world watching. The cast list may have been quite different with both sides missing several of their star turns, but the two combatants remained the same.
Had the hamstrung Rasmus Hojlund been on the end of those two gilt-edged chances Marcus Rashford saw, and then squandered, the outcome would have been different. Quite what club legend and newly appointed assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy made of the man in his old number, we’ll never know. Van Nistelrooy’s compatriot and the newest addition to our striking ranks, Joshua Zirkzee, remained an unused sub at Wembley. His time surely cannot be far away.

Yet there was so much to admire from United’s Wembley showing. Casemiro looked back to his best and more the totemic figure of his debut season. Evans, his spot-kick aberration aside, was excellent. Bruno Fernandes came into the match with no pre-season or minutes under his belt but looked like he’d never been away. Alejandro Garnacho got himself another Wembley goal. We defended stoutly, moved the ball quickly and slickly and outplayed City, particularly in the second half. If we carry this into the season proper, starting with Fulham on Friday night, we won’t go far wrong.

Erik ten Hag, Nottingham Forest, and the start of a dynasty

After two weeks of intense will-he-won't-he speculation, Erik ten Hag is going nowhere. The United boss will stay on and together with minority shareholders INEOS, will hope to steer the ship named HMS Manchester United into calmer waters.

You cannot help but think of the striking parallels between ten Hag and his illustrious predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson, surely the greatest manager ever to do it. Sir Alex is, of course, associated with the most glittering and successful era in United history, sweeping up trophies left, right and centre as his swashbuckling United sides cut a swaggering swathe through English football. One that is unlikely ever to be repeated, no matter what Pep Guardiola might think.

Sir Alex Ferguson with the treble in 1999

But it wasn't always like that. For those of you old enough to do so, cast your minds back to January, 1990. It's the FA Cup third round weekend and Ferguson is a man under siege. His expensively assembled Reds are languishing in the lower reaches of the old First Division. We would finish 13th and Ferguson - then just plain old Alex - was one game from the sack. Mercifully, this was an age before social media, before smart phones, before radio phone ins. It did not stop the United fanbase from growing restless, though. An early FA Cup KO at the hands of Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest - unlikely champions of Europe a decade before - would prove the final nail in the coffin. United's greatest ever manager would be up in flames before he'd even had a chance to cook. 

Enter, Mark Robins. A man never mentioned when it comes to some of United's most exalted stars. A man never mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Mark Hughes, Gary Pallister, Bryan Robson and Viv Anderson et al. Yet a man without whom, the name Manchester United would not be the club we are today. Without Mark Robins, the greatest story our sport has ever seen simply would not have happened. 

Robins goal on that cold January day in 1990 changed the course of history. We won 1-0 and embarked on an FA Cup run that culminated in winning the trophy. It not only provided Ferguson with much needed breathing space, but also marked the beginning of his unbreakable dynasty. Robins match winning moment saved Ferguson's job (although United's incumbent chairman Martin Edwards has always denied this), and laid down the bedrock for an unprecedented period of success.

It is with a delicious twist of irony, the kind only top level sport can deliver, that - 34 years on - both Robins and Nottingham Forest have helped play a part in ten Hag's next chapter. Had Viktor Torp not strayed offside by the width of a toenail, the now Coventry manager would have found himself in an FA Cup final, at the expense of his former side. 

Coventry manager Mark Robins 

But history will ultimately tell a different tale. Just as Ferguson did, ten Hag eked out a narrow, edgy win at, you guessed it, Nottingham Forest, to set us on the way to Wembley glory. Casemiro's 90th minute  fifth round winner may have lacked quite the same do-or-die jeopardy as Ferguson's own flirtation with danger, but it was no less important.

In the superb 1998 film Sliding Doors, the plot follows two different storylines both based around the same scenario. In the first, Gwyneth Paltrow's character misses a train, but catches the same train in the second. To cut a long story short, the course of her life differs depending on the path she takes. Still with me? Good. 

That is a situation ten Hag now finds himself in. This is his own sliding doors moment. Just as Ferguson did, is this a classic example of a manager hanging on by a hair's breadth to then go on and build a dynasty? 

Or is it merely delaying the inevitable? If things are still bleak at Christmas, is it then just another wasted season? The fact he's in talks over a new deal, as per the Telegraph, suggests the ownership think he is the man for the long term. If they had no faith, they surely would have sacked him and definitely wouldn't be considering an extension. 

We cannot know the answer. But ten Hag has shown signs he can succeed here. He has proved he can be successful. But, just like Ferguson all those years ago, he needs time and backing to do it. He must seize his Mark Robins moment and build on it. 

INEOS have made the right call - now let's get behind them

And so it's official: Bald is still very much best. News broke late on Tuesday night - and it was the news we'd all been waiting for: Erik ten Hag is still the man for Manchester United. I hope he will still be the United manager for many years to come. I'm delighted for him, even if it could have been dealt with better. 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made his first big decision

The decision to retain the Dutchman is the first big call INEOS have made since they bought a minority shareholding in the club back in January. It is the right one. Not just because of the lack of alternatives - I mean, Gareth Southgate or Thomas Frank, really? - but also because it may now finally put an end to our endless, exhausting rinse and repeat managerial raison d'etre. It also suggests our new boardroom regime want to build a long-term project rather than just change tack at the first sign of adversity. 

You can't blame INEOS for carrying out due diligence in casting their net elsewhere: but how much of what we've read and heard over the last few weeks was simply the media, or perhaps manager agents, stirring the pot and looking for trouble? Whether Sir Jim and his men DID actually hold talks with any potential managers, we shall never know. But none of that matters now. 

ten Hag is only the second permanent United boss since Sir Alex to go into a third campaign at Old Trafford - David Moyes got ten months, Louis van Gaal two seasons. Mourinho was out on his ear by Christmas after his infamous 'third season syndrome'. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was caretaker manager in 2018-19 and only had two terms as the full-time gaffer. 

Almost three weeks on from United's logic defying, against-all-odds victory at Wembley which delivered a second trophy in two seasons, we finally have clarity. The post-season review is done and dusted. Now we can put all the rumours, all the malicious, agenda-driven sphiel by some of these wasters in the media, behind us. United can plan for next season with ten Hag. It's an important summer as INEOS embark on their first transfer window as part owners. There will be some journalists with egg on their faces this morning. Let's give a shout out to David Ornstein, though, the brilliant journalist with The Athletic whom broke the top tier exclusive ten Hag  was to stay. He previously stayed quiet and merely stated not to have known rather than spreading misinformation before choosing his moment to tell the world. David, we salute you. 

There is no doubt that cup win played a part in the decision to stick with ten Hag. INEOS are also said to have liked ten Hag's faith and trust in developing youth players with Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho two of the standout stars last season. 

It is difficult to argue the Cup win changed the course of the ownership's trajectory. ten Hag almost certainly would have been out of work by now had we lost to City. It is what INEOS seemed to be expecting and, to be fair, they certainly weren't the only ones.

That ensured ten Hag has become one of only four Reds bosses to win trophies in successive seasons and, despite all the noise, he has carried himself with dedication, dignity and professionalism. 

ten Hag will now have a proper boardroom structure to work with and under, more in keeping with what he had at Ajax. A factor acknowledged by INEOS - they felt it was difficult to judge ten Hag properly because the club did not have the right structure above him - in short, he was set up to fail, just like every manager before him. 

With Omar Berrada as chief executive and football director Jason Wilcox calling the shots, to be joined by Dan Ashworth as sporting director, there are now football people in football positions. ten Hag's workload will be lessened, he will have more help with recruitment and will perhaps now be more of a 'head coach' than a manager per se.

But as much as this is a blessing, it could also muddy the waters for ten Hag. It narrows the margin for error. He will know there are no excuses now, no second chances, no repeat of last season. He's shown enough to earn another season, but he's got to understand what went wrong last year, and why. He's got to learn those lessons and make the changes we need. We can't be conceding 30 shots every game this time. In-game management has to be better, we need a more sustainable style and cannot allow a few injuries to completely destabilise our season. Last season's struggles came with an asterix and compelling arguments of mitigation. That's not the case now. 

Erik ten Hag with the FA Cup 

But ten Hag is smart enough to acknowledge this. He's not stupid, and he knows last season wasn't good enough. He will know better than anyone we have to hit the ground running come August. A fast, strong, start to 2024/25 is crucial. Anything else and those questions will resurface. Last season, salvaged at the death by Wembley, has to be a freak one off.

ten Hag's contract is up at the end of the next campaign. I wouldn't be against him getting an extension, but that should be on hold for now. Let's see where are at Christmas and go from there. He needs to earn the chance of an extension on his current deal. 

It would not surprise me if his retention as manager comes with certain conditions - maybe he won't get as much of a say in recruitment? Perhaps there's a certain points target from a set number of games.  INEOS will set him targets he has to meet. While the spectre of Southgate has been banished - at least for now - INEOS are huge admirers of the soon-to-be-out of work England boss. If United fail to get off to a good start, Southgate's shadow will hang heavy over the hotseat. But that's a discussion for another day. 

The vultures have stopped circling, the summer's will-they-won't-they saga is finally over, and now the real hard work starts as ten Hag prepares for pre-season and his third campaign in the Old Trafford dugout. For the men above him in the corridors of power, their first real test has been passed. 

Manchester United FA Cup winners 2024

Manchester United certainly took the scenic route to a 13th FA Cup victory, delivered in improbable and unlikely fashion at Wembley on Saturday.
In one of those deliciously unexpected twists top level sport so often delivers, United and their erudite manager Erik ten Hag produced an all-time performance for the ages to defy the odds and cause one of the biggest shocks in the history of this iconic competition.

It was United's finest hour under the Dutchman and perhaps our best since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson - watching from the posh seats up in the Gods at the national stadium. It was a performance of spirit, grit, hunger, desire, resilience, discipline and work rate and, indeed, at times United even went toe to toe with, and dominated, their more illustrious cross-town rivals. Qualities conspicuous in absentia this season and a performance which begs the question: where has this United been for the last ten months? 

Out of the wreckage, from the very nadir of United's worst ever Premier League era-season, came the undoubted zenith. 

I saw a team out there with every player singing from the same hymn sheet, all battling and fighting for each other, not just showing ability but the desire and attitude to win every tackle, header and second ball. This was a team giving everything, fighting and scrapping as if their lives depended on it, for their manager, fans and club.

City's all conquering juggernaut - this imperious, pre-eminent and magnificent trophy winning machine - found themselves in the rare position of chasing shadows.

Their uncharacteristic carelessness was epitomised in United's 30th-minute opener. Diogo Dalot's long ball forward should have been dealt with by Joskvo Gvardiol. Instead, the Croatian left-back headed the ball back to his onrushing keeper Stefan Ortega. A breakdown in communication had seen City's usually unflappable stand in stopper come too far off his line and Alejandro Garnacho gambled to seize on the loose ball and pass into the empty net.

If the Reds first goal had needed an element of luck, when Kobbie Mainoo steered in our second nine minutes further on, it was at the culmination of a sweeping move Pep himself would have been proud of. At that stage, we dared to dream. 

And so Manchester United's FA Cup triumph of 2024 will go down in the annals as perhaps the greatest of them all. Consider our opponents, our season, the off-field shenanigans, the crippling injury crisis which has brought the squad to their knees, and just about everything in between. Consider the fact we were written off as no hopers, outsiders, lambs to the slaughter, a mere fly on the window for City's march to the double double. Odds as long as 40/1 with some bookies. The fact we finished 31 points behind Guardiola's side in the league. I felt we 'could' win, I believed we 'might'. 

But you can surely count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who actually thought we would. Surely even the swathes of red descending on Wembley did so more in hope than tangible expectation.

As the old adage says: sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination and United's road to FA Cup redemption in 2024 certainly won't be forgotten in a hurry. Perhaps, looking back now all these months on, our name was etched on the famous trophy from the start. Some things are just meant to be. 

Whilst our 2-0 third round win at Wigan was relatively routine, what followed was anything but. Our FA Cup rollercoaster encapsulated this madcap season in microcosm. For 21 minutes in round four, Newport County's Rodney Parade was rocking to the beat of an inspired fightback from the League Two team. For 21 minutes, United were facing humiliation, a 2-0 lead gone in front of the BBC cameras and the fourth tier minnows on the cusp of surely the greatest upset of all time. And didn't the ABU's let us know it. Newport's David had his foot firmly on the throat of United's Goliath. For those 21 minutes, United were reeling, ragged and on the ropes. In the end, though, as we have so often, this confusingly chaotic United side kicked and screamed its way to victory.

By comparison, our 1-0 win in round five did not carry the same jeopardy, but how we still needed Casemiro's late intervention at the death to edge out Nottingham Forest.

Then came the quarter final, and THAT game with the old enemy. We've talked about  that here - quite simply the best game of football I have witnessed in my 30-odd years on this earth. Words still cannot do it justice to this day. 1-0 up, 2-1 and 3-2 down, we seemed dead and buried not once but twice, then seconds away from penalties. Amad went on to write the final chapter of that particular story.
Yet incredibly, the Liverpool thriller was only the aperitif. United would serve up an Eton mess entirely of their own making as the semi final's comfortable 3-0 lead eviscerated at the hands of Coventry's climb-off-the-canvas comeback. This time, only penalties spared our blushes.
The Championship side had been the draw everyone wanted and it looked like being a rare day of comfort until United lost their heads, the lead, and - almost - the tie. Arise Victor Torp's toenail. Frame it and put it in the Old Trafford archives.

And so it was: an FA Cup final victory for the annals. For United and ten Hag, a silver lining at the end of a desperately poor season. A victory so out of keeping, so unexpected, it almost seems to have come from another world. 

ten Hag has now delivered two trophies in two seasons.. Indeed, he stands in esteemed company alongside only our great Scots and Ernest Magnall as the only United managers to win trophies in successive campaigns at United. 

 

That's impressive enough, especially in this era of ultra-City dominance. Not only that, but he's done so with the best core of young talent I've seen at this club for years. Two teenagers promoted on his watch proved our match winners at Wembley. If that's not proof of this man's work at United, I don't know what is. Indeed, if that WAS his last game in charge, and I honestly hope it isn't, then what a legacy he  will leave us. 

Not just Mainoo and Garnacho but Amad and Willy Kambwala too. Rasmus Hojlund signed as a 21-year-old focal point. He's earned the chance to have another season and develop them further, to build his project and take us forward into next season. 

It would be very harsh to sack him. He's building something and deserves to stay. The last thing we want to do now is ruin his project by ripping it out and starting again. Let's now hope INEOS make the right call.