Ferguson to Ten Hag: How Manchester United’s new managers fared on debut

Alex Ferguson, Oxford 2-0 Manchester United, 8 Nov 1986

Two days after leaving Aberdeen, Ferguson sent out an XI including Paul McGrath, Jesper Olsen, Peter Davenport, Graeme Hogg and Clayton Blackmore that fell to a 16th-minute John Aldridge penalty and an 89th-minute Neil Slatter strike. “It was a nightmare trying to concentrate with so much media attention and so many cameramen on top of me,” Ferguson said. “They [the players] were a bit uptight and they wanted to do well.” None were in the 1-0 1990 FA Cup final replay triumph over Crystal Palace, Ferguson’s first trophy, though Blackmore was an unused substitute. Twenty-six and a half years after the Oxford reverse Ferguson retired as the UK’s greatest manager and a knight.

David Moyes, Swansea 1-4 Manchester United, 17 Aug 2013

The 2-0 Community Shield victory over Wigan was followed six days later by a hammering of Swansea that featured another two Robin van Persie goals, plus Danny Welbeck’s double. Rio Ferdinand, who started in central defence, said: “The season’s started and we are really looking forward to it. We see the things said in the media and every next person is tipping someone else to win the league and putting us in third or fourth place.” The media were over-optimistic. United, the reigning champions, ended seventh with 64 points, 22 behind Manchester City, Moyes having been sacked after 34 league matches.

Louis van Gaal, Manchester United 1-2 Swansea, 16 Aug 2014

Like Ferguson the Dutchman lost but Van Gaal’s sinking experience came before a hushed home crowd. Wayne Rooney’s 53rd-minute goal cancelled Ki Sung-yueng’s first-half opener for the Swans but Gylfi Sigurdsson struck again for the visitors as United, under Van Gaal, began with a four-game losing streak that included a 4-0 League Cup trouncing at MK Dons. Two years later, after leading United to the 2016 FA Cup – a first piece of post-Ferguson silverware – Van Gaal was sacked.

View image in fullscreen Wayne Rooney shows his anguish after a miss against Swansea in 2014. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

José Mourinho, Bournemouth 1-3 Manchester United, 14 Aug 2016

Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired the Special One to a fine opening-weekend victory a week after the 2-1 Community Shield win against Leicester (Ibrahimovic and Jesse Lingard United’s scorers), igniting a four-match winning sequence. By the campaign’s close Mourinho had added the League Cup and Europa League to the club’s cabinet room and the following season United finished second. But a “respect, respect, respect” tirade at this writer after a 3-0 home loss to Tottenham in August 2018 signalled the beginning of the end for Mourinho, who was gone by that December.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Manchester United 2-1 Watford, 30 Mar 2019

After three months as a caretaker after Mourinho’s sacking, the Norwegian was made the No 1 and could thank Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial for the dream beginning (Abdoulaye Doucouré scored late for the Hornets). But after losing only three games of 19 as interim manager, the Watford victory was followed that season by just one more win – 2-1 over West Ham. Six defeats and two draws were Solskjær’s other results in the closing third of 2018-19 as United limped to sixth. Third- and second-place finishes followed in his two complete seasons yet on 22 November 2021 he was axed.

Erik ten Hag, Manchester United 1-2 Brighton, 7 Aug 2022

A humbling for the fifth permanent post-Ferguson manager that prompted Ten Hag to declare it a “hell of a job” afterwards. Christian Eriksen was chosen as a false 9 and proved as poor as United’s execution of the “proactive” football their manager had trumpeted. The display was an apt harbinger of Ten Hag’s shaky reign which garnered a League Cup and third place plus last season’s FA Cup but which ended on 28 October, before Ruben Amorim’s hiring.

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