“I am no Harry Potter.” So said He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, soon after his side were embarrassed by visitors and rivals Liverpool at the weekend. Did he mean he doesn’t wear glasses or that he’s crap at Quidditch? Maybe that he hasn’t got a magic wand? Or all of the above?
The annual race to be first Premier League manager to be sacked has never been hotter and Ten Hag will be well used to this kind of pressure. In fact, according to many pundits, he ended last season on the final day needing to win the FA Cup or be sacked – The Goblet or Fired – as Hermione would’ve put it. The dutchman’s neck was saved by the tightest of VAR decisions in a corking semi-final that would otherwise have seen the Sky Blues take on the Sky Blues.
In the Premier League Sack Race, the tension is ALREADY at fever pitch. Dyche, Martin and Nuno – the three currently propping up the table – are firm favourites. But Ten Hag may leapfrog that trio and snatch the title unless things improve under the new owners. Erik Ten Hag isn’t Harry Potter. He isn’t even Paul Daniels. What he definitely is, is in trouble. The question is: Is he definitely a good manager?
Is it time for Old Trafford to summon up their spirit and shout ‘Expeliamus’?