Fuming Dutchman Erik ten Hag may regret Manchester United issuing bans to reporters
Some journalists were missing from Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s scheduled press conference yesterday. Not because they weren’t interested in previewing Wednesday’s visit from Chelsea, but because the club banned them after they reported that some players had turned against the Dutch boss.
United stressed that it was not the substance of the reports that prompted the bans, but that the outlets they worked for did not “contact us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise” before publication. At the time of writing, the outlets had not responded to that allegation.
“They should come to us first and not go around our back printing articles,” Ten Hag said. “That’s not the right thing. I think we have another relationship, and then they should give that to us beforehand. We have a normal and professional discussion and debate about it.”
Whatever the truth of the matter, United and Ten Hag have taken a bold step. In the short term, it has only drawn more attention to the reports. In the longer term, it risks creating a hostile relationship between the manager and reporters when he could use all the support he can get.
He is by no means the first United manager to take on the press. Jose Mourinho famously demanded “respect” for his record before walking out of a press conference, while Louis van Gaal openly mocked one reporter’s appearance. But they stopped short of banning clutches of reporters.
United and Ten Hag might argue they were simply emulating the best. Sir Alex Ferguson repeatedly banned reporters over coverage he deemed damaging to his team – sometimes during press conferences, such as on the eve of the 2011 Champions League final – and refused to speak to the BBC for years because it aired a documentary that made allegations about his son.
But Ferguson had built up the capital to do that by becoming the greatest manager in English football history. Ten Hag’s one League Cup does not afford the same clout and his faltering results this season, with United lying seventh having seemingly regressed, have only undermined his standing.
Uncertainty around United’s ownership situation — and who will be in charge of football matters if, as expected, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment is completed — has offered him some protection. But that looks set to be resolved as soon as next week, and new brooms tend to sweep away previous regimes.
The four horsemen of the managerial apocalypse are bad results, losing fans, falling out with players, and turning on the media. With the owners, the Glazers, still the focus of their disaffection at least until they hand over some control to Ratcliffe, United fans have not yet revolted against Ten Hag en masse.
But having gone to war with some of his players — banishing £70m Jadon Sancho and suspending national treasure Marcus Rashford for attending his birthday party — and with long-term support from the boardroom in doubt, the fuming Dutchman may come to regret ostracising reporters so readily.