Erik ten Hag, new manager of Manchester United. /CFP
Erik ten Hag, the new manager of Manchester United football club, said he wants to put an end to the dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League.
"In this moment, I admire them both, Manchester City and Liverpool. They both play really fantastic football, both Liverpool and Man City," ten Hag said, according to ESPN. "But you will always see an era can come to an end and I am looking forward to battle with them, and I am sure all the other Premier League clubs will want to do that."
United had another disappointing campaign in the 2021-22 season. They finished sixth in the Premier League, 35 points behind the champion City and missing the UEFA Champions League next season. Meanwhile, they were the only team of the top eight that had zero goal difference after scoring the fewest goals (57) and allowing the second-most goals (57) among top eight.
By contrast, City scored 99 goals and conceded 26; Liverpool scored 94 goals and allowed only 26. That's a huge gap for United to overcome. The club has the highest team wages of 208.4 million pounds (about $262.4 million) this season in the Premier League but apparently a lot of their money was not spent on the right spots.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United dribbles in the Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, England, May 7, 2022. /CFP
Furthermore, United have some serious locker room issues for ten Hag to deal with. ESPN's Mark Ogden called the club "broken, dysfunctional" in his article published on Monday. He revealed the two disappointing managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, failed to take care of the tensions caused by Cristiano Ronaldo's unique role in the team. Both Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial were affected by the arrival of Ronaldo.
"The British players tended to stick together while many of the foreign lads took their lead from Ronaldo," according to ESPN. "There was a lot of upset when it was reported that some of the squad weren't happy with Maguire as captain, but that was the reality of the situation."
Moreover, Ronaldo and other players were discontent with Rangnick. According to ESPN, the Portuguese superstar told United in January that he wouldn't stay on if Rangnick was made the formal manager.
"Rangnick did United a favor by taking the Austria job," ESPN reported. "It means they can move him on this summer, forget about his consultancy and draw a line under his disastrous six months at the club."
Erik ten Hag (C), manager of Ajax, lifts the Eredivisie championship trophy to celebrate at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 11, 2022. /CFP
Despite their glories history during the era of Alex Ferguson, United became a black hole for famous managers since then. Neither Louis van Gaal nor Jose Mourinho was able to take the club to the success they wanted. Having done a good job managing Ajax, ten Hag is willing to take the challenge.
"I don't see it as a risk," ten Hag said. "This club has a great history, now let's make the future! I am excited to do that with the people around and with the new staff. We will go from day to day, 100-percent committed and I am sure we will get success."