Time is running out for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United and it is Unai Emery who could soon be the architect of his final downfall.
But the Spaniard has been warned that should a job vacancy arise, he should not to look to Manchester United for his next managerial role.
It is widely believed Man United’s Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Sunday 6 October is Ten Hag’s last chance to save his job.
The Dutchman has overseen a woeful spell of results with the Red Devils in recent weeks, including a 3-0 loss to Tottenham, a 1-1 draw against Twente and a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Their most recent 3-3 Europa League draw against Porto obscures the truth in a game which could have been far worse.
After throwing away a 2-0 lead, only substitute Harry Maguire’s late header ensured that ten-man United did not suffer an embarrassing loss.
So after two and a half years in the position, has Ten Hag finally reached judgement day – or is his fate already sealed?
Our talkSPORT pundits have had their say.
Jermaine Pennant
According to former Liverpool winger and talkSPORT host Jermaine Pennant believes Ten Hag’s future now rests on a knife-edge.
“Two goals up, to then go 2-2?” he exclaimed on The Sports Bar after the match. “That’s just not Man United.
“That was really poor. And then they had to bring on Harry Maguire to save the day in the 90th minute?”
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“I’m going to call him ‘One’ Hag. Because he’s got one life left. He’s not ‘Ten’ Hag anymore – it’s ‘One’ Hag.
“It’ll be cheerio. If it’s a bad result [against Villa], it’s cheerio. I think they’re papering over the cracks at the minute with that performance.
“It’s just not good enough. And I’ve said this before. He’s just not the guy to take you forward.
“This is his third season. We’ve seen the teams around – Chelsea after their second season, how much better they are. We’ve seen Spurs after their second season, how much better they are.
“Man United with this as their third season – it’s like they’re going backwards!
And would Pennant sack Ten Hag right now if the decision was up to him?
“Absolutely!”, he said without hesitation.
He added: “I can’t see performances getting better under this regime with Ten Hag.”
Simon Jordan
For ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, it is certainly only a matter of time for Ten Hag.
And with a possible job opening on the cards at Old Trafford, thoughts naturally turn to the list of successors.
One man whose current fortunes could not be more different to Ten Hag’s is Villa manager Emery.
The former Arsenal boss is fresh off the back of a dream result at Villa Park which saw them overcome German giants Bayern Munich in their first home Champions League clash in 41 years.
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Given the Villans’ recent form, it is hardly a stretch of the imagination to believe that Man United could be experiencing their next heavy defeat at the hands of Emery.
But should his Villa side perform in their characteristic way against Man United in their Premier League clash, things could take an interesting turn.
Not only could the Red Devils finally find themselves actively on the hunt for a new manager, but one of the names on their shortlist could well have been the trigger for Ten Hag’s departure: namely, Emery himself.
But for all the allure of the Man United job, Emery has been warned against considering a future there by a man who knows all about the business of football.
When questioned whether Villa’s success could produce the unwanted effect of making Emery a desirable target for the Red Devils, talkSPORT’s Jordan said the key point was whether it was the right decision for the manager himself.
“Why would you want to go to Manchester United at this moment in time?” he said. “Man United are not the side to go to – besides reputation.
“And I know I’ll always be the first person to say there is a challenge in that respect because it’s the greatest job in English football if you can get it right.
“It’s also the most difficult job. And right now Emery, I would imagine, is pretty grateful for the opportunity he was given at Villa and is doing the job that he was bought in to do.
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“So the only job that I can see… is the likely vacancy that will come sometime in the next six months in my view with Ten Hag. But it isn’t anywhere else.
“Because (Arsenal are) not getting rid of Arteta. Guardiola probably is going to be around for a little bit longer. And the new fella at Liverpool is just getting his feet under the desk. So where else is he going to go? He isn’t going to Spurs!
“With that in mind, you look and say: this is the job. And this is the job that he’s got that’s he’s doing remarkably. And these are the sort of clubs he quite likes to manage. He quite likes to manage these clubs that are about this level to build them up.”
Alex Crook
While the Villa game and Emery could indeed prove crucial, for talkSPORT’s Chief Football Correspondent Alex Crook, the writing is already on the wall given Man United’s recent performances.
“That game in Portugal last night was like watching all of the games United played in the Champions League last season,” he said. “It was chaotic.
“Yes, they started well. But they very quickly lost control, they were grateful for not one, but two goalkeeping errors in my opinion. Both goals could’ve been prevented from a Porto-perspective.
“And then he got lucky. I couldn’t believe the double change that he made. You’re chasing a game away from home in Porto – you bring on a veteran Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire.
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“You change both central defenders. And he’ll point to the fact that one of those central defenders has come up and headed the equaliser from a set-piece. That wasn’t planning. That was fortune.
“And he seems to have more lives than the average household cat. It wouldn’t surprise me if they go and beat Aston Villa. Because as a team, they’re capable of doing that.”
But Crook pointed out that even a convincing result against Villa should not have effect that last year’s FA Cup victory had by obscuring the underlying root of the problem.
“If you’re the owners, you can’t judge it on if we go and beat Villa, we’ll keep him in the job for a bit longer. They’ve got to be decisive now. They’ve got to have a plan.
“They messed it up (in the summer). They had this beauty pageant where they interviewed every manager under the sun. Ultimately, did they decide there wasn’t a better candidate?
“Or did people like Roberto De Zerbi and Thomas Tuchel not fancy the job? I’d suggest probably the latter. If they could have replaced Ten Hag in the summer, they would have done. They undermined him in the dressing room by being so public about the fact they were sourcing a replacement.
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“It’s a poor dressing room in terms of mentality anyway. He is a dead man walking.”
Troy Deeney
For all the criticism, the one person who seems to remain continually optimistic about his own future is Ten Hag himself.
For as ex Watford captain-turned-talkSPORT pundit Troy Deeney pointed out, Ten Hag’s way of judging his own success seems wildly different to others.
“Everybody else (thinks he’s on borrowed time) – except him,” Deeney told talkSPORT. “He always sounds like he’s got a plan for the end of the year.
“It seems to me like he’s judging it based on what he wins, not based on the style of play, whether we we see performances.
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“If he wins something at the end of the year, he feels like he should still be there.”
He added: “Personally, I look at it after two and a half years and I still don’t know what Manchester United are. I don’t know if they’re a pressing team, if they’re a ball dominant team – I don’t know what they do. Watching last night they were really poor.”
But for all the talk, if history is anything to go by, Deeney is not convinced that another United drubbing is on the cards – and Ten Hag may yet find his stay at Old Trafford extended.
“I think whenever you feel, right if they lose this week he’s gone – they always pull a result out of nowhere,” he pointed out. “They just pull a rabbit out of the hat every single time.”
