Another United U-turn

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Head Start

Erik ten Hag stays

Manchester United have decided that Erik ten Hag will stay on as manager following a post-season review by the club’s board.

(In other words, they couldn’t find another manager to replace him). 

We haven’t seen someone dodge so many bullets since Neo in The Matrix.

The question is: does he deserve to stay at United?

It’s actually a complicated question. On the one hand… 

• … Man United finished eighth, their lowest position since 1990…

• … and United lost their most (14) games in a Premier League season… 

• … and only Sheffield United faced more shots than United’s 667 in 38 games. 

Hmmm. 

Look, it wasn’t an ideal season but neither was Ten Hag’s situation. His side had the worst injury list - with 45 separate cases recorded - and enough changing room drama to have Netflix drooling.

On the positive side, Man United have won 54% of their Premier League games under Ten Hag. Only Sir Alex Ferguson (65%) has a higher win percentage with the club. 

Let’s not forget that Ferguson narrowly escaped the sack by lifting the FA Cup in 1990… something that Ten Hag did last season.

And, yes, while one trophy doesn’t make up for the poor season, the revenue that United gain from now playing in Europe puts them in a much stronger position against the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. 

(Being part of Europa League brings in €4.31m with clubs receiving €450k per win and €150k per draw).

Route One take: Last month, we showed that backing a manager can actually lead to an upturn in form for Premier League sides. It’s no secret that players step up when they realise the manager is there to stay.

And, of course, with the lack of managers available to take Ten Hag’s role, it seems the United board were left with no choice. 

Plus…

Guinness make a £52 million first move into football with its new Premier League deal (More) 

John Stones misses training with England due to illness (More)

Lionel Messi plans to finish his career at Inter Miami, admitting there is “not a lot of time left” (More)

Barcelona accelerate Aitana Bonmati talks with Chelsea who are willing to pay her release clause around €3 million (More)

Stats Zone

Jude Bellingham - England

→ Jude Bellingham’s first 16 starts for England yielded one goal and one assist, but since moving to an advanced role, he’s been directly involved in four goals in four games.

→ For Real Madrid, Bellingham has been involved in 36 goals in 42 appearances this season, scoring a prolific 23 times.

Nico Williams - Spain

→ Nico Williams recorded more open-play assists (10) than anyone else in La Liga during 2023/24. 

→ Only five players in La Liga bettered Williams’ 43 carries ending in a shot or chance created in 2023/24, while no one could match his seven assist-ending carries.

Euro 2024

Germany bans fruit in stadiums 

The host of the Euros has released a 10-page document of rules outlining what fans can and can’t bring into the stadium.

Fruit - specifically “apples, bananas, oranges” - are hilariously strictly prohibited from being brought into every stadium at the Euros. This is alongside the usual suspects… flares, political messages, fireworks, e-cigarettes yada yada… 

So… if you’re looking to up your micronutrients during say Spain vs Croatia or even Poland vs Netherlands, you’re out of luck. 

OK, but why? Apparently the Germans want to sell more sausages at the stadiums… 

… with a bockwurst sausage setting you back £3.90. 

More understandably, the Germans are only offering low-alcohol beer for the “high-risk” fixture between England and Serbia on Sunday. 

Oh, and another thing… fans at this fixture will only be allowed two drinks at a time and they won’t be able to take them to their seats.

Talk about a spoilsport, amirite?

Off The Pitch

💍 Rory McIlroy’s divorce has been called off after reconciling with his wife of seven years (More) 

🌭 A man has been banned from a hot dog eating contest after his apparent partnership with plant-based brand (More)

🛫 Boeing sales tumble as the company gets no orders for the 737 Max for the second straight month (More)

😬 Kevin Spacey says he was “too handsy” in the past (More)

🐝 Researchers have found the ‘superhighway’ for 17 million flies, wasps and butterflies (More)

🎾 Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will play doubles together for Spain at the Paris Olympics (More)

Yesterday’s Poll

Yesterday we asked you: Between Foden, Saka and Palmer, who’s the first player on your team sheet?

Foden gets the nod with 53% of the vote.

🏆 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 Phil Foden (53%)

🔴 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ Bukayo Saka (17.05%)

🔵 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ Cole Palmer (29.46%)

Here are your punditry takes:

• 🏆 Y Henti voted Phil Foden: “I feel that he has more experience on the big stage. He won the Champions League last season with Man City and managed to reach the quarter-finals this season losing to Madrid on penalties. So I think that Foden is more suited for a big stage like the Euros.”

• 🔵 G Mellon voted Cole Palmer: “Palmer is good all across the front, his versatility means that he can interchange during the game making the front line much more fluid.”

• 🔴 Roland S voted Bukayo Saka: “I just feel of the 3 players he is the best all-round player - a midfielder who scores goals.”

Around The Football World

🇩🇪 Bayern Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlović will miss Euro 2024 due to tonsillitis and Borussia Dortmund’s Emre Can will replace him in the Germany squad (More) 

🇮🇹 Juventus is set to announce the appointment of Thiago Motta as their new head coach (More)

🇨🇦 Canada’s women’s football league secures a broadcast platform (More)

🇭🇷 Gennaro Gattuso has signed as the new Hajduk Split manager with a contract valid until June 2026 (More)

🇩🇪 Bayer Leverkusen will not receive a golden Bundesliga plate for their unbeaten season as it was rejected by the DFL (More)

Extra Time

Gary, Alan and Micah pick their England XI’s.

Jose Mourinho’s predictions for Euros and Ballon d’Or.

One player each Premier League club should sign for the 2024/25 season.

When Wayne Rooney nutmegged Zidane.

This guy’s football knowledge is off the charts.

This Alexis Sanchez goal is not spoken about enough.

A hot take on Spain in the upcoming Euros in Germany.

Game Face On

Question: Carlo Ancelotti has won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid. That is also the joint-most for a manager in charge of a specific team. Can you name the other two managers to achieve this?

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

CRICKET

ICC T20 World Cup: West Indies vs New Zealand (09:30 BST, Sky Sports Cricket)

ICC T20 World Cup: Bangladesh vs Netherlands (15:00 BST, Sky Sports Cricket)

International Champions Cup: England vs Oman (19:30 BST, Sky Sports Cricket)

ICC T20 World Cup: Afghanistan vs Papua New Guinea (01:00 BST, Sky Sports Cricket)

GOLF

PGA: US Open (12:30 BST, Sky Sports Golf)

MMA

Moldvsky vs Vassell (01:00 BST, DAZN)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

Bob Paisley at Liverpool.

Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day is: Success in the Euros has relied on strong defensive foundations in recent years… it’s the only thing that has me worried for England. Thanks for the entry Richard T from Leicester. Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.