Erik ten Hag and Manchester United constantly get slated by fans from other clubs. Are they right? Or is there an agenda behind this? Let’s figure it out!
If you were not a Manchester United fan in the 2000s, you might still be having nightmares of seeing your team getting decimated by the Red Devils under Sir Alex. Yes, it was a constant thing. Manchester United not winning the league was considered a bad season by everyone. United winning the league was almost certain even before the seasons started.
And, now? Man Utd won the league cup and reached the final of the FA Cup in a season and everyone said that the club had a successful season. Can you imagine where the standards have dropped? If you compare the last season under Erik ten Hag, it was a much better season than what United had endured in the last decade. However, fans of other clubs seem more annoyed with Erik ten Hag and Manchester United. Let’s figure out why.
Disclaimer: This article is all about my opinion!
The nightmares of the past
As I said before, fans of other clubs like Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea are still having nightmares of Manchester United of the past. Arsenal was perhaps the best team playing fancy football in the early 2000s. However, if you ask their fans how many Premier Leagues they won, they will answer 2 in their early 2000s and 1 in the late ’90s. How many Premier League United have? It’s 13.
20 years ago was the last time Arsenal won the league. They were certain to win the league last time around. However, as I often refer to them as “the Chokers”, they did choke in the end. They have done this again and again.
Erik ten Hag made Manchester United look like a proper side last season. This season we started horribly. However, the nightmares of the past were back for City, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Yes, we were humiliated by City and Liverpool and we lost at the last minute against Arsenal in our away games last season.
However, when they came to Old Trafford, each and every one of them got hammered except Brighton and they seem to be the nemesis for Erik ten Hag. In fact, Ten Hag schooled Arteta at Old Trafford by plotting Cristiano Ronaldo as a decoy last season. Thus, they want the Devil to stay asleep as long as possible because when the Devil wakes up, other clubs will get new nightmares for sure. This happened during the era of Sir Matt Busby as well as Sir Alex.
Manchester United is one of the ‘BIGGEST’ clubs in the World
Many English clubs claim to be one of the biggest clubs in the world. Now, let’s talk about how many supporters each of the self-proclaimed biggest clubs in the world from England has. According to Marketing Week;
"“A September 2011 report estimated Arsenal’s fanbase at 100 million worldwide, still making them the third-largest team in terms of supporters.”"
It is expected that Arsenal have added some more fans however, they are a long way short of what Manchester United’s tally is. For Liverpool, the data is inconclusive. However, some sources are saying it could be around 580 million.
For Man City, it is hard to find the data. However, you cannot expect City to have a higher number of fans worldwide than Man Utd. Only deluded people can have such thoughts. Chelsea also have a large following but it is nothing compared to what United has.
According to the official website of Manchester United;
"“Through our 141-year heritage we have won 66 trophies, including a record 20 English league titles, enabling us to develop what we believe is one of the world’s leading sports brands and a global community of 1.1 BILLION FANS AND FOLLOWERS.”"
So, is there any confusion as to which club is the biggest as far as the worldwide following goes in England? What annoys the fans of Arsenal and Man City is that even though United didn’t have the success they have recently, we are still hammering them in terms of the worldwide fan following.
Jealousy against Manchester United
There is no doubt that other clubs are jealous of Manchester United’s success. It happens with Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich. When a club has success, they will also have haters. Man City have less haters right now. But, when they get more success and get closer to United, the honeymoon period with other fans will be over and those people will slag off City instead of congratulating them on their success. Yes, at the top, you will be alone. This is what happens with Manchester United.
Other clubs just cannot see United getting back to the top. The demons of the past still haunt them. That is why they will tag Ten Hag as ‘crybaby’ and so many other things. These fans of other clubs know that Ten Hag could be the manager who brings United back to the top of English football. But, they will not accept that the problem is in the ownership of United.
Arteta and ten Hag. One is classy and takes accountability, the other is an incessant crybaby. pic.twitter.com/qdaGFU4jOv
— (Sham) (@Shamsdale) September 5, 2023
They don’t know what happens at our club. And, when fans of other clubs slag off United, it makes me happy to see how scared they are of us even though it’s over a decade since we won the league. Finally, there is just one more thing to say before concluding. On behalf of all Manchester United fans to fans of other clubs who are annoyed by Erik ten Hag and Manchester United, “We enjoy your fears!”