Why Ten Hag lasted less than 10 weeks

Some critics refer to Erik ten Hag as “Erikaten Ten Weeks” after his brief tenure at Bayer Leverkusen.

His reign lasted just one day, not nine, and he clocked in at 62 days, which is an exaggeration. Only two Bundesliga games saw him play.

After Leverkusen lost a 3-1 lead to 10-man Werder Bremen on Saturday, Leverkusen drew 3-3.

One week prior to Leverkusen’s home opener against Hoffenheim, the team suffered a disappointing result. Ten Hag only managed to defeat a fourth-division team in a competitive game to earn the German Cup tie.

The seasoned Dutchman took Xabi Alonso’s place in the title-winning coach’s place in late May, but he didn’t start working until July 1st when he left for Real Madrid.

Leverkusen initially appeared to believe he could start a partial rebuild because Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah, two important players, had already lost.

Although Ten Hag’s dismissal was based on early results this season, they were not the only or even the main factor in their dismissal.

Ten Hag’s decisions and behavior almost immediately irritate people.

For instance, he changed the timing of a friendly between Leverkusen’s under-20s team and Flamengo’s training camp in Brazil. Leverkusen lost 5-1 in a surprisingly upset match that was played four days earlier than the original plan.

Ten Hag criticized Granit Xhaka’s departure around the same time, saying that Leverkusen had already lost enough key players.

However, Leverkusen had stated that Xhaka could withdraw if the best offer was made. He visited Sunderland.

Ten Hag also criticised his players for not being physically fit enough, despite the fact that he and his staff had pre-season training.

And he is accused of lacking the charisma needed to lead any ambitious top-flight team, especially a newly formed group of players. He reportedly struggled to persuade others to share his ideas. He allegedly conducted mediocre pre-game discussions, according to sources close to the club.

It has been claimed that Ten Hag didn’t even speak before the season opener against Hoffenheim.

The decision-makers at Leverkusen’s headquarters to fire Ten Hag so abruptly still shocks.

It doesn’t look good for chief executive Fernando Carro or sporting director Simon Rolfes, who vehemently criticized Ten Hag during the hiring process in May.

Carro said on Monday that it was painful to leave things at this early stage of the season, but it was necessary.

Before hiring Ten Hag, one would anticipate that they had thoroughly background checked candidates.

Even so, Ten Hag was a highly regarded football coach only a few years ago, after a successful stint at Ajax.

In 2019, he advanced to the Champions League semi-finals and won the Dutch championship three times.

Even his promising debut season at Manchester United was frequently attributed to the turmoil at Old Trafford rather than his managerial shortcomings.

Leverkusen, in my opinion, is in a mess. Nearly every player who was considering leaving appeared to be sold.

Malik Tillman and Jarell Quansah both signed at the same time, believing Ten Hag would guide them.

The club was frequently praised for making wise decisions, both before and even before Alonso’s successful run.

That perception might be altered by Monday’s announcement.

During the international break, Leverkusen will now look for a replacement. Former Dortmund and Leipzig manager Marco Rose is also high on their list, along with former Barcelona coach Xavi, who reportedly has spoken with them.