Football
Manchester United’s Worst Starts To A Premier League Season Ranked As Erik Ten Hag Sacked
James is an experienced writer covering a wide range of sports. He has previously written for national UK titles and now provides detailed features and breaking news stories.
Get to know James Chittick betterPublished28 Oct 2024
Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag after nine games, but despite picking up just 11 points, it’s not United’s worst start to a season since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
News broke on Monday that United had parted ways with Ten Hag after a woeful run of form that’s seen them sink to 14th in the Premier League table.
Following the announcement, SportsCasting has analysed United’s opening nine Premier League fixtures in every season since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2012/13.
While this year’s poor start may have cost Ten Hag his job, it wasn’t United’s worst record at this stage of the season.
In 2019/20, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also had a terrible opening nine games. Like this season, United were in 14th, but had picked up just 10 points, one fewer than Ten Hag managed this year.
Moreover, Solskjaer kept his job, eventually guiding United to a third-placed finish.
At the other end of the scale, Louis van Gaal’s United side picked up 19 points from their first nine games in 2015/16, which was the second-best start to a season for United since Fergie.
But despite a great start, Van Gaal’s team dropped off and missed out on Champions League football, costing the Dutch manager his job at the end of the season.
No United manager has earned more points after nine games than Jose Mourinho in 2017/18.
Below, we have ranked United’s first nine games of each Premier League season since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
Manchester United’s First Nine Premier League Games Since 2013/14
| Season | W | D | L | Points | Position | Manager | Survived Season? |
| 19/20 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 14 | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | Yes |
| 24/25 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 14 | Erik ten Hag | No |
| 14/15 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 8 | Louis van Gaal | Yes |
| 13/14 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 8 | David Moyes | No |
| 16/17 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 7 | Jose Mourinho | Yes |
| 18/19 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 10 | Jose Mourinho | No |
| 21/22 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 7 | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | No |
| 22/23 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 9 | Erik ten Hag | Yes |
| 23/24 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 8 | Erik ten Hag | Yes |
| 20/21 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 7 | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | Yes |
| 15/16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 3 | Louis van Gaal | No |
| 17/18 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 2 | Jose Mourinho | Yes |
How Solskjaer Survived Manchester United’s Worst Start Since Ferguson
Despite making the worst start to a season in the post-Ferguson era, Solskjaer was not sacked in 2019/20.
Some might argue United were more forgiving with a former Old Trafford hero, giving Ole more time to turn things around than Ten Hag was allowed this season.
But a key difference is that 2019/20 was Solskjaer’s first full season in charge, and he had not yet built his own squad or style.
Ten Hag, on the other hand, had been in charge for two years already. Having overhauled the squad completely, any failure of the team can more easily be attributed to the manager.
Jose Mourinho’s ‘Greatest Achievement’ Yet To Be Beaten
In 2017/18, Jose Mourinho guided United to a second-placed finish in the Premier League. They made a strong start, picking up 20 points in their first nine games – their best start post-Ferguson.
Mourinho said of his side’s league position: “If I tell you, for example, that I consider one of the best jobs of my career was to finish second with Man United in the Premier League, you will say, ‘this guy is crazy.'”
But no United manager has made a better start, nor finished higher than ‘the special one’ since Sir Alex.
Were Manchester United Too Quick To Sack Louis van Gaal?
The second-best start to a season for United since Ferguson was in 2015/16, under Louis van Gaal. They picked up 19 points in their first nine games, one fewer than Mourinho in 2017/18.
After a dip in form later in the season, United finished fifth, outside the Champions League places, costing Van Gaal his job.
But having only finished below Manchester City on goal difference, and struggled under numerous managers since, were United too quick in sacking the Dutchman?