Manchester United have had six permanent managers since Sir Alex Ferguson (bless him) retired in 2013. How would you rank their time at the club?
Here’s FullTime Herald’s list from best to worst. Ralf Rangnick was only an interim manager but given that he was in charge for 29 games he has been included on this list.
1. Erik ten Hag
The best Manchester United manager since Alex Ferguson. Here us out. Yes, Ten Hag ultimately came to a dismal end at United, with a poor second season and a worse start to his third season before ultimately getting the boot in October. But Ten Hag also brought the trophies back to United – and United are primarily a trophy-winning club; that is their identity – even if those trophies were the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup and United supporters would rather the club were winning the Premier League and Champions League.
Still, only Jose Mourinho won more trophies than Ten Hag and without the Dutchman, United would have been creaking not only under the weight of poor performances but also an embarrassing trophy drought. Ten Hag’s victory in the League Cup in 2023 ended a six-year run without silverware. In his first season, he qualified for the Champions League and also played brilliant football, the United machine humming nicely until that infamous 7-1 demolition at Anfield.
He has the second-highest win rate (55%) post-Ferguson, with only Mourinho (58%) ahead of him. But eventually, tactical confusion and an inability to implement the promised Ajax title led to his demise after things went from good to bad to embarrassing.
2. Jose Mourinho
A proven winner, who proved his credential by securing the highest win rate (58%) of any permanent United coach post-Ferguson. Mourinho won the Europa League and the Carabao Cup in his first season. The man who said that finishing second with United was one of his greatest-ever achievements never fully convinced supporters due to his knack for defensive football.
3. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer
He was appointed interim coach but his positive performances, notably the comeback win over Paris Saint-Germain in Paris, convinced the United hierarchy to appoint him at permanent manager. With a 54% win rate, Solksjaer blew hot and cold at United. On the one hand, he implemented some coruscating counter-attacking football that impressed and delivered goals, but on the other hand, he failed to win anything and United struggled in possession, running out of ideas against teams that did not stream forward to attack them. He came second in the league in 2020-21 and a Europa League win in 2021 might just have completely changed the direction of his United tenure, but United painfully lost on penalties to Villareal. Things quickly crashed the following season.
4. Louis van Gaal
The professor, who was keen on philosophy and process, came to Old Trafford when his career was on the wane. His 3-5-2 football was too rigid and characterised by endless sideways passing while the fans chanted “attack, attack, attack” in the stands. He had a 52% win rate and a litany of goalless draws, and the fact that he was sacked on the night of an FA Cup victory showed just how disillusioned the club had become with his ideas.
5. Ruben Amorim
The Portuguese joined United while the club were in 13th place, and despite a historically low 15th place finish and an agonising loss to Tottenham in the Europa League final in Bilbao, he had lifted the club back as far as sixth in the first half of his first full season, before ultimately getting the sack due to his insistence on playing a 3-4-3 formation.
He was charismatic and his honesty, demeanour and emphasis on improving the culture of the football culture will have impressed many supporters. He may have been destined for bigger successes in the future but his inflexibility was always going to be his demise. His depressing performance after arriving midway into the 2024-25 season means that he leaves with an abysmal 39% win rate, one of the lowest since 2013.
6. David Moyes
The job always felt too big for the Chosen One and his comments about sitting in Alex Ferguson’s chair and feeling that he was not good enough to be there ultimately played out on the pitch. United were still riding the waves of Ferguson’s success and Moyes’ performances were never going to be tolerated for too long.
The decision to sign Marouane Fellaini was an odd one and characterised his inability to manage a club at the highest level. The club and supporters ran out of patience before he could complete his first full season. He left with a 53% win rate.
7. Ralf Rangnick
Appointed on an interim basis, the German strangely decided to implement a rigorous style of counter-pressing in the middle of the season, with a new manager set to be appointed in the summer, even if he had been promised an advisory role after his interim management. The system predictably lasted for all 45 minutes before United proceeded to play some of their worst football since Ferguson retired, Rangnick ultimately ending with a 38% win rate, the lowest since the Great Scot departed. His comments that the club needed “open heart surgery” resonated among supporters for many years after he was let go.
