Club had chance to make a clean break but kicked the can down the road, which has only set them back further

They got there in the end. In an entirely predictable turn of events Manchester United have finally found the gumption to follow through on a decision that was made a long time ago. They have sacked Erik ten Hag, who can have no complaints after another dreadful sequence of results, but the question for Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s sprawling executive team is why it has taken so long when they had the opportunity to make a clean break last summer.

United had decided that Ten Hag’s time was up before last season’s FA Cup final against Manchester City. The outcome of that game was not supposed to make a difference. The message was that even a 4-0 win would not save the Dutchman. United, who had finished in eighth in the league, were talking to multiple managers about taking over and there was no denial when the story was put to them a day before the final.

Manchester United cannot afford to carry on being this version of a football club: the history boys, a fading heritage exhibition

Well, that’s finally happened then. On, now, to the next glorious two-year plan. The last few months of Erik Ten Hag’s time at Manchester United have felt at times like a throwback to the dog days of the Soviet Union, when the Secretary of the Central Committee always seemed to be either dead or dying, wheeled out grudgingly to oversee a parade every three months, the human face of this vast, dying red bureaucracy basically a corpse in a coat propped up in front of some missiles.

As of Monday afternoon we finally have clarity. The latest man in black is no more. That frowning bald Dutchman with a way of standing on the Old Trafford touchline that conveyed a strangely tender kind of pathos, a man to whom the world is simply doing things, will now receive the large payoff governed by an utterly insane two-year contract signed this summer, at a point when he was already clearly just a pair of legs in a suit.

Despite his inexperience the Dutchman has strong ideals learned from some of the greatest managers

Björn van der Doelen says he can easily tell the state of mind of his former PSV teammate and the new Manchester United interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy. “Sometimes I see the old Ruud on the sidelines,” says the midfielder, who played for PSV between 1994 and 2001. “His chin goes up. I know then that he doesn’t like it at all, he’s boiling inside and he’d rather run on to the pitch.

“When he was a player, he would get angry for a while when his chin went up. Now that he’s older, he seems calmer. Now that chin quickly goes down again.”

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Like the shock you get when you touch an electric fence deliberately, Erik ten Hag’s dismissal from his role as Manchester United manager was entirely predictable but still came as a bit of a surprise. Binning off the Dutchman is certainly the most significant decision the new breed of Ineos go-getters have made since Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought his stake in the club, doubling up as an embarrassing admission that they could scarcely have got their previous biggest decision more wrong. While United’s FA Cup final win might have been impressive enough to cover over a multitude of gaping fissures, it seems that only Ratcliffe and the kind of “world class” high-performing executives with which he likes to surround himself were too dumb to see that offering Ten Hag a new contract in July was ever going to end in anything other than salty tears.

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Defeat at West Ham was the final straw for the club hierarchy, who relieved the Dutchman of his duties

There were plenty of times over the past 14 months when sacking Erik ten Hag would have been justified but Manchester United clung on in the hope he could somehow turn things around. Patience and excuses finally ran out at Old Trafford after another dismal defeat at West Ham on Sunday, leaving them 14th in the Premier League and increasingly fearful of another season outside the Champions League.

Losing for a third straight season in east London was the straw that broke the camel’s back, forcing the club’s most senior figures to discuss terminating his contract because they were no longer confident of a top-four finish. The trigger may have been pulled at any point in recent times but Sunday’s performance was indicative of events on the pitch. Mistakes were made at both ends to ensure another limp loss and a unanimous decision was taken by the club hierarchy, before Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth informed Ten Hag on Monday at Carrington.

The Guardian's Manchester football correspondent Jamie Jackson explains why Erik ten Hag has been sacked as Manchester United's manager despite being backed by the club in the summer. After only a handful of games, Manchester United's 2024-2025 season didn't get off to a promising start, with the team sitting 'closer to relegation than the top four'. Ten Hag spent £200m in the summer but the new players have been unable to impress so far and Ten Hag hasn't been able to progress the team

The bubble has burst for the Dutchman at Old Trafford. Here are the most notable events of Ten Hag’s reign

• Dutchman sacked after poor Premier League start
• Read Will Unwin’s report on Ten Hag’s departure
• Ruud van Nistelrooy in temporary charge | Email John

Here is Ruud himself:

Nicholas Ridgman gets in touch: “Of all the post-Fergie management faragos, this is the hardest to understand.

• United sit 14th, seven points above relegation zone
• Dutchman won Carabao Cup and FA Cup during tenure

Manchester United have sacked Erik ten Hag after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham meant the club registered one of their worst starts to a Premier League season.

United have one victory from their past five top-flight matches and sit 14th in the division, seven points above the relegation zone after scoring only eight goals in nine league games.

More details to follow …

West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka shines against former club, Alex Iwobi has gone up a level and Brentford find new hero

Aaron Wan-Bissaka looked as if he had a point to prove against Manchester United. The right-back has had an intriguing role for West Ham this season. Julen Lopetegui has spotted hidden creative tendencies in the defender and given him freedom to attack. Wan-Bissaka has inverted and he was irrepressible against United. Noussair Mazraoui, his replacement at United, could not contain the former Crystal Palace player. Wan-Bissaka kept running clear and delivering crosses, and he should have had an assist when his ball reached Emerson Palmieri, who scuffed wide. If there is a concern, though, it is that Wan-Bissaka’s positioning does make West Ham open. Alejandro Garnacho had a lot of space and did not make enough of it. United were ridiculously frustrating in front of goal. A better team would have punished West Ham during the first half. They got the win, though, and at the end Wan-Bissaka was making a vital lunging tackle to deny Garnacho. Jacob Steinberg

Match report: West Ham 2-1 Manchester United

Match report: Everton 1-1 Fulham

Match report: Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool

Match report: Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle

Match report: Leicester 1-3 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Crystal Palace 1-0 Tottenham

Erik ten Hag said 'football is not always the best team winning' after Manchester United's 2-1 defeat by West Ham. The home side were awarded a controversial late penalty that was awarded after a VAR intervention. Ten Hag criticised the process after the game, complaining that it was 'a wrong decision' which 'had a big impact on the score'.

• Ten Hag fuming after ‘unfair and unjust’ VAR decision costs Manchester United

• Manager questions process after West Ham’s late penalty
• ‘Three times this season we feel injustice’

Erik ten Hag cried injustice after a controversial video assistant referee decision led to a 2-1 defeat for Manchester United against West Ham at the London Stadium.

United were left seething when Michael Oliver, one of the game’s senior and most respected officials, instructed David Coote, the on-pitch referee, to review a collision in the area between Matthijs de Ligt and the West Ham striker Danny Ings.

There are days when it is impossible not to lay into Manchester United’s many failings under Erik ten Hag. On this occasion, though, the true villain of the piece was the cold, interfering hand of the video assistant referee system. It is true that United’s forwards deserve criticism for failing to win this game during a painfully one-sided first half, but even they could not to do anything about the moment when Michael Oliver, watching from Stockley Park, stepped in with the advice that led to West Ham being awarded the penalty that brought Julen Lopetegui a precious and, at times, deeply illogical win.

This was an outcome decided in artificial fashion, technology’s creep bemusing and infuriating Matthijs de Ligt, the defender deemed guilty of felling Danny Ings with the score locked at 1-1 during the closing stages. It had looked little more than a coming together. David Coote, the on-pitch referee, did not think there was enough contact to merit a foul and it was a while before he was being told to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

• Manager yet to speak to club’s new sporting director
• Kevin De Bruyne still out with muscle injury

Pep Guardiola is confident that, should he depart next summer, Manchester City will not falter as Manchester United did when Sir Alex Ferguson left in May 2013.

Guardiola will decide this winter whether to extend his contract into a 10th year, Txiki Begiristain having confirmed he will leave as City’s sporting director at the end of the season. Ferguson left United as champions but they have failed to be serious title contenders since.

• Seven squad members missed draw at Fenerbahce
• ‘We have to do better to get more available players’

Erik ten Hag has said he, his staff and Manchester United’s players must ensure more of the squad are fit, with the team again hampered by several injuries this season.

Last term United had a total of 66 injuries and although the club were determined to address the issue in the summer, Leny Yoro, Ramsus Højlund, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Jonny Evans, Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelöf have sustained injuries this season. Tyrell Malacia remains a long-term absentee.

Erik ten Hag said he was 'disappointed not to win' after Manchester United drew 1-1 away to Fenerbahce in the Europa League. After taking the lead through Christian Eriksen, Ten Hag's team were pegged back by a Youssef ­En-Nesyri header after the break. It is their third straight draw in the competition, and marks a year since United's last win in Europe, against Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Speaking after Thursday's game in Turkey, the Manchester United manager said: 'We had chances to make a second goal. Disappointed not to win,' adding that 'we have to win games at Old Trafford.' Three of United's five remaining Europa League games are at home; they face PAOK, Bodø/Glimt and Ranger.

• José Mourinho aims sarcastic barbs at ref after red card against Manchester United

José Mourinho's Fenerbahce side drew 1-1 with Manchester United at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in the Europa League. The home side equalised thanks to a Youssef En-Nesyri header after Christian Eriksen's opener. But Mourinho stole the show as he was sent off for protesting when he thought Fenerbahce should have been awarded a penalty. Speaking after the game, he said: 'If any club in England from the bottom of the table needs a coach in two years, I'm ready to go, and I don't want to say anything more about it.'

A reunion for Steve Cooper, an opportunity for Matheus Nunes and a dilemma for Mikel Arteta

Two years ago it was this fixture that looked to have brought an end to the Steve Cooper era at Nottingham Forest, losing 4-0 at the King Power Stadium. He survived another 14 months before being sacked. A few weeks ago, the situation looked equally critical for him at Leicester, but two wins in a row after a positive performance in defeat by Arsenal have put Cooper on a more stable footing. Despite the upturn in form, fans are still not fully convinced by the man that brought such success to their rivals. A win on Friday night, though, would secure a third straight victory and help to increase Cooper’s popularity. If they do get the points, Leicester would move into the top half, which would go some way to vindicating the manager’s appointment after a stuttering start to life back in the Premier League. Will Unwin

Leicester v Nottingham Forest, Friday 8pm BST

Aston Villa v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm BST

Brentford v Ipswich Town, Saturday 3pm BST

Brighton v Wolves, Saturday 3pm BST

Manchester City v Southampton, Saturday 3pm BST

Everton v Fulham, Saturday 5.30pm BST

• Fenerbahce manager was sent off in Europa League draw
• ‘I congratulate him because he is absolutely incredible’

José Mourinho sarcastically described Clément Turpin as “one of the best referees in the world”after the Fenerbahce manager was sent off in his side’s 1-1 draw with former club Manchester United.

Mourinho was shown a red card after protesting when he thought his side should have had a ­penalty ­during the second half after Youssef ­En-Nesyri had cancelled out ­Christian Eriksen’s opening goal. He watched the rest of the match from the stands but revealed afterwards that he had been to see Turpin to ask about his dismissal.

Former United manager José Mourinho was sent to the stands during a topsy-turvy game that ended fairly with honours even

1 min: There is some proper bedlam going on at the Şükrü Saracoğlu. What a noise! Good luck thinking.

The hosts get the ball rolling. It’s exactly one year to the day since United’s last win in European competition, that 1-0 Champions League victory over Copenhagen at Old Trafford.