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It’s been a weird season for Manchester United because they seemingly exist in two extremes at the same time.
Andre Onana was simultaneously an embarrassment and a contender for Golden Glove, as an example, and now, another nomination hammers home that point.
Erik ten Hag has been nominated for Premier League’s Manager of the Month for February alongside Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola.
It is, again, surreal to see a manager whose job is in reported danger, sitting alongside two of the three most bulletproof managers in the league.
🔴👔 Mikel Arteta
🔵👔 Pep Guardiola
👹👔 Erik ten HagOnly one can win February’s @BarclaysFooty Manager of the Month award! #PLAwards | Vote 👉 https://t.co/ynFTphsa0X pic.twitter.com/W3cnwW7Jzx
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 29, 2024
But also, Ten Hag won all four of his games in February before the defeat to Fulham prevented him from making it 5/5 so it’s also completely deserved by that metric.
The performance in those victories, and how sustainable his philosophy is at the club, remains up for debate but results can’t be argued against.
Still, it is unlikely that Ten Hag beats out Arteta or Guardiola for the award, not because of the defeat to Fulham, but because both Arsenal and Manchester City have been irresistible this month.
Arsenal’s February makes for scary reading for their rivals- four games, four wins, 18 goals scored, one conceded. This included a 3-1 win over Liverpool, a 6-0 battering away to West Ham, and a 4-1 home win against Newcastle.
City’s case is similar, although not to such an extreme. Their February numbers read- five games, four wins, one draw.
They haven’t been scoring freely but their performances have been on the up and goals flowed for them recently in the 6-2 win over Luton Town in the FA Cup.
This makes Mikel Arteta the favourite for the award and deservedly so but again, the fact that Ten Hag is positioned there, completely deservedly on the balance of results, sums up United’s weirdness this season.
They will be put to a true test when they travel to the Etihad Stadium on March 3. If Ten Hag makes the shortlist for March’s Manager of the Month, then there will be no asterisk attached, such is the upcoming fixture list.
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