Football management can be brutal. A manager might think he's doing well but they can soon find themselves being fired. Every club has an objective. Should a manager fail to meet that aim, they can find themselves in hot water. This has recently happened to managers, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. A further one, Erik Ten Hag, is at risk of being sacked.
While most of the European footballing world was distracted by the aftermath of the Champions League draw, two of Türkiye’s grandest clubs pulled the trigger on a pair of underperforming former Manchester United managers.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær was the first to bite the bullet as he was let go by Beşiktaş on Thursday evening. The so-called 'Smiling Assassin' only took over last January, steering a side which was sixth when he grabbed the reins up to fourth. There were notable wins against champions Galatasaray and Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe but European qualifying would prove to be Solskjær’s downfall this season.
Beşiktaş lost 6–2 on aggregate to Ukrainian side, Shakhtar Donetsk, in the first round of Europa League qualifying which forced them to drop into the preliminaries of the Conference League.
After narrowly scraping through a nervy two-legged tie with Irish outfit, St. Patrick’s Athletic, Solskjær’s side briefly fell 2–0 down at home to the team currently sitting fifth in the League of Ireland. Beşiktaş were knocked out of qualifying for Europe’s third tier competition by Swiss side, FC Lausanne, who—in another Manchester United-tinged wrinkle—are owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS.
Mourinho’s position at Fenerbahçe was also defined by continental qualification or lack thereof. The two-time Champions League-winning manager ultimately couldn’t find a way past Portugese side, Benfica, in the final round of matches before entry into the League Phase. Dropping back into the Europa League may not have been a sackable offence in and of itself but Mourinho publicly criticised his employers before the second leg loss.
Lamenting a lack of new signings in the wake of Fenerbahçe’s first qualifying victory over Feyenoord, Mourinho sniped: "I don’t think the club made any extra effort to provide me with more opportunities for these two Benfica matches. If the Champions League was vital for my club, something would have been done during the time between Feyenoord and Benfica."
Mourinho also mused: "I know tomorrow’s match is very important, very important for the fans, but from a career perspective, it’s just a match. I don’t think careers will be affected." That prediction didn’t age particularly well.
It feels rather timely that these two former United bosses should be chucked through the door marked, "Do One" just as the latest man to suffer the Old Trafford meme factory is put to his limits. Ruben Amorim will rue the day he popped into Sports Direct to buy that magnetic tactics board, for it was instantly imbibed into the internet’s collection of looped two-second videos for merciless and eternal social media use.
Amorim, the sweet-talking dogmatist whose principled management was the exact reason for his appointment at United, is now being viewed with ridicule and derision, just as Solskjær and Mourinho were before him. It comes for everyone. Solskjær was a club legend who ended his reign by crying on MUTV; Mourinho was the managerial great living miserably in a hotel room after alienating his squad. The scythe’s swing is remorseless.
The United fanbase has always been divided regarding how to view the aforementioned duo. Without question, they occupy the top two in the post-Ferguson cartel of managers, albeit Erik ten Hag and Louis van Gaal won domestic cups where Solskjær won none. The Norwegian came second, produced fluent football and endeared himself to United supporters. The romanticists loved him, how he paid lip service to the club’s history by playing counterattacking football and refusing to use Sir Alex Ferguson’s old parking space. It is widely agreed that sacking Solskjær in November 2022 was a premature move by United, given they had no idea how to replace him.
There are now even some whispers among supporters about bringing him back. You know the drill: an interim spell, 4-2-3-1 and good vibes. Isn’t that what football is about? Oh no, sorry, romance is dead….
Instead, United and Amorim plough on together. The dreaded vote of confidence. The rigid formation. Mason Mount at left wing-back. The apologies from Diogo Dalot after another defensive disasterclass. There are rumours Amorim may be considering walking away from it all, shunning a hefty pay-off; believing there is a desert island somewhere for him to sit on and fiddle with his laminated tactics tablet forever more.
As Solskjær and Mourinho prove, however, the most likely future awaiting Amorim is a bleak spell managing Trabzonspor, eventually getting the bullet in late August 2028 for a meek Big Vase qualifying defeat to Lens. Be warned, Ruben.
"After getting knocked out of UEFA Conference League tonight, Besiktas Board of Directors held an emergency meeting and decided to part ways with Head Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær," the Turkish club confirmed on Thursday. Lausanne beat them 1-0 in Istanbul after drawing the first leg.
In a statement released after the Conference League defeat on Thursday night, Besiktas said: "Our contract with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær, has been terminated following a decision made at a board meeting. Following the meeting, our chairman, Serdal Adalı, thanked Solskjær, for his services to date."
One day earlier, Fenerbahce lost to Benfica in the play-off round of Champions League qualification. After a 0-0 draw in Turkey, the Portuguese team won 1-0 at home. Then, a few hours later on Friday morning, Fenerbahçe parted ways with Jose Mourinho. A club statement titled "for public information" thanked him for his efforts and wished the Portuguese well.
It didn't take long for Fenerbahçe to follow suit when they dismissed Mourinho just ten hours later, with a brief statement also released on Friday morning: "Our Professional Football First Team's technical director, Jose Mourinho, who has been carrying out his duties starting from the 2024-2025 season, has parted ways with us. We thank him for his efforts for our team until today and wish him success in his future career."
Meanwhile, after a 2-1 loss to Hoffenheim on Matchday 1 and a 3-3 draw with Werder Bremen on Matchday 2, Bayer Leverkusen boss, Erik ten Hag, is in trouble, per reports.
The Bundesliga giants had appointed the former Manchester United manager Ten Hag as a replacement for Xabi Alonso ahead of the new season, but he has struggled to make an impact, with the 2024 champions yet to secure a league victory.
Ten Hag's tenure began with a win over fourth-tier side Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. However, his team suffered a narrow defeat to Hoffenheim, who staged a comeback to clinch a 2-1 victory following Jarell Quansah's early goal.
Leverkusen then squandered a two-goal lead against Werder Bremen on Saturday, ultimately settling for a 3-3 draw.
None of the Bayer Leverkusen bosses are backing the Dutchman following yesterday’s embarrassing collapse against Werder Bremen. ten Hag’s statements after the match which seemed to clearly lay the blame on club management’s handling of the player personnel situation – may have something to do with the fact that the front office no longer wishes to work with him.
Club officials are expected to make a definitive decision on ten Hag's future once the summer transfer window closes. This suggests that he could be sacked as early as Monday evening, although Leverkusen have not yet announced their final decision.
This development follows ten Hag's harsh criticism of his players after their draw with Wolfsburg, where he urged them to take responsibility for their disappointing start to the season. He said: "The players aren't ready. We have a new team and some of the players aren't at all fit enough to play. The team didn't function at all during the final stage of the game. That's just the way it is."
"They need to bring more intensity and get fitter in order to meet my standards. After the international break, we face real competition and must perform as a team. That begins with taking responsibility and delivering individual performances. And they have to demonstrate to me that they want to work together."
"First, we need to have the players. There's been a major upheaval. A lot has changed in the leadership and hierarchy of the team. Now new players have to step up. We didn't do that well today."
Leverkusen captain, Robert Andrich, also delivered some scathing remarks in his post-match chat, moaning about a shortage of team spirit and unity. "This has nothing to do with unrest or player changes," he said, seemingly contradicting ten Hag. "But rather with the team on the pitch. We have too many people preoccupied with other things."
"We have too many people who are concerned only with themselves. Everyone played for themselves. Everyone ran around the pitch on their own."
Unless a team is performing well, managers will most likely fear about their jobs. Mourinho's position doesn't really surprise me. When things don't go well, he always looks for a scapegoat. He's unwilling to accept responsibility.
Solskjær, on the other hand, is just tough luck. He didn't meet the expections that the bosses set. There can be harsh consequences if the bosses aren't satisfied. It's hard to tell where his next job will be.
As for ten Hag, I believe that they are being a bit hasty. The season has just begun. As the saying goes, the football season is a marathon; not a sprint. More time should be given to establish himself further.