Comparing Ten Hag’s Premier League record after 50 games to Solskjaer, Mourinho, Van Gaal & Ferguson

Nestor Watach • 16 Nov 2023

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has come under severe criticism following the poor start to the 2023-24 season – but his record looks much better when you take a look at it overall.

Ten Hag has now taken charge of 50 league games as Manchester United manager. He’s led them to 30 wins and 96 points over that period – which is actually better than any United manager in history, including Sir Alex Ferguson.

“Even after all the setbacks we dealt with, we are still in a position near the top four and when we start to play well and get a team that is set for weeks and months [then maybe] other teams will get their setbacks and drop points,” Ten Hag said following United’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Luton.

“Now we have won four games out of five in the Premier League, we are in quite a good position if you see all the trouble we had, we are in a very good position. That is a reason to be optimistic.

“We needed the win and we got it, but we could make life easier by scoring early on and getting a second. I am happy with [the winner] and I am happy with the clean sheet.”

Having walked into a chaotic situation, inheriting a side that registered the club’s lowest points tally of the Premier League era, Ten Hag did a solid job in his first season – he ended a six-year trophy drought by delivering the League Cup and led the club to third place in the league.

Results at the start of the second season have been mixed, and particularly poor in the cup competitions, but even after some notable Premier League defeats they remain in touching distance of the top four after winning four of their last five matches in the competition.

We’ve taken a look at how Ten Hag’s record at this stage compares to his predecessors, going all the way back to Ferguson (not including David Moyes, who never made it to 50 Premier League games). For context, we’ve included Ferguson’s first 50 games of the Premier League era (1992 onwards) as well as his first 50 league games from 1986 to 1987, back when the English top flight was still known as the first division.

Erik ten Hag

Wins: 30
Draws: 6
Losses: 14

Points: 96

Goals Scored: 71
Goals Conceded: 59
Clean Sheets: 21

READ: Comparing Ten Hag’s Premier League record after 50 games to Klopp, Guardiola & Arteta

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Wins: 24
Draws: 13
Losses: 13

Points: 85

Goals Scored: 80
Goals Conceded: 44
Clean Sheets: 13

Jose Mourinho

Wins: 26
Draws: 17
Losses: 7

Points: 95

Goals Scored: 81
Goals Conceded: 35
Clean Sheets: 25

Louis van Gaal

Wins: 27
Draws: 13
Losses: 10

Points: 94

Goals Scored: 79
Goals Conceded: 45
Clean Sheets: 19

🗣 “I saw Van Gaal the other day say that Solskjaer's football is like Mourinho's but winning. Van Gaal's football at United was the worst I've ever seen and Mourinho's was far better, even though it wasn't acceptable in terms of what the fans want to see.”

– Gary Neville. pic.twitter.com/w3inIrJ8WV

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) March 29, 2019