When Erik ten Hag described the news that the two biggest clubs in English football would be coached by Dutchmen as “fantastic for our football” you could understand his point. This has not been a golden period for the land that gave us Johan Cruyff.
The fates of the four Eredivisie title-winning coaches who preceded Manchester United’s Ten Hag and Liverpool’s Arne Slot reveal that much. Just look at how they fared in their first jobs after leaving the confines of the Netherlands. It was not pretty.
Phillip Cocu lasted 15 games at Fenerbahce. Giovanni van Bronckhorst had 23 games in charge of Guangzhou. Frank de Boer managed 14 at Inter. Steve McClaren had 24 with Wolfsburg. All four were later given opportunities in Britain but with little success.
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Gary Neville believes that Erik ten Hag has the wrong balance at Manchester United
In this context, Ten Hag’s 117 games and counting with United, winning a trophy in each of his first two seasons in charge, appears something of a triumph. Unlike so many before him, he has not crashed and burned, although his piloting remains unsteady.
After all, he has just presided over the club’s lowest finish in the Premier League era. He is already the third favourite to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked. An early meeting with Slot at Old Trafford on Sunday comes laced with risk for Ten Hag.
Slot did the double over his Ajax side when AZ Alkmaar threatened to become the shock winners of the Eredivisie only for the pandemic to put paid to their ambitions. However, Ten Hag did win both games against Slot’s Feyenoord in their most recent encounters.
Can they be separated this time? On the face of it, there are more similarities than differences. But Pascal Jansen, Slot’s assistant at AZ, and someone who did his UEFA Pro Licence alongside Ten Hag, insists that those comparisons are merely superficial.
“They do have the same hairstyle,” Jansen tells Sky Sports, “but the rest is different.” He highlights one key advantage for each man. For Ten Hag, it is his understanding of the Premier League. “That will help him. It is something that Arne now has to experience.”
For Slot, it is his ability to handle the media. “If you look at them personality-wise, I think Erik is a little bit more within himself and Arne is more known for being a little bit more eccentric,” says Jansen. As with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, that can win people over.
Arne Slot pictured with his former assistant at AZ Alkmaar Pascal Jansen
Slot ‘easier on the ears’
Jurjan Mannes, who played under Slot at Cambuur, points out this quality too. “He is really keen to play with the press and respond to things,” Mannes tells Sky Sports. “He is just a smart man, clever with his answers and his behaviour. He likes to be sarcastic.”
As Mannes sees it, Slot would prepare for a press conference as he would prepare his team for a match. “What are the questions going to be asked? How can I respond? That was really recognisable during his time at Feyenoord but it was the same at Cambuur.”
Another source in the Netherlands describes Slot as “easier on the ears” and agrees that this could be vital at a club that values that connection more than most. But there is a caveat. “You cannot compare anything with the media at Liverpool,” says Mannes.
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Jamie Carragher sits down with Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Ultimately, Slot must deliver on the pitch if he is to succeed. As Ten Hag might tell him, translating the football for which his reputation was earned at home to the Premier League is not straightforward. United’s identity – or lack of it – remains a talking point.
Ten Hag was once said to have remarked that Jose Mourinho liked to play with the black chess pieces whereas he preferred the white – meaning that he wanted his teams to be proactive rather than reactive. But that has not always been obvious in his team set-up.
His FA Cup final triumph was a masterclass in how to win without the ball, punishing Manchester City on the transition despite having just 27 per cent of the possession. In the good moments and the bad, the control he enjoyed at Ajax has been missing.
Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag faced each other four times in the Eredivisie with two wins each
‘Some details will change’
Will Slot face the same challenge in implementing his established style of play? There have already been notable tweaks in terms of the use of the full-backs. The challenge will be to add to Liverpool’s possession game without losing their intensity off the ball.
Jansen is confident that Slot will maintain their pressing. It has long been a feature of his approach. “Out of possession, it is going to be a spectacle, it is going to be high energy like Liverpool is very well known for. So, that will be quite similar,” he says.
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Jamie Carragher analyses Liverpool’s use of their full-backs against Ipswich
“Maybe some details will change, but getting the interaction with the fans when out of possession was something that he also created here in Holland with Feyenoord. And it was also something that we created when we were working together at AZ.
“And in possession, I think he will focus more on getting more possession-based. So not as many turnovers but trying to control games through possession. Liverpool are able to control the game with the ball too but they are more well known for their transitions.
“And obviously, that is something that is a huge part of the Premier League. But if you look at Man City, for instance, they show that possession-based play is also part of the game. And that is something that Arne created here in the Eredivisie with Feyenoord.”
Feyenoord’s dominance was, of course, easier in a league where the talent was loaded towards the top teams. “The traditional top three basically have far better squads than the rest of the league so it is not uncommon to have more possession,” explains Jansen.
“It will be very interesting to see what does in the Premier League, where counter-attack strategies are more developed than in the Eredivisie. You have stronger opposition, better players across the league. Will he be capable of doing such a thing again?”
If there is a doubter, Slot might not need to look too far on Sunday. While Ten Hag has since said that Liverpool’s style “suits Arne Slot completely” he was less effusive in his praise of Feyenoord’s football when speaking to Voetbal International this summer.
“People have been going overly lyrical about Feyenoord.” That was Ten Hag’s verdict on a “steady” season in which the Rotterdam side were well beaten to the title by PSV. It is an indication, perhaps, that Ten Hag is something of a pragmatist at heart, after all.
He may claim to like his teams to be proactive – but not for aesthetic reasons. He wants to win. The praise for Slot’s side in a season in which they failed to do so was something that he was unable to reconcile. The chance to put him in his place comes early.
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For Slot, it would represent a first setback as Liverpool boss, the first inkling that this competition is capable of throwing up new challenges for him to solve. For Ten Hag, it would raise concerns about United’s progress in what is his third season as manager.
Two very different Dutchman, two very special English football clubs, this has the makings of a rivalry that could capture the imagination. Of course, both will need to stick around a little longer than so many of their Eredivisie predecessors if they are to make it happen.
Watch Man Utd vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League from 3.30pm on Sunday; kick-off 4pm
