If Man United fans weren’t already getting carried away with Erik ten Hag after nine straight wins, an old clip of him talking about football as a kid has recently resurfaced and Reds can’t get enough.
To make things even more surreal, not only does the video show what looks to be a very smart 13-year-old ten Hag, but the person he is confidently chatting with is none other than legendary player, manager and general football visionary, Johan Cruyff.
Unearthed by Twitter user @RuudAzz, the video is ripped from a 1984 episode of the Dutch sporting icon’s own TV show, Cruyff & Co, and sees the two discussing the differences between coaching different types of players.
To be honest, we just can’t get over seeing him with hair!
As translated in the thread below, Cruyff was discussing the ins and outs of football management with a group of his nation’s brightest young talents when ten Hag responded to the topic of coaches shouting at their players.
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“I think you should watch out that you don’t yell to the youth too much, because you can break a player like that”, says a young ten Hag, speaking very insightfully for such someone of his age.
He then goes on to insist that there’s a difference between coaching youth players and professionals “on a higher level, such as the first team of Ajax, you should be able to say something about it. Those guys train almost every day of the week. If they keep making the same mistakes, you should be able to confront them.”
It’s clear that ten Hag’s philosophies were embedded quite early on as he clearly looks to be seeing results with players in his current United squad, each of which look to have seemingly received a different kind of man-management depending on their age, conduct and prior issues.
For instance, while Alejandro Garnacho’s attitude was called into question, the 52-year-old simply decided to make him wait for his chance rather than punish him and has been equally measured with other young players like Tyrell Malacia and youth prospects like Kobie Manioo.
On the other hand, he also clearly knows how to establish a strict code of conduct, as Jadon Sancho has been made to train separately as he works on his fitness, focus and confidence; even high-flying Marcus Rashford was dropped to the bench after being late for a team meeting.
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He clearly made his thoughts clear during the whole Ronaldo saga too. It would seem he’s always expected very specific things from coaches, including himself — talk about sticking to your principles.
Featured Image — @RuudAzz/Sky Sports (via Twitter)
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2024 Manchester Marathon raises £29 million for local economy and over £3.7m for charity
Danny Jones
Just under a fortnight on from the 2024 Manchester Marathon and the numbers are finally, with the annual race generating nearly £30 million for the local economy and raising over £3.7m for charity.
This year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon saw record numbers of runners and spectators as over 30,000 took part in the popular race, up by roughly 6,000 from 2023, and more than 125k turned up to line the streets of Greater Manchester.
As a result, these huge crowds spent upwards of £29.2 million at business around the city centre and around the 10 boroughs last weekend, serving as one of the most significant contributions to the local economy on the annual calendar.
Not only was this an approximately £8m increase on last year’s tally but, most importantly, a sizeable chunk of that went straight into both regional and national charities.
Beyond the boost to local vendors, the hospitality sector and retail businesses, over £3.7 million were allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie.
Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund, with £1 from every paid entry to the Adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half donated directly to the initiative that benefits local sports clubs and organisations through Trafford Council.
Better still, with City of Trees selected as the chosen ‘Green Runner’ charity, the eco-friendly drive saw roughly 7% of participants opt out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both.
The money saved in production goes towards maintaining woodlands and wildlife across Greater Manchester.
This year’s Manchester Marathon also helped produce some of the highest number of passengers on public transport in the city’s history, with a over 175,000 journeys made on Metrolink alone – the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day.
This was a 20% increaseon 2023’s race day (145k), spotlighting how the event continues to be more environmentally conscious as years go by.
With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday, 27 April next year – and over 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest, flattest, friendliest and most-loved marathons.
Featured Images — Adidas Manchester Marathon/The Manc Group
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‘Enough is enough’: Marcus Rashford calls out fans for ‘months’ of abuse
Danny Jones
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has put his foot down in a social media post, calling for an end to ‘months of abuse’ from both his own supporters and beyond.
It’s fair to say that the 26-year-old hasn’t been enjoying his best season in a United shirt and while he has had his moments this year – his goal against Arsenal and stunning opener in the Manchester derby, just to name a couple – he’s come under a lot of pressure from supporters.
Rashford previously came out to address the situation in a Players Tribune interview back in February, stating, “I can’t have people questioning my commitment to Man United”, but now the England international has reiterated the point after someone came to his defence on X.
Quoting a fan who wrote that “the way Marcus Rashford is being treated is absolutely disgusting”, calling the behaviour online and on matchdays in some cases as “cruel” and downright abuse”, he responded by declaring: “Enough is enough”.
The Wythenshawe winger has already labelled doubts over his effort levels, love and loyalty to the club “ridiculous”, reiterating time and time again that he’s a boyhood Red, but that hasn’t stopped people continuing to criticise him online.
Sadly, while he’s also insisted that he “can take criticism” and headlines when his performances aren’t quite up to scratch, the negativity hasn’t just been limited to social media and has been spilling out into the matchday stands.
Reports of Rashford being booed off the pitch by his own supporters at Wembley during United’s admittedly chaotic performance against Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final were confirmed by multiple sources at the time.
Although he didn’t comment on the response from the travelling Reds at the time, it’s now clear he was abundantly aware of the frosty reception as he was substituted, with many within the fan base and beyond calling the decision to boo your own players “classless” and “shameful”.
With seven goals and five assists to his name across all competitions this season, it’s fair to say Marcus Rashford has been a far cry away from the heights he has managed to hit in recent years.
It was only last season that he hit a career-high record of 40 goal contributions, sitting as one of the most prolific players in all of Europe during another difficult season for the club, even managing to surpass club legend Andy Cole’s record.
Just goes to show how short people’s memories can really be – especially when it comes to football – and Erik ten Hag has already urged patience from his fans when it comes to his players, and not just his number ten.
‘The Beautiful Game’ is and always will be a fickle sport but it’s worth reminding of just how much the academy product has already delivered during his time at Man United. Anyone can have a tough season.