WORKAHOLIC Erik ten Hag is leaving no page unturned to fix the problems at Manchester United.
And that includes regularly going to sleep at 4am in an attempt to find the tiny details he is missing.
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Erik ten Hag is feeling the heat as Manchester United managerCredit: Eamonn and James Clarke
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Benni McCarthy worked with Ten Hag for two seasonsCredit: Getty
Ten Hag remains under constant pressure as Red Devils boss.
The shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City ensured he kept his job beyond last season.
But five matches without a victory following earlier defeats to Brighton and Liverpool mean the Dutchman is fighting to sort things out.
And that means long, gruelling days at Carrington and at home.
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Ten Hag’s No2 Benni McCarthy, 46, revealed just how much work Ten Hag is putting in – joking that it is to the detriment of his marriage with wife Bianca.
Asked what is going wrong at Old Trafford, McCarthy told SuperSport: “That’s the million-dollar question, that’s the question for everyone. If they knew, they could fix it.
“There’s nothing wrong there, it’s just missing [a piece] in the puzzle, I don’t even think they know what it is, they’ve not found that missing puzzle piece.
“What is it? Is it the mentality shift? Is it the mindset? Is it working on more specifics? It could be anything.
“When you’re there, you see the work that goes into training and how the players are. I was like, ‘My God, we would ruin any team,’ with the way we trained.
“When you are there, you see this is high-level stuff.
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“We were not fearful of anyone, the team is incredible with quality. Then come matchday, it’s like we get a massive shock in the back.
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“I can imagine how frustrating it is for Erik because he’s probably one of the hardest-working managers I’ve come across.
“His attention to detail, that man goes to sleep at 3am, 4am in the morning.
“The analysts get it at all angles, even if he thinks of something at 2am.
“I’m sure his wife must be on the verge of divorcing him because that’s his life. It’s non-stop.
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“He works tirelessly and when you put that much work in, you expect things to go well, but that’s why I’m saying there’s something [that’s not right].”
McCarthy worked under Ten Hag during his first two seasons at Old Trafford – with the objective of contending for titles again.
He revealed the coaches arrived at Carrington around 7.15am ahead of a meeting 15 minutes later with the manager and his staff to discuss the training session.
The players get to the training ground at 8am and soon head for training – likely a warm-up in the gym before going outside on the grass.
McCarthy then said the likes of “special” Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro then stay out for extra training and competitions.
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Nine managers Man Utd considered before keeping Erik ten Hag
ERIK TEN HAG appears to be safe as Man Utd manager, but the Dutchman edged dangerously close to the sack.
Here are nine managers Red Devils chiefs are reported to have considered for the job and what allegedly happened with each.
Gareth Southgate
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Enjoys plenty of support among Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos chiefs but made clear he wouldn’t talk to any clubs until after Euro 2024. There is yet to be any suggestion that contact was made with the England boss.
Kieran McKenna
Talks were opened with McKenna’s representatives before the FA Cup final, but the former Man Utd coach opted to sign a new deal with Ipswich after Ten Hag’s Wembley win.
Roberto De Zerbi
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Allegedly sounded out before the FA Cup final with salary expectations discussed. But Ineos chiefs concluded ex-Brighton boss was not the right fit for the project.
Thomas Frank
Brentford boss met Man Utd representatives the day before the FA Cup final. The Dane also dined with Ratcliffe, Roy Hodgson and Frank Lampard at the launch of a new Ineos car in February.
Marco Silva
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Fulham boss reportedly met Man Utd representatives face-to-face two days before the FA Cup final, around the same time as Ten Hag was conducting his press conference.
Mauricio Pochettino
Fell out of Man Utd’s thinking in the first week of June, despite being a favourite of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thomas Tuchel
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Made a very strong impression and came across well during a Monaco meeting. Personal terms were discussed before the ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss decided to step back from the process.
Ruben Amorim
Sporting boss was discussed by the Man Utd hierarchy but did not make the final reckoning.
Roberto Martinez
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Portugal manager was considered in the early stages.
After lunch, there was a training debrief among the coaches and then from 2pm, they would use the video analysis to give personal feedback to the players.
Ben Whittaker left the arena in a wheelchair after suffering a leg injury when he fell out of the ring along with opponent Liam Cameron during a wild exchange on the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev undercard on Saturday.
The incident happened as Cameron and Whittaker were backing up towards the ropes at the end of the round. As the fighters hit the ropes, they both toppled over in a dramatic scene as the crowd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia jumped to their feet.
The fighters crashed on the side of the ring after spilling over the ropes but while both athletes remained down momentarily, it was clear that Whittaker got the worst of it. As he got back to his feet, Whittaker was favoring his leg as he got back into the ring to receive medical attention.
It wasn’t long before Whittaker had his shoe removed with his trainers checking his leg and the fight was stopped when it was clear that the highly touted British prospect would not be able to continue.
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With the fight stopped due to injury, the scorecards were gathered up to provide a decision but even that ended in some controversy.
The final scores were 58-57 for Whittaker, 58-57 for Cameron and 58-58 with the fight being declared a split draw.
A dejected Cameron left the ring after believing he did enough early in the fight to deserve the win with the broadcast team marveling over his performance while admitting that Whittaker was having a tough night at the office.
In the end none of that matters with the fight scored a split draw and Whittaker requiring medical attention after falling out of the ring.
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It seems like these two are headed for a rematch in the future once Whittaker is healthy enough to compete again.
Under-pressure Arsenal women’s head coach Jonas Eidevall says his players are still giving everything on the pitch after defeat by Chelsea at home leaves his side with just one win in the WSL this season.
Super Formula has cancelled next season’s planned visit to South Korea’s Inje Speedium, and will instead race entirely within Japan in 2025.
Series promoter JRP made the announcement on Saturday ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the season at Fuji, although it’s understood that teams had already been informed of the move late last month.
It comes not much more than a month on from the official confirmation of the Inje race, which followed confirmation from Japanese national federation JAF that the series would be venturing to South Korea for its first overseas race since it visited Sepang in 2004.
Addressing reporters at Fuji, JRP boss Yoshihisa Ueno said negotiations with the Inje promoter had been proceeding, but as the conditions could not be met in the agreed timeframe, the decision was made to give up on holding the race in 2025.
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However, Ueno did not discount the prospect of the event returning in 2026 as Super Formula pursues a policy of expanding its footprint in Asia.
Besides the Inje race, the remainder of the calendar remains the same compared to the draft unveiled at the end of August, with 12 races (including five double-headers) still representing the highest number of races held in a single year in Super Formula history.
Pit lane
Photo by: Masahide Kamio
The removal of Inje from the Super Formula calendar alleviates one of two clashes with the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule, as the Korean round was set to fall on the same weekend as the test day for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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Kamui Kobayashi previously told Motorsport.com that he was unsure whether he would continue in Super Formula owing to both that clash and the conflict between the Motegi race and the WEC’s visit to Imola in April, which remains in place.
Additionally, this year’s FIA Prize Gala in the Rwandan capital of Kigali is likely to prevent Kobayashi from attending Super Formula’s post-season test at Suzuka in December.
BEN WHITTAKER was left in a wheelchair following a freak injury after being pushed out of the boxing ring against Liam Cameron.
In the fifth round of the fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Whittaker was pushed over the top rope during a clinch.
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Ben Whittaker was left in a wheelchair after a freak injury in his fight with Liam CameronCredit: Getty
More to follow.
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After UFC CEO Dana White expressed doubt about getting a Nick Diaz fight back on the books this year, the beloved veteran has been rescheduled against Vicente Luque on the final numbered UFC event of 2024.
Diaz, a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger, was originally slated to fight Luque in his first bout since September 2021 at UFC on ABC 7 in August. He withdrew due to travel issues, but now a new date is set for UFC 310, which goes down Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).
The first time Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) and Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) were scheduled, it was a five-round welterweight bout. This time it is set for three rounds in the 170-pound weight class. White announced the matchup as part of a slew of matchups for the card on Saturday.
Two people with knowledge of the situation verified the booking with MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Mania. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Diaz, older brother of Nate Diaz, hasn’t fought since losing to Robbie Lawler in 2021. That was also his first fight in six years. The 41-year-old is winless in his past four bouts, and hasn’t achieved a victory since battering B.J. Penn at UFC 137 in October 2011.
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Luque is also looking to break out of a difficult stretch. The 32-year-old has dropped three of his past four octagon appearances, with his most bout being a TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 54 in March.
The latest UFC 310 lineup now includes:
Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov – for welterweight title
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez
Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
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