As the 2023-24 season nears its midpoint, it is evident that Erik ten Hag has encountered no success in mitigating the persistent, perpetual strain that surrounds his role in the Old Trafford dugout. Since assuming leadership of United in April 2022, the Dutchman has accumulated 79 games under his watch. Although the club has yet to achieve complete recognition and prestige during that period, there have been intermittent instances of growing optimism.

With 12 games played, United are sixth in the Premier League, four points behind Aston Villa and five points outside of the Champions League berths. Notwithstanding recent subpar performances in the Europa League and the League Cup, their domestic record has remained remarkably steady, to the extent that they are currently the form team in the top division.

Although Ten Hag may continue to face skepticism from some members of the fanbase, there are a number of encouraging statistics that could help alleviate some of the tension. In fact, they may even persuade some individuals that his tenure thus far at Old Trafford has not been as lackluster as it initially appears.

1. Ten Hag is accruing board points

Ten Hag has accumulated a record-breaking 12 points from his last five Premier League matches, following a run of four victories and one loss since the beginning of October. This total is the most of any manager in the top division.

In the same time period, Jurgen Klopp has guided Liverpool to 11 points, which is the closest to equal the recent haul of Ten Hag. Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, have each accumulated 10 points with Manchester City and Arsenal, respectively.

2. Ten Hag is performing better than both Klopp and Arteta

Ten Hag has accumulated a greater number of points in his initial 50 Premier League matches as Manchester United manager compared to Jurgen Klopp during the early stages of his tenure at Liverpool.

With 96 points accumulated from his first fifty percent of English Premier League matches, the Dutch coach has amassed four more points than his Germán counterpart during the same time frame. Furthermore, it is significantly higher than the 75 points that Mikel Arteta amassed in his initial 50 games as Arsenal manager.

3. Ten Hag is performing better than every other United manager

It is worth noting that despite not exactly reaching the heights thus far, Ten Hag currently holds the highest win percentage in the annals of Manchester United managers.

Ten Hag has gained the distinction of being the only permanent United manager to have won 30 of his 50 top flight games in command of the club. This surpasses the records held by David Moyes, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In fact, during his 79 games in command of United across all competitions, the current manager has recorded 50 victories, for an overall win percentage of 62%. This is two percentage points higher than the final record held by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, who finished with 60%.

During his 20-year tenure with United, Fergie presided over a staggering 1,476 matches, of which he won 884, in addition to 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, and two Champions Leagues. However, statistics can be used to prove anything.

4. Manchester United are circling the goals under Ten Hag

Last weekend, United secured back-to-back Premier League victories with a decisive goal from Swedish defender Victor Lindelof against Luton Town. In addition to generating the game’s sole objective, Lindelof became United’s twelfth different goalscorer this season.

Comparatively, United had twelve distinct goal scorers at the same time (through November 13) during Ten Hag’s tenure, indicating that at the very least a degree of consistency has been maintained with regard to the variety of goal sources utilized.

This also signifies a marginal improvement compared to the 2021-22 campaign, during which United had a mere ten active individual scorers by mid-November under the leadership of former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was subsequently dismissed within the same month.

While acknowledging the possibility, it could also serve to emphasize that Manchester United’s attack has not exactly been awe-inspiring in the initial three months of the 2023-24 season, with Marcus Rashford being the only recognized forward to have scored in the Premier League thus far.

5. Ten Hag is one of the most successful modern United managers to date

Despite the fact that United are still a considerable distance from regaining the all-conquering aura of the past, Ten Hag has added silverware to the club’s gleaming trophy case. The Dutchman achieved a notable accomplishment in his inaugural campaign at Old Trafford by securing third place in the Premier League, runner-up in the FA Cup, and champion of the League Cup. These results capped off a relatively successful debut season.

Matching the trophy tally of Louis van Gaal (an FA Cup), he is thus already among the club’s most successful coaches since Fergie’s tenure began. Since the conclusion of Alex Ferguson’s successful tenure at the club three and a half years ago, only Jose Mourinho has amassed more trophies, with the Portuguese accumulating a League Cup and a Europa League title.