Is pro-golf eating itself?

Spare a thought for Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag. He’s got a fairly crummy, injury-hit team who appear to have given up running (apart from Alejandro Garnacho who is still young enough to think that it’s OK to belt down the left wing and then deposit the ball somewhere, though not in goal). His new owner is pictured in the stands with his head in his hands and he has to cope with the choleric visage of his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson watching on with an expression of scarcely controlled contempt, while two former United godfathers, Gary Neville and Roy Keane, fulminate in the Sky commentary box about how crap the manager is.

His new owner sits with his head in his hands and he has to deal with the choleric visage of Alex Ferguson watching on

But let’s face it: in the past 20 completed seasons only two Premier League managers have done consistently well – Ferguson and Pep Guardiola at Man City. The two Manchester sides have between them won the title 12 times in this 20-season period, five of City’s seven wins achieved under Guardiola, and all five of United’s under Ferguson. In other words, Ten Hag might not have done well but none of the other managers apart from Guardiola and Ferguson – and Jürgen Klopp – have either.

So what is the triple-X factor that separates the best from the rest? All three have brilliant football brains. More, they have put extra emphasis into man management, with Klopp and Guardiola especially establishing strong bonds with each individual player, while Ten Hag is remote and critical. If the players don’t like you, they won’t play for you. Marcus Rashford seems to have stopped even pretending to show the crowd he’s trying when he ambles back.