In the summer of 2022, Ten Hag took charge of his first pre-season tour as Manchester United manager. In that tour, a 4-1 win over arch-rivals Liverpool and a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace were highlights.
There was a sense of optimism and excitement about a manager who came with an esteemed reputation, something which hadn't been felt within the United fanbase for some time. Was this finally the man to end the post-Sir Alex Ferguson hoodoo and with it bring a style of football far more in fitting with United's DNA than Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's?
Football is a fast-moving sport and the media (in particular) will turn on you at the first sight of blood; after all, they love nothing more than the continued decline of the formerly great Manchester United.
And that is exactly what happened after first Brighton and then Brentford. The bees stung United and the press also swarmed like bees to attack Ten Hag in the days and weeks after.
Patience is not granted at a club as big as Manchester United and the honeymoon period of positivity ended the moment United left Down Under for the Northwest. It was a disastrous day at Brentford's Community Stadium, everything that Ten Hag might have feared before the match happened.
Lisandro Martinez joined him in leaving Ajax for United and the Dutchman's new signing had a rude awakening to English football before being subbed at half-time. Likewise, Christian Eriksen - who had left Brentford for United on a free transfer - had a debut to forget.
Furthermore, Ten Hag's decision to keep faith with long-serving David De Gea immediately was brought into question after the Spaniard fumbled a tame early effort from Josh Da Silva into his own net.
It was a disjointed display from a team that looked weak physically and mentally. With a start to a new job as calamitous and concerning as Ten Hag's, immediate pressure on a man yet to unbox his belongings was applied.
It is a testament to the former Ajax boss that instead of letting the media get under his skin he focused on turning his new team around as United responded on the pitch. And despite having to deal with the challenging situations of an unhappy Cristiano Ronaldo, a mentally struggling Jadon Sancho and a far from transparent Glazer ownership, he managed to do exactly that.
New signings Martinez, Casemiro and Eriksen would all play important roles as United won the Carabao Cup, finished 3rd in the Premier League and made the FA Cup final. The football may still have not been what United fans had hoped for, but it was huge progress on United's nightmare 2021/22 campaign.
A step back in the 2023/24 season?
Fast forward to Easter 2024 and it is somewhat confusing that given all that happened last season, any progress made appears to have been lost. Any style of play that Ten Hag might have been building towards last season seems to have been put on hold in a season plagued by injuries, underperforming senior players, and a manager at times looking out of his depth.
A shock win against rivals Liverpool in an FA Cup classic just before the international break has once again brought Ten Hag time, but securing Champions League football or winning the FA Cup remain the only ways to save the season and one would expect Ten Hag's job.
One major positive from this campaign and Ten Hag's reign, in general, has been his gradual transition from an ageing squad to one full of youth and potential. That has been made possible by his hands-on approach with the academy, the summer signing of young Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund and his belief in giving youth a chance in the first team.
When Manchester United hosted West Ham at Old Trafford in February, Ten Hag's trust in youth paid him back with interest. After a slow start to the Premier League season, Holjund scored in his fourth straight Premier League game and Alejandro Garnacho scored a brace. That was also the day the trio of Hojlund, Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo celebrated together, a new generation of United's stars introducing themselves to the world in iconic harmony.
Magic Mainoo is capturing everyone's attention
Whilst the exciting directness of Garnacho and the ever-developing confidence of Hojlund have been positives from this season, Mainoo's breakthrough now for both club and country has attracted plaudits from ex-legends and current stars alike.
And after a player-of-the-match display in his first international start against Belgium on Tuesday, Mainoo is giving Gareth Southgate little option but to start him in the upcoming European Championship.
The rapid rise of the magical Mainoo has seen him go from academy star to someone who could well play a critical role for both club and country in the critical last few months of the season.
For those who have followed his journey, his performance against Belgium came as no surprise. Mainoo was always the player fans were most excited about from the academy and he played an understated part in United's FA Youth Cup victory in May 2022, with Garnacho grabbing the headlines.
His player-of-the-match performance on his first Premier League start against Everton (after a pre-season injury setback) was hugely impressive. It proved he could hold his own in senior football.
A mesmeric last-minute winner against Wolves last month saw his stocks grow further before another world-class display as United knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup a fortnight ago.
Mainoo's rise continued when was called up to England's senior team last week after an injury to Jordan Henderson, becoming one of the few England players to skip the under-21s. There is no ceiling for someone whose composure, maturity and confidence on the ball is way beyond his years.
But as so often has been the case with talented English youngsters, the walls can quickly close in if you go down the wrong path. Mainoo though, like his new international teammate Jude Bellingham, appears to have his feet firmly on the ground.
Ten Hag and (with some luck) Southgate will be relying on Mainoo to help them towards success this year and it is hard to imagine the teenage sensation letting them down.
How different will Ten Hag's team be against Brentford?
At the end of Ten Hag's first season at United, one of the major talking points was whether it was time to replace De Gea with a more modern style of keeper. He answered emphatically with his usual ruthlessness, letting De Gea leave as a free agent and bringing in highly rated Andre Onana from Champions League finalists Inter Milan.
There was a belief that Onana's notoriously impressive ability to stay calm with the ball at his feet and break the press would prove to be a big upgrade on De Gea who always looked awkward and uncomfortable at doing that.
And whilst in general Onana has been solid in the Premier League, his performances in the Champions League were costly and he is largely to blame for United's group stage exit. That was one of the major changes Ten Hag made in the summer and although his form has improved in recent months, it would be a push to call the gamble a success.
The back four remains the same, (although Dalot feels like a new player) but it is a race against time for Martinez to be back from a lengthy injury to make amends for what happened in August 2022.
Mainoo and Garnacho are the only new faces in midfield, but as previously mentioned Hojlund now leads the attack. He has finally given United a reliable focal point up front and at just 21, he could be United's striker for the next decade.
So, a younger, hungrier United side will travel to Brentford on Saturday hoping to put the ghosts of 2022 firmly behind them. But it might have as much to do with Brentford being a much less threatening opponent as anything else as to why it is hard to imagine another 4-0 humiliation.
Progress has been painfully slow under Ten Hag and time is running out for him to prove why there was so much anticipation surrounding his appointment almost two years ago, but it will be his faith in youth like Mainoo that could give him his first summer working with INEOS and he deserves credit for that.
A future with him focusing solely on continuing to progress the academy and developing a more attractive style of football, and Omar Berrada leading the scouting and transfer network, is the only future with Ten Hag in it which has some hope.
Putting memories of a dark day in August's sunshine to bed on Saturday evening would be the perfect start to a crucial two months ahead for Ten Hag's Manchester United.
