When Erik ten Hag became the manager of Manchester United in April 2022, it must have felt like the high point in an already impressive playing and managing career. How differently must he feel today?
It must be tough enough looking into the stands and seeing the three 'Sirs' - Alex Ferguson, Jim Radcliffe, and David Brailsford - keeping a watchful eye on his match-day performances. Then there are the TV pundits, the mainstream media and millions on social media who assess his results daily. Who can imagine receiving the criticism he has to endure?
The life of prominent public sporting figures is indeed challenging. What appears fulfilling can be quite the opposite. Andre Agassi's 'Open' is perhaps the most illuminating autobiography in sport. He describes a childhood driven by his father's ambition for his son to become a world-class tennis player. Agassi narrates his despair and self-flagellation every time he lost games as a child. He also talks about how fear of shame drove him until he won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 1992, at 22.
Are we forgetting that sports stars are human?
“There is no place for weak men in my dressing room.” That was England captain Ben Stokes’s frustrated verdict after …