Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager / awaiting clarity from the club over his position

[I Am Zlatan]

People need to understand pressing high and consistently playing out of the back is a risk and if you can’t do it properly you’re begging to concede goals. No matter who is on the pitch it takes time to build the sufficient cohesion and fitness to do these things at a high level.

Exactly, also it would take time for the players (assuming they can pull it off), to have a good understanding of each other and the situation, it would definitely take some time, even with better players than the players we have.

 

[Sweet Square]

Yup. And should only improve with Casemiro getting up to speed.

Look decent when he came on. I think some people have forgotten that this was first time we've scored away from home since February. Getting a win and clean sheet is a positive step.

 

[mav_9me]

i’m glad he’s starting off by changing things slowly tbh. This is a side that really isn’t going to take to ‘total football’ quickly, and tbh that style doesn’t work completely in England.

I like what we’ve seen so far. Clearly we need a few more additions but first things first he needs to fix the mentality. Getting a few wins together and not totally collapsing is the most important thing for now

Agreed. He may have best ideas in the world but if he can't get players to buy in, it won't work. And players need to win to buy in.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Agreed. He may have best ideas in the world but if he can't get players to buy in, it won't work. And players need to win to buy in.

yep. even the simple change of realising we can’t play out from the back so we’ve gone traditional and lumping it again - great.

we’ve not made any chaotic errors like in the brentford game that cost us.

even if we play more like that at home but away just don’t give the home crowd any encouragement

 

[Leftback99]

He's clearly gone back to basics, sitting deep and not playing out from the back. But it's vital we find a way of making the ball stick up front and in midfield. It's painful watching the forwards and Bruno constantly conceding possession.

 

[afrocentricity]

Important win to build up the confidence of the team which is probably what matters the most now.

But that was a shit performance and parking the bus and holding our lives for a 1-0 win is the last thing I expected him to do.

For a one off it's fine but this repeats again, then nothing is going to change. We need to build a team who can actually control the ball, not shitting themselves and parking the bus on a 1-0 lead.

Are you willing to wait for that to happen? Because these things take time right?

 

[el3mel]

Are you willing to wait for that to happen? Because these things take time right?

I'm willing to wait if there're signs of these actually starting to develop on the pitch, which is clearly not present at the moment.

 

[altodevil]

I'm willing to wait if there're signs of these actually starting to develop on the pitch, which is clearly not present at the moment.

4 games you clown. We've had 4 games.

 

[el3mel]

4 games you clown. We've had 4 games.

Reported.

 

[UDontMessWith24]

Reported.

Are facts against the rules?

 

[Rightnr]

Are facts against the rules?

There are some proper juvenile posters in here.

Are you lot switchers from the Arse fanbase? Literally every thing some says that you disagree with, the comeback is hater, clown or something similarly basic. Pathetic stuff

 

[captaincantona]

Haven’t read back since his post match presser so apologies if this has been mentioned.

Not happy with his comments about our striker situation. Said Rashford contributed in important moments in the second half around when we scored??? Did I miss these? We’re they more than just the bare minimum for any striker? Was he not completely anonymous for 3/4 of the match? Maybe he recognises Rashford as a confidence player and so is just building him up but against any sides that aren’t City and Liverpool - the guy is useless as a striker.

This concerns me because ETH then said Rashford/Martial/Ronaldo were more than enough options at striker? Surely he is just putting on a brave face. When Martial is injured which is pretty much always - I would not be confident with either of the other 2 leading the line in this set up.

 

[mav_9me]

Haven’t read back since his post match presser so apologies if this has been mentioned.

Not happy with his comments about our striker situation. Said Rashford contributed in important moments in the second half around when we scored??? Did I miss these? We’re they more than just the bare minimum for any striker? Was he not completely anonymous for 3/4 of the match? Maybe he recognises Rashford as a confidence player and so is just building him up but against any sides that aren’t City and Liverpool - the guy is useless as a striker.

This concerns me because ETH then said Rashford/Martial/Ronaldo were more than enough options at striker? Surely he is just putting on a brave face. When Martial is injured which is pretty much always - I would not be confident with either of the other 2 leading the line in this set up.

Maybe that's what he thinks cuz for the money we have he wants Antony

 

[RedOrange]

This concerns me because ETH then said Rashford/Martial/Ronaldo were more than enough options at striker? Surely he is just putting on a brave face. When Martial is injured which is pretty much always - I would not be confident with either of the other 2 leading the line in this set up.

Correct. Don't read too much into what manager's say publicly about transfers, especially when they downplay the need for reinforcements. Everyone can see that a centre forward and a winger are needed but he's not going to come out and announce that we're desperate as it just makes our already terrible bargaining position even worse.

 

[Jed I. Knight]

i’m glad he’s starting off by changing things slowly tbh. This is a side that really isn’t going to take to ‘total football’ quickly, and tbh that style doesn’t work completely in England.

I like what we’ve seen so far. Clearly we need a few more additions but first things first he needs to fix the mentality. Getting a few wins together and not totally collapsing is the most important thing for now

Exactly! I think he might have been fooled a bit by what he saw in friendlies. In other words, he underestimated the intensity in the Premier League.

But he’s rectified his mistake quickly, and going back to basics, and then baby steps from there is exactly what we need at the moment.

I’ve also no doubt that he’s ambitious enough to demand that those who don’t adapt and perform with time will be replaced.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Exactly! I think he might have been fooled a bit by what he saw in friendlies. In other words, he underestimated the intensity in the Premier League.

But he’s rectified his mistake quickly, and going back to basics, and then baby steps from there is exactly what we need at the moment.

I’ve also no doubt that he’s ambitious enough to demand that those who don’t adapt and perform with time will be replaced.

it didn’t help that martial was injured and threw out his initial plans, but yea clearly the tempo/speed of the league is much faster than pre season conditions.

I’d say he evaluated and recognised the errors and adapted quickly.

He’s clearly seen in 2 games that Maguire just isn’t agile enough, and suddenly we look more solid already.

 

[OrcaFat]

He's clearly gone back to basics, sitting deep and not playing out from the back. But it's vital we find a way of making the ball stick up front and in midfield. It's painful watching the forwards and Bruno constantly conceding possession.

Yes. But we still had more possession than them. It doesn’t set a high bar but it’s something.

 

[Gasolin]

it didn’t help that martial was injured and threw out his initial plans, but yea clearly the tempo/speed of the league is much faster than pre season conditions.

I’d say he evaluated and recognised the errors and adapted quickly.

He’s clearly seen in 2 games that Maguire just isn’t agile enough, and suddenly we look more solid already.

You have to stop with that Maguire agility thing, he's going to be useful but only when we can revert into a possession based football with a keeper for that and a midfield to help in that regard. Until then, we have simplified the job of the defenders to the extreme basics.

 

[Member 125398]

Haven’t read back since his post match presser so apologies if this has been mentioned.

Not happy with his comments about our striker situation. Said Rashford contributed in important moments in the second half around when we scored??? Did I miss these? We’re they more than just the bare minimum for any striker? Was he not completely anonymous for 3/4 of the match? Maybe he recognises Rashford as a confidence player and so is just building him up but against any sides that aren’t City and Liverpool - the guy is useless as a striker.

This concerns me because ETH then said Rashford/Martial/Ronaldo were more than enough options at striker? Surely he is just putting on a brave face. When Martial is injured which is pretty much always - I would not be confident with either of the other 2 leading the line in this set up.

His run drew 2 defenders to the 6 yard box leaving Bruno free. It was probably exactly what ETH told him to do.

 

[NLunited]

Under Mourinho this would have been genius.

 

[Adam-Utd]

You have to stop with that Maguire agility thing, he's going to be useful but only when we can revert into a possession based football with a keeper for that and a midfield to help in that regard. Until then, we have simplified the job of the defenders to the extreme basics.

Why do I need to stop? its the truth. Maguire dislikes running. Look at the 4th Brentford goal and that's the exact reason why he isn't starting right now.

You just cannot play on the front foot with a defender that is reluctant to follow runners.

 

[captaincantona]

His run drew 2 defenders to the 6 yard box leaving Bruno free. It was probably exactly what ETH told him to do.

Yea I get that and saw that but I think that is just normal enough movement for a striker no? Other than this quite ordinary movement…he really offered nothing.

I like Rashford from the leftagainst good opposition who will have more of the ball or late in a game when we are ahead and might need an outlet or a second goal on the break. But for the love of god…don’t rely on him as our striker this season.

 

[UDontMessWith24]

There are some proper juvenile posters in here.

Are you lot switchers from the Arse fanbase? Literally every thing some says that you disagree with, the comeback is hater, clown or something similarly basic. Pathetic stuff

The “opinion” is a wild expectation that isn’t based in reality, so therefor it was ridiculed. Happy now fan police?

 

[Volumiza]

On the basis of what I’ve seen since he came in I’m sold on the guy. Very reassuring character, easy to believe in. You only have to see the walls the no-nonsense Martinez will run through for ETH to know he got summat about him.

It’s also very easy to see how we’re being coached too, his coaching team look ok at this point. Tactically we seem to have taken a tentative step up.

Way too early to predict long term success but I genuinely feel he’ll get us on a much more appealing path that leads in the right direction. Would be ace to see him holding a trophy up!

 

[Irwin99]

After the horrific start I honestly don't care if he plays Jose/Ole ball for awhile (very debatable if that's the case anyway) . We need points on the board, I think he's understood the limitations of quite a lot of our squad and it's going to be a process to get this team playing good football. I'm also really happy to see certain players dropped and told to work for their place in the side.

We'll definitely sign a few more players before the end of the window so i'm cautiously optimistic we could have a good season.

 

[RedorDead21]

People need to understand pressing high and consistently playing out of the back is a risk and if you can’t do it properly you’re begging to concede goals. No matter who is on the pitch it takes time to build the sufficient cohesion and fitness to do these things at a high level.

Without a FDJ type in there and a different GK doubt it can happen this season. And even then I agree it would take the a long time to master it on match days.

 

[Memento28]

People complaining at this point are really naive, you can't expect EtH to come in and make the team perfect in a matter of months. It's going to take some time before the team starts playing like EtH wants them to, right now we have players who aren't good enough or don't yet know how to implement the style of play that EtH wants, especially with how our team has been managed from all the way top to the bottom since SAF retired. Give him some time to coach the team to implement his style and get rid of the deadwood and get in the right players.

 

[Boondog]

What I find interesting about him is the way he tips his plan sometimes. Yesterday he was drawing parallels with the Brentford game and said this one would be similar and that we'd see what the players learned.

His first goal was clearly to get the players to play hard. Not an easy thing to do with this bunch given the bad habits and lack of discipline throughout the roster. To get that win vs Liverpool with all the BS around the team was very impressive. Then the players gutted this one out in ugly fashion but 3 points are 3 points.

I'm feeling really good right now about this team but I'm not expecting top four. All I want is a team that opponents respect and don't want to play and we are edging closer to that.

 

[MrSingh2002]

Relax......

To everyone complaining about McTominay playing today.....

When Casemiro understands what Ten Hag expects of him he will start and play most games. He hasn't signed him for him not to play. Same as Martinez, Malacia and Eriksen, he will be introduced within a couple of weeks.

I'd have thought he probably comes in for the Arsenal game if not Leicester. It's quite some change moving from Spain to England and also changing Kroos and Modric for Bruno and Eriksen.

Casemiro will have to do more on the ball than he has had to at Madrid but he's a smart player who will pick it up over the next couple of weeks.

 

[el3mel]

The “opinion” is a wild expectation that isn’t based in reality, so therefor it was ridiculed. Happy now fan police?

Except he didn't ridicule my opinion, he insulted me directly. "Attack the post not the poster", and a lot of people replied without going the insults.

What's even your business in all this ?

 

[JPRouve]

Some of us did tell you that he was a flexible and pragmatic. His organization has always been based on his players strength weaknesses.

 

[RedorDead21]

Some of us did tell you that he was a flexible and pragmatic. His organization has always been based on his players strength weaknesses.

Pretty sure he even said exactly this in his interview with Neville and Cara. Has to play to the strengths of the players already here. Hopefully we get some more players in this week otherwise like he also mentioned it just means pushing the transition back a season.

 

[Blood Mage]

He's done a Van Gaal. Watched us ship a bunch of goals against mid-table trash, ditched his total football approach and set us up to be hard to beat. Not complaining right now given how poor some of our midfielders and attackers are, but hopefully this is only a temporary measure.

 

[the_cliff]

For me it's quite clear at this point that he plays Mctominay for height on defensive and attacking set pieces alone, because he still can't trust our defence. Once the defence is settled and get to desired level, plus with the introduction of Casemiro, I am sure he will be ni more than rotation option at best.

ETH doesn't seem that stupid.

Good post, I completely agree.

 

[UDontMessWith24]

Except he didn't ridicule my opinion, he insulted me directly. "Attack the post not the poster", and a lot of people replied without going the insults.

What's even your business in all this ?

What you’re expecting after 4 games isn’t founded in reality. Not only that but there actually have been positive signs, I.e the last 3 goals we’ve scored.

 

[BluesJr]

I want to see some more of his ideas in our play by November at least. I cannot watch another season of counter attacking and no cohesive possession. Does my head in.

 

[cyberman]

I want to see some more of his ideas in our play by November at least. I cannot watch another season of counter attacking and no cohesive possession. Does my head in.

November is insane. This will take years to get where we want to be

 

[#07]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[tomaldinho1]

Southampton always cause us issues so a win away from home is a good result. There’s not a lot of control in our play but it’s early days and the first season - what is positive is his signings are all doing decently.

It’s a hard start for him and I think he’s doing well so far, dropping Ronaldo and Maguire and 6/6 points after that is testament. We also are very light in key areas still.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

He's done a Van Gaal. Watched us ship a bunch of goals against mid-table trash, ditched his total football approach and set us up to be hard to beat. Not complaining right now given how poor some of our midfielders and attackers are, but hopefully this is only a temporary measure.

Maybe. It would make sense as the pressure was already mounting two games in. But I also think he doesn't have much of a choice with these players and the time he's had with them. It's a completely new system for most of them and it will take time to implement. Give him a competent right back and a midfielder who can dictate the game instead of hiding behind attackers in the build up like McTominay consistently does and I believe we'd be a completely different side.