Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager

Strootman's Finger

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It's a shame we have to look to one of our biggest rivals in the history of the premiere league to get a fair comment about our manager. Meanwhile our ex players can't wait for a slip up so they can say jump all over Ten Hag and say they were right to want Poch.
 

bosskeano

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Imagine ETH with that kind of quality up front, what he currently has is absolutely nowhere close.
IF and it's a massive IF....Antony and Sancho would live up to their capabilities alongside Rashford, we could have that same potential. Although none of them will come close to being as effective as rooney and ronaldo
 

Fts 74

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High praise from Henry, I've no doubt he's right as long as we back our manager, I can't wait to see where we are 2 years down the line if we do.
 

mu4c_20le

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It's a shame we have to look to one of our biggest rivals in the history of the premiere league to get a fair comment about our manager. Meanwhile our ex players can't wait for a slip up so they can say jump all over Ten Hag and say they were right to want Poch.
I'll take things that never happened for $500 Alex.
 

mav_9me

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What striker do you want,actually put it another way which do you think fits Erik's system best
Osihmen cuz he presses more than Kane. But then would he make similar runs to Rashford? Is Kane better cuz he can be a better focal point upfront?
 

RoadTrip

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I’m glad the majority of posts here see sense. What he has done since he arrived has been fantastic. You can pick at details; for example his reluctance to change things. But for each of these there is usually a valid reason. Overall this is his first year coaching in the league. We have beaten City on merit. We went toe to toe with the team at the top of the league, who had a weeks rest and who’ve been in their “project” for 3 years. And that’s ignoring where we came from. It wasn’t a simple case of organising chaos. It was changing the entire mentality of the squad. He’s had to deal with drama from Ronaldo. He’s had to deal with a World Cup which has clogged up fixtures. He’s dealing with a squad which is so far from his style. Yet, he’s getting the best out of the team. It’s an incredible turn of events how he’s changed us and I’m as positive about our near and long term future than I have been since SAF retired.
 

mav_9me

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We'll probably play more possession based football than we did under SAF, yeah. That doesn't automatically equate to more attractive football.
Agreed. However I much prefer this style of proactive front foot pressing and higher possession levels, the style shown by City, Liverpool and now Arsenal. Tbh lot of Fergie's sides did that. Especially when we were chasing a goal, relentless attacking, number of players in the box, high line leaving Rio one on one. That was very similar to what we see nowadays, just without the terminology.

Also later years of SAF were fairly boring.
 

NFM

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It's a shame we have to look to one of our biggest rivals in the history of the premiere league to get a fair comment about our manager. Meanwhile our ex players can't wait for a slip up so they can say jump all over Ten Hag and say they were right to want Poch.
He is a good manager, but not infallible. He made some poor calls this week. Playing Casimero against Palace and not putting Garnacho on at 60 mins on Sunday.
Also playing two guys in 'attack' because of their defensive capabilities put too much onus on Rashford and gave Arsenal a free pass to pile forwards.
 

HookedOnAPhelan

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He is a good manager, but not infallible. He made some poor calls this week. Playing Casimero against Palace and not putting Garnacho on at 60 mins on Sunday.
Also playing two guys in 'attack' because of their defensive capabilities put too much onus on Rashford and gave Arsenal a free pass to pile forwards.
Hindsight is nice eh? If he had done everything you suggest here and we had still drawn/lost against Palace/Arsenal you would be saying the same.
 

Solius

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People have to understand, Arsenal had the most touches in our box than in any other game this season.

How he decided to defend that deep is still a mystery. His game management is wanting to say the least.

Also how he's handled the team this past week has been shambolic..

Maybe he thought he would autopilot through the week, but alas we have been stung in the tail properly.
Get a grip please.
 

Licha-Vidic

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Hindsight is nice eh? If he had done everything you suggest here and we had still drawn/lost against Palace/Arsenal you would be saying the same.
But we would have best chance to get something if Casemiro was there against Arsenal.

My main issue to date

1. Still we cant create chances.
2. Our defensive structure is Casemiro induced. Without him we conceded chances after chances and yesterday we shipped 3 goals to boot.


It might seem a harsh assessment but it's backed by numbers.

Our goal difference is poor.

We have scored same number of goals (32) as Fulham. Yes Fulham and Brenford. Even Brighton has scored more goals than us (37). Even ultra defensive Spur have scored more goals than us (39).

We have shipped same goals ( 25) as Liverpool & Westham, even Chelsea have shipped less goals than us (21). Everton have shipped 28 goals. Only 3 more than us. All those team are in crisis mode now.

After spending 220m, it's worrying.

Credit to him, for extracting maximum effort from the players. This is key.

In the grand scheme of things, he has done okay.
 
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wolvored

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Shocking how much criticism I have seen towards Ten Hag for us essentially being out of the title race now. What these people fail to realize is no sane person would have predicted us even being part of any title race this season, and the fact we briefly were, is solely down to Ten Hag.
Agree. Absolutely barmy. This is TH getting used to the premier season with a lot of mediocre players from other managers here. As long as the new owners back him fully, which Im sure they will, we will be fighting for the league next season.
 

norm87cro

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I have generally liked what he has done in terms of team selection, some tactics, not letting CR7 step over his autorithy, capitalising on players like Shaw, Rashford and Casemiro (occasionaly Eriksen) who have been our best 3 of late. The Garnacho sub against Fulham was a great move as well.
But he should not be free of criticism. That is were I and Id say 10% of the CAF differ from the rest.
He made a right mess yesterday with the Fred sub. Its either Fred or McTominay not both. Garnacho was the only pacey threat not including Rashford and he gets a few minutes. I just knew Arsenals third was coming.
I already covered the Shaw Malacia mess and I still think its shades of LVG. Sometimes just keep it simple. Backs are backs, CBs are CBs and wingers are wingers.
Mangers have been slaughtered on the CAF from 2013 to now and all of a sudden ETH is the new Moses and he cant do anything wrong?
I genuenly like him Im just not a part of the current hype train he seems to be riding amongst a lot of you.
 

Strootman's Finger

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He is a good manager, but not infallible. He made some poor calls this week. Playing Casimero against Palace and not putting Garnacho on at 60 mins on Sunday.
Also playing two guys in 'attack' because of their defensive capabilities put too much onus on Rashford and gave Arsenal a free pass to pile forwards.
He made the smart move with Casemiro, it's just the players (including Casemiro) fecked up. But we had 6 points up for grabs. Do you put out a weakened team against Palace, only to drop points, then play your best team against Arsenal, who are in unbelievable form, and maybe drop points? So out of 6 possible points, do you go for the easy 3, hope for the best and try to get something out of Arsenal, or play a weak team vs Palace, drop points, then play Arsenal, and drop points anyway?

The players fecked up by not seeing their victory through against Palace, and Case fecked up because we took them to the wire yesterday, and with Case probably would have won. But if you could explain what he was thinking, when he practically wrapped his legs around the waist of the Palace player his tackle was so high, that would be great.
 

bosnian_red

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Yesterday? Keane was having a go at the players and squad depth

Keane is such a bad pundit some times.

There are 0 questions with Shaw, he's a world class left back.
Wan Bissaka, Fred and McTominay have all turned into bench players this season. Wan Bissaka and Fred are both very good as squad players. Nothing to complain about there. Ten Hag took over with all of these starters and Shaw massively out of form, and has changed that, so not sure why people would expect us to be able to go from them starting to not needing them even as bench players, in 6 months.
 

Crimson King

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I have generally liked what he has done in terms of team selection, some tactics, not letting CR7 step over his autorithy, capitalising on players like Shaw, Rashford and Casemiro (occasionaly Eriksen) who have been our best 3 of late. The Garnacho sub against Fulham was a great move as well.
But he should not be free of criticism. That is were I and Id say 10% of the CAF differ from the rest.
He made a right mess yesterday with the Fred sub. Its either Fred or McTominay not both. Garnacho was the only pacey threat not including Rashford and he gets a few minutes. I just knew Arsenals third was coming.
I already covered the Shaw Malacia mess and I still think its shades of LVG. Sometimes just keep it simple. Backs are backs, CBs are CBs and wingers are wingers.
Mangers have been slaughtered on the CAF from 2013 to now and all of a sudden ETH is the new Moses and he cant do anything wrong?
I genuenly like him Im just not a part of the current hype train he seems to be riding amongst a lot of you.
What the feck do some of you people actually want? Can you ever be happy about anything?

No manager is infallible, even Fergie made mistakes. A manager can only do so much though, in the last two games we've been let down by players and the team, just as much as any of the calls EtH has made.
 

Fluctuation0161

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Unlike Pep, Klopp and Arteta who all got their pressing machines and possession game going with the players they inherited.
Do you have amnesia?

How long did it take pep to win the league when he inherited a title winning squad? How much has he spent while at City despite this?

Klopp?

Even Arteta is a terrible example because he's had 3 years.

Erik has been here 6 months.
 

Fluctuation0161

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He's done a fantastic job for the short period he's been here.

His reliance on buying from the Dutch market is worrying a bit

Some instances of questionable game management

Also he had a full preseason with the players so how do you turn around a few months later to realise Sancho is not fit enough to play? A lot of fans commented including myself

If he thought he had to risk Casemiro against Palace because he can't trust Scott why would it be any better against Arsenal. Yellows are occupational hazard for DMs
It shows how terrible and untrustworthy our scouting "team" is. Ralf called it out for what it is. A joke.

So Erik has to rely on his own knowledge of the Dutch league.

Honestly we are ran like a league 2 side but for dividends.
 

norm87cro

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What the feck do some of you people actually want? Can you ever be happy about anything?

No manager is infallible, even Fergie made mistakes. A manager can only do so much though, in the last two games we've been let down by players and the team, just as much as any of the calls EtH has made.
Yeah well Jose did well with 81 point and people still moaned. Ole had a good patch as ETH is having currently and people still turned their back.
He has done obviusly better than both and I hope he gets the support he needs from the owners. I just dont see him in pink glases.
 

bosnian_red

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Do you have amnesia?

How long did it take pep to win the league when he inherited a title winning squad? How much has he spent while at City despite this?

Klopp?

Even Arteta is a terrible example because he's had 3 years.

Erik has been here 6 months.
I think he was being sarcastic..
 

Adnan

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Arsenal right now are a better team than us and they were always the favourites to win the game. And as has been mentioned numerous times already, Arteta has been developing the team for 3 years whilst adding the correct components for the way he wants to play. And with Casemiro being absent, it made Arsenal even bigger favourites, especially being at home.

The subs argument is also silly because Fred was the logical choice at the time to thwart Saka who kept cutting infield and causing all sorts of problems. It was the correct decision imo to attempt to see the game out against a superior opponent.

Garnacho even being a option is testament to ten Hag, because most hadn't even heard about him or even thought he could contribute this season before the arrival of ten Hag.
 

MUFC OK

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Starting to get incredibly worried about the second half of the season with how thin our squad is. We have arguably already embarked up a semi injury crisis.

The fact we aren’t in for anybody other than weghorst when so many players are moving this window is a joke. ETH doing a good job but being set up to fail.

Expect us to just about cling to top 4, maybe win league cup Bit the other two trophies are very unlikely.
 

Marwood

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Starting to get incredibly worried about the second half of the season with how thin our squad is. We have arguably already embarked up a semi injury crisis.

The fact we aren’t in for anybody other than weghorst when so many players are moving this window is a joke. ETH doing a good job but being set up to fail.

Expect us to just about cling to top 4, maybe win league cup Bit the other two trophies are very unlikely.
Set up to fail is a bit over the top. He's been given a massive amount in his first summer. If he's been setup to fail then somebody like Moyes definitely was.

I'm really liking him so far, it's looking promising. But the praise, like Henry's comments, is getting a bit giddy.

I'd like to see ETH win something in a major league before we start calling him a genius.
 

Ayoba

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Starting to get incredibly worried about the second half of the season with how thin our squad is. We have arguably already embarked up a semi injury crisis.

The fact we aren’t in for anybody other than weghorst when so many players are moving this window is a joke. ETH doing a good job but being set up to fail.

Expect us to just about cling to top 4, maybe win league cup Bit the other two trophies are very unlikely.
If anything, its the league cup I am worried about and not Top 4, I think we have that almost nailed. We'll most likely be playing Newcastle in the final of the LC, and they're such an awful side to play against, I just know their Atletico style shithousery will overcome us.
 

fezzerUTD

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It's really strange to start doubting ETH now. He should be given some leeway.
It will always happen, he could win the champions league with 30% of the ball and people will moan it’s not the Utd way.

Imo he’s doing a great job with what he had to begin with, he is slowly clearing the decks whilst also winning games and getting points. These past 2 games were a case of too many games in a short period of time, give us 5 days to prepare for each and we would have taken at least 4 points.
 

arthurka

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It will always happen, he could win the champions league with 30% of the ball and people will moan it’s not the Utd way.

Imo he’s doing a great job with what he had to begin with, he is slowly clearing the decks whilst also winning games and getting points. These past 2 games were a case of too many games in a short period of time, give us 5 days to prepare for each and we would have taken at least 4 points.
Agree, just don't understand how people don't understand how this works.
 

NFM

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He made the smart move with Casemiro, it's just the players (including Casemiro) fecked up. But we had 6 points up for grabs. Do you put out a weakened team against Palace, only to drop points, then play your best team against Arsenal, who are in unbelievable form, and maybe drop points? So out of 6 possible points, do you go for the easy 3, hope for the best and try to get something out of Arsenal, or play a weak team vs Palace, drop points, then play Arsenal, and drop points anyway?

The players fecked up by not seeing their victory through against Palace, and Case fecked up because we took them to the wire yesterday, and with Case probably would have won. But if you could explain what he was thinking, when he practically wrapped his legs around the waist of the Palace player his tackle was so high, that would be great.
Don't agree. Its the manager's call to pick a player. The Arsenal match was more important than '3 points' it was a season defining match. Beat them and United were right in the mix and their confidence would have been damaged. Casimero is United's best player, by a country mile, you just do not risk it at Palace, against some sides maybe, but not Selhurst Park. And Garnacho was desperately needed at 60 mins.
This is not hindsight, its pretty obvious stuff. ETH is good, but he is fallible.
 

mav_9me

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Do you have amnesia?

How long did it take pep to win the league when he inherited a title winning squad? How much has he spent while at City despite this?

Klopp?

Even Arteta is a terrible example because he's had 3 years.

Erik has been here 6 months.
I think he was being sarcastic..
I guess the Arteta part didn't make the sarcasm obvious as I thought it would.
 

Pogue Mahone

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Don't agree. Its the manager's call to pick a player. The Arsenal match was more important than '3 points' it was a season defining match. Beat them and United were right in the mix and their confidence would have been damaged. Casimero is United's best player, by a country mile, you just do not risk it at Palace, against some sides maybe, but not Selhurst Park. And Garnacho was desperately needed at 60 mins.
This is not hindsight, its pretty obvious stuff. ETH is good, but he is fallible.
It’s definitely hindsight. Which only makes sense if we assume a booking against Palace was inevitable. All the moaning about Casemiro’s selection for that game ignores the fact he had already played 11 league games in which he didn’t get booked. Asking him to make it 12 was nowhere near the massive gamble that people are claiming it was with (yes) hindsight.