Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager

[izak]

Controlling territory is the next stage of our evolution. We simply don’t have the technical capacity, we have too many turnovers.
The second thing was, we did not have the legs to match Newcastle. Ten Hag did what he had to do.
Even with all that, our counter pressing was still brilliant in the second half.

I think it's only fair to say we had had a gruelling game 3 days before with Barcelona, in contrast to Newcastle they had a whole week of rest.

At the minute I don't mind us getting over games by share desire and metal strength, the eye test would suggest some of our lads look tired but are still giving it a real go which is something I'm sure you'll respect.

 

[Rapsel]

Great insight. Thanks!

So when he can make 5 changes per game or at HT, he must feel like a kid in a candy store at United.

It's the curse and the charm of a team like Ajax playing in a small league. We don't have the money to buy three players that are good enough to be in the starting eleven but bench them to have squad depth and if we do players wouldn't be interested in joining Ajax if they won't be starting every match.

 

[sglowrider]

It's the curse and the charm of a team like Ajax playing in a small league. We don't have the money to buy three players that are good enough to be in the starting eleven but bench them to have squad depth and if we do players wouldn't be interested in joining Ajax if they won't be starting every match.

Quite the balancing act.

 

[Rapsel]

Quite the balancing act.

That's why next to our academy scouting is so important. We payed 7 million for Martinez and Antony for about 18. Then there was Tagliafico for 4 million and FDJ for a symbolic 1 euro (we shared the profits with W2 and RKC) and we know We will lose them fast if they succeed so basically our time period for European success closes every 2/3 years and a new cycle starts.

 

[Eli Zee]

I have a feeling Manchester United will start to be the go-to club in England for a lot of players with Erik Ten Hag here. The club atmosphere is night and day when you compare this season to any of the 4 predecessors(expect for Ole's inital run) and you just get the feeling we aren't stopping anytime soon. New players want to be a part of strong teams that are winning.

It felt like over the last decade, our players played with no heart or pride; they were there to just do a job, win or lose, they get paid. They might've been pissed off that they lost matches, but it never felt like they'd given it their all to win or change anything about it.

With ETH and the additional changes, this team feels like the exact opposite. I can't wait to see how the season and unfolds and what we do next year.

 

[united_99]

When did you guys start to believe we had the right man in charge? For me, it was the run of 4 games after the Brentford loss where we won them on the bounce.

What I liked about him then was his pragmatism. Even now, we're not watching an EtH team fully in terms of style. He wants control, high possession stats, complete domination in all of the thirds of the game.

We're not there yet, we were far from there way back in September, yet we beat Liverpool, Arsenal and a couple of tricky away games after that horrendous start.

What I thought then is that we have a guy willing to sacrifice his philosophy to get the best out of what he has at his disposal. Winning footballing games is the number one priority, and he'll find a way to win no matter what.

I guess in a way that sounds like Mourinho, but for me that's where the similarities end. He has earned the respect of the group instead of throwing them under the bus, he has instilled standards and belief instead of talking about the next transfer window, he's working with and improving what he has, not exiling players. The way he handled those opening losses, and the 6-3 humiliation vs City and the reaction to that, it's when I started to really believe.

Our best performance this season was the 2-0 win at home to Spurs. That game was utter domination, and if Rashford was in the form he's in now, that game ends probably 4 or 5 nil. When he gets the players he wants, I think that Spurs game is the benchmark as to what we can expect.

Right now, I think we're slightly overachieving, but he's unlocked the fighting spirit and never say die attitude of this squad. That's carrying us brilliantly through a gruelling season with the spirit and character of born winners like Casemiro, Varane and Martinez. I can't wait to see what we can do with another transfer window and a proper pre-season with a settled squad under our belts.

I remember under Ole (and I'm not using this as an excuse to bash Ole) but we were fighting on all fronts multiple times like this season. I almost wanted us to drop out of the cups because I didn't feel like we'd win them and be able to finish top 4. And that's where the extra games sap the squad completely, when you've given it all to a certain point, and all of a sudden you are out of the cups and facing an uphill battle for CL football.

Now, I want us fighting until the bitter end in every competition because I think we can will all of them. And if you have that belief, and can actually win the competitions, that trumps the demands of the extra games.

How good it feels to be excited once more.

When he binned the clown Rangnick / it was reported he didn’t want him as advisor. Then when he said „eras come to an end“ when questioned on City/Liverpool instead of licking their a*** like Rangnick constantly did.

 

[Robbie Boy]

When did you guys start to believe we had the right man in charge? For me, it was the run of 4 games after the Brentford loss where we won them on the bounce.

What I liked about him then was his pragmatism. Even now, we're not watching an EtH team fully in terms of style. He wants control, high possession stats, complete domination in all of the thirds of the game.

We're not there yet, we were far from there way back in September, yet we beat Liverpool, Arsenal and a couple of tricky away games after that horrendous start.

What I thought then is that we have a guy willing to sacrifice his philosophy to get the best out of what he has at his disposal. Winning footballing games is the number one priority, and he'll find a way to win no matter what.

I guess in a way that sounds like Mourinho, but for me that's where the similarities end. He has earned the respect of the group instead of throwing them under the bus, he has instilled standards and belief instead of talking about the next transfer window, he's working with and improving what he has, not exiling players. The way he handled those opening losses, and the 6-3 humiliation vs City and the reaction to that, it's when I started to really believe.

Our best performance this season was the 2-0 win at home to Spurs. That game was utter domination, and if Rashford was in the form he's in now, that game ends probably 4 or 5 nil. When he gets the players he wants, I think that Spurs game is the benchmark as to what we can expect.

Right now, I think we're slightly overachieving, but he's unlocked the fighting spirit and never say die attitude of this squad. That's carrying us brilliantly through a gruelling season with the spirit and character of born winners like Casemiro, Varane and Martinez. I can't wait to see what we can do with another transfer window and a proper pre-season with a settled squad under our belts.

I remember under Ole (and I'm not using this as an excuse to bash Ole) but we were fighting on all fronts multiple times like this season. I almost wanted us to drop out of the cups because I didn't feel like we'd win them and be able to finish top 4. And that's where the extra games sap the squad completely, when you've given it all to a certain point, and all of a sudden you are out of the cups and facing an uphill battle for CL football.

Now, I want us fighting until the bitter end in every competition because I think we can will all of them. And if you have that belief, and can actually win the competitions, that trumps the demands of the extra games.

How good it feels to be excited once more.

When I posted this in March 2021 after reading a pretty long article about him.

 

[Rolaholic]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Robbie Boy]

It's so evident that all of our players have fully bought into ETH's methods, and have massive respect for him.

This is the first time post-Fergie when there aren't negative stories coming out of the club, and rumours of players not buying into the manager's approach etc. We had one rotten egg, and ETH swiftly and decisively dealt with that particular issue.

 

[Rolaholic]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Remember the geese]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

And it was us who knocked City out of the league cup in 16/17.

 

[JuriM]

The worth of money in 16-18 was something else compared to today also, everything is much more inflated now than it was back then.

 

[dove]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

We should know better than anyone else that money doesn't necessarily mean success.

 

[bosskeano]

We should know better than anyone else that money doesn't necessarily mean success.

pretty evident by what's going on with Chelsea right now

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

When did you guys start to believe we had the right man in charge? For me, it was the run of 4 games after the Brentford loss where we won them on the bounce.

What I liked about him then was his pragmatism. Even now, we're not watching an EtH team fully in terms of style. He wants control, high possession stats, complete domination in all of the thirds of the game.

We're not there yet, we were far from there way back in September, yet we beat Liverpool, Arsenal and a couple of tricky away games after that horrendous start.

What I thought then is that we have a guy willing to sacrifice his philosophy to get the best out of what he has at his disposal. Winning footballing games is the number one priority, and he'll find a way to win no matter what.

I guess in a way that sounds like Mourinho, but for me that's where the similarities end. He has earned the respect of the group instead of throwing them under the bus, he has instilled standards and belief instead of talking about the next transfer window, he's working with and improving what he has, not exiling players. The way he handled those opening losses, and the 6-3 humiliation vs City and the reaction to that, it's when I started to really believe.

Our best performance this season was the 2-0 win at home to Spurs. That game was utter domination, and if Rashford was in the form he's in now, that game ends probably 4 or 5 nil. When he gets the players he wants, I think that Spurs game is the benchmark as to what we can expect.

Right now, I think we're slightly overachieving, but he's unlocked the fighting spirit and never say die attitude of this squad. That's carrying us brilliantly through a gruelling season with the spirit and character of born winners like Casemiro, Varane and Martinez. I can't wait to see what we can do with another transfer window and a proper pre-season with a settled squad under our belts.

I remember under Ole (and I'm not using this as an excuse to bash Ole) but we were fighting on all fronts multiple times like this season. I almost wanted us to drop out of the cups because I didn't feel like we'd win them and be able to finish top 4. And that's where the extra games sap the squad completely, when you've given it all to a certain point, and all of a sudden you are out of the cups and facing an uphill battle for CL football.

Now, I want us fighting until the bitter end in every competition because I think we can will all of them. And if you have that belief, and can actually win the competitions, that trumps the demands of the extra games.

How good it feels to be excited once more.

I knew during pre-season when our patterns of build up were clearly structured and not off the cuff. Everything looked much more modern and organized and players had a semblance of an idea where the space on the pitch was. And that was just in preseason.

Also for the record, ETH doesn't necessarily care about possession the way Pep does. He's actually much more direct as seen with our style. The structure similar though in build up. And I don't really think we are overachieving. People haven't really fully realized it but we probably have the best back 5 in front of a goalkeeper in the world. It's really tough to beat us. And we can turn defense to attack instantly with one of the best wingers in the world running at the opposition. That combo is ruthlessly efficient, even if we aren't just tonking teams 5-0 with ease.

 

[CM]

We should know better than anyone else that money doesn't necessarily mean success.

Yes, but Guardiola was trying to take shots about how much we've spent. That argument holds no weight coming from him.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

It's so evident that all of our players have fully bought into ETH's methods, and have massive respect for him.

This is the first time post-Fergie when there aren't negative stories coming out of the club, and rumours of players not buying into the manager's approach etc. We had one rotten egg, and ETH swiftly and decisively dealt with that particular issue.

When you read what came out today, it makes a lot more sense. He basically commended and thanked all of the media immediately after our pre-season tour for following us for a couple weeks, and didn't make enemies of them but instead got their immediate respect.

 

[eire-red]

I knew during pre-season when our patterns of build up were clearly structured and not off the cuff. Everything looked much more modern and organized and players had a semblance of an idea where the space on the pitch was. And that was just in preseason.

Also for the record, ETH doesn't necessarily care about possession the way Pep does. He's actually much more direct as seen with our style. The structure similar though in build up. And I don't really think we are overachieving. People haven't really fully realized it but we probably have the best back 5 in front of a goalkeeper in the world. It's really tough to beat us. And we can turn defense to attack instantly with one of the best wingers in the world running at the opposition. That combo is ruthlessly efficient, even if we aren't just tonking teams 5-0 with ease.

Yeah fair point, we are looking rock solid. Even against Barca, we came undone from a soft pen, a corner and a fluke from a cross. Barca didn't create as much as us from open play. Against Newcastle, I thought it was a top performance. And for the uninformed viewer, you would have thought it was a performance of a team well used to winning major honours. That is without doubt a testament to EtH, but also helps that we have serial winners like Casemiro and Varane in the starting 11 who are well used to performing on such occasions.

But to win a trophy, to believe that we can win more this season, and to be within touching distance of a title charge, he has overachieved relative to where I thought we would be. I fully expected to see progress and a new style of play. I didn't expect us to be genuinely challenging for multiple honours and be one or two summer additions from being almost the finished article. It's an amazing turnaround.

I think we'll very very dangerous in the CL next season (granted we finish the job in the PL) with the combo you've mentioned. Solid at the back, lightning quick in transition. In the latter stages, you'd have to believe we'll be a very dangerous team, especially against opposition that leave space in behind.

 

[Ian Reus]

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

Fecking hell, what kind of a lunatic would want to call their kid "O'Brien"?

 

[Ian Reus]

Fecking hell, what kind of a lunatic would want to call their kid "O'Brien"?

Mr O'Brien

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

And this comes from a player who failed at his initial role on the pitch, was -almost permanently- benched as a direct result of that, and then fought his way back into the side in a new role. Zero complaints, work hard, grab your chance and get rewarded. What a turnaround we've witnessed these past six months, from a circus to a proper football team.

 

[buchansleftleg]

I have a feeling Manchester United will start to be the go-to club in England for a lot of players with Erik Ten Hag here. The club atmosphere is night and day when you compare this season to any of the 4 predecessors(expect for Ole's inital run) and you just get the feeling we aren't stopping anytime soon. New players want to be a part of strong teams that are winning.

It felt like over the last decade, our players played with no heart or pride; they were there to just do a job, win or lose, they get paid. They might've been pissed off that they lost matches, but it never felt like they'd given it their all to win or change anything about it.

With ETH and the additional changes, this team feels like the exact opposite. I can't wait to see how the season and unfolds and what we do next year.

For me what is even better is that Erik has made EVERYONE aware that United is no longer the place to come for an easy life / last big payday like it has been for the last decade.

He's brought in players that haven't been headline names like Weghorst and Sabizcer but have done a particular job for the team. He's brought in established and successful players like Casemiro and utilised them well rather than just selling shirts. And the Ronaldo situation...well that just shows there is no room for ego's at the club.

All of this will make the recruitment of the right type of players much easier. I predict a lot of Newspaper transfer talk will be very wide of the mark this summer, because the player and their agents will know...Erik won't suffer fools and will expect a proper work and team ethic and some will avoid signing for United for that reason. We won't get every transfer right....but we will stop getting them SO wrong as we have done in the past.

 

[Terranova]

What's impressive is his growth as a manager/strategist.

I remember some of the comments from 9 months ago by the Ajax supporters here were that ---- he doesn't seem to have a Plan B (or sticks to Plan A way too long) in a game and was very slow at subbing players at Ajax.

Now everyone is lauding his best attribute -- in-game management.

Is it though? There is a "make a fecking sub" topic and people have been complaining about the lack of rotation. All this is because Ten Hag knows he doesn't really have a plan B. I mean Plan A is fantastic, so not much to complain about, but still.

 

[Posh Red]

Is it though? There is a "make a fecking sub" topic and people have been complaining about the lack of rotation. All this is because Ten Hag knows he doesn't really have a plan B. I mean Plan A is fantastic, so not much to complain about, but still.

It’s absolutely a trait that has been lorded by fans and media alike over the past few months.

 

[El Zoido]

Is it though? There is a "make a fecking sub" topic and people have been complaining about the lack of rotation. All this is because Ten Hag knows he doesn't really have a plan B. I mean Plan A is fantastic, so not much to complain about, but still.

That thread gets bumped 30 minutes in to each game if we’re not winning. It’s great evidence of how most fans don’t have a fecking clue about anything.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Yeah fair point, we are looking rock solid. Even against Barca, we came undone from a soft pen, a corner and a fluke from a cross. Barca didn't create as much as us from open play. Against Newcastle, I thought it was a top performance. And for the uninformed viewer, you would have thought it was a performance of a team well used to winning major honours. That is without doubt a testament to EtH, but also helps that we have serial winners like Casemiro and Varane in the starting 11 who are well used to performing on such occasions.

But to win a trophy, to believe that we can win more this season, and to be within touching distance of a title charge, he has overachieved relative to where I thought we would be. I fully expected to see progress and a new style of play. I didn't expect us to be genuinely challenging for multiple honours and be one or two summer additions from being almost the finished article. It's an amazing turnaround.

I think we'll very very dangerous in the CL next season (granted we finish the job in the PL) with the combo you've mentioned. Solid at the back, lightning quick in transition. In the latter stages, you'd have to believe we'll be a very dangerous team, especially against opposition that leave space in behind.

Yeah you're right I agree that I didn't see us being THIS successful before the season started, but I guess what I meant is now after watching the season unfold it makes sense. Guess that's what happens when you manage to buy two world class players in a single window

 

[AshRK]

Was convinced in summer 2021 that he was a great manager and we should do all we can to replace Ole with him. If you look at how he did with Ajax, it was clear that he had an extraordinary impact. He played great football, he had results that were only surpassed by the likes of Van Gaal, Michel and Cruyff there, after a drought he dominated the league and cups, punched way above his weight in Europe and kept on succeeding despite losing multiple key players every year. He just kept adapting the system and stayed dominant. He was the clear choice for me and I always felt that United's biggest issue on the pitch wasn't the Glazers necessarily but that our managers were just constantly the wrong choices.

A good structure will mean nothing if you have a shit manager, while a great manager will still be successful with a shit structure. We just didn't have the right managers. And I always believed that we were in fact in a great position for someone to takeover. There's no other club out there who has our potential financially where they can spend a feck ton every summer, have the highest wages, have our global fame, but be floundering around where we were. Not to take any credit from EtH away, but the Ronaldo stuff also was relatively simple. You're the manager. Don't bow to the player who is 37 and can't do much just because of his name. It would have been a tougher task for Ten Hag IMO if Ronaldo was 1 or 2 years younger where he actually still could score 25-30 goals, and then the question was truly a balance of how much do the goals outweigh the bad. At this stage he provided literally nothing so it was easy enough.

Ten Hag is the first manager who has been able to come in and make the right decisions, stick to them and not change what he wants under the pressure. But mainly, he's also the only one aside from Van Gaal who clearly knows what he wants, and unlike Van Gaal, what he wants is good enough for a top club like United both in entertainment and in results in modern football.

I think a 35 year old Ronaldo (one at Juve) would also have worked well for Ten Hag. I think Ten hag would have loved to have a proper goal scorer and would have used him very well, the issue he had was we had a shit version of CR7.

 

[Cheimoon]

Is it though? There is a "make a fecking sub" topic and people have been complaining about the lack of rotation. All this is because Ten Hag knows he doesn't really have a plan B. I mean Plan A is fantastic, so not much to complain about, but still.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'Plan B' here. Ten Hag has deployed significantly different tactics in different games during his time at United, and has also made significant changes to line-ups mid-game that have really taken people (and opponents) by surprise. What is 'having a Plan B's supposed to be like if this doesn't cover it, and what coach ever had such a Plan B?

 

[Chairman Steve]

Fecking hell, what kind of a lunatic would want to call their kid "O'Brien"?

O’Doyle rules

 

[united_99]

Is it though? There is a "make a fecking sub" topic and people have been complaining about the lack of rotation. All this is because Ten Hag knows he doesn't really have a plan B. I mean Plan A is fantastic, so not much to complain about, but still.

If giving bloody Newcastle more than 60% of the ball is not a plan B then I don’t know what it is.

 

[Drifter]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Pronewbie]

If giving bloody Newcastle more than 60% of the ball is not a plan B then I don’t know what it is.

Yeah there was a poster here who'd shared an interesting stats video dissecting Newcastle's low XG and even lower conversion rate before the Final. Newcastle are just really poor in the final third so when we were parking the bus at 2-0 up, and AWB successfully locking down ASM with Casemiro as cover, I was never worried about the outcome EVEN when Newcastle had 80% of possession at one point.

 

[horsechoker]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Oh no, ten Hag has been Ashley Cole'd

 

[Rolaholic]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Abraxas]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Slow down a bit Robbie...

Long way to go this season, and a lot to play for.

 

[David Bartley]

Fecking hell, what kind of a lunatic would want to call their kid "O'Brien"?

!!!

 

[David Bartley]

[/QUOTE]
What a brilliant picture. A happy team, but above all a real team. Fantastic from all of them.

 

[David Bartley]

If giving bloody Newcastle more than 60% of the ball is not a plan B then I don’t know what it is.

I read a couple of days ago that EtH has brought on 17 subs at half time this season - more than any other PL manager - and they've scored 19 goals between them.

Too bone idle to check but if that stat's right it sounds like pretty good Plan B?

 

[skc_18]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

All I see is Martial training. That is great news and hopefully he will stay fit for rest of the season.