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

[El Jefe]

You can't accuse someone of being disingenuous and come out with this. He was appointed October 2015 when they were 10th after 8 games, they finished 8th. The two prior seasons were 2nd in 13/14 and 6th in 14/15.

The discussion was about improvements after the first season so I have no clue what you’re on about. Klopp improved considerably year on year.

Also referencing the 13/14 season is as dishonest as it gets when we all know the reason for that was having Luis Suarez in the side

 

[OrcaFat]

Keeping ball without creating anything. I am not pinning the blame but the balance of the midfield was not correct. We might have had 80% possession but we never looked in control and never looked like we will score. It was more of recycling possession and trying to push through passes to attacking players.

Its a shame that Eriksen legs are gone and we bought no one to play his role

I don’t think that’s right. The whole team is still finding its feet but the midfield, in terms of personnel, is okay. The system requires full backs and CBs to step into midfield and help in the no6 area which doesn’t always happen.

We were losing for most of the match so it’s difficult to say we were in control but in general play, our control was good (we always had the ball). We also got into good areas quite often. The problem was more with the front three (and anyone else who got close to the goal!) who just couldn’t quite make it happen today. We had chances as well and converting a couple of those would have transformed perception of our performance.

Losing is a kick in the crotch, for sure, and I’m totally sick of it but I don’t think things are as bad as they feel, despite the frustration of a shit Palace team keeping us out and managing to score as well. It’s one of those things that happens (Wolves beat City today). We have quite a way to go but we are moving in the right direction.

I like Eriksen but he doesn’t suit our current system. His role, even as it was last year, doesn’t really exist in this system. I like our system so, for me, Eriksen is not going to be that useful this season, except maybe as a rotation / sub option.

 

[giggs-beckham]

Quite the opposite, we're regressing at the moment

Even worse, that regression is accelerating

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He seems incapable of constructing a very good attack.

We don't score enough goals and we don't really create enough chances. And we've only controlled the ball in 2 games where both teams ceded the ball to us. Every other game, we've had much less of the ball and less attacking threat.

He's likely not as good as I thought(or most people thought).

Not really sure how he turns this around nor if he has the ability to do so. This is far worse than last season.

 

[Denis79]

But benching Ronaldo is not the problem. The problem is that ETH could not manage Ronaldo.

Ronaldo is a narcissistic asshole. It doesn't matter. The skill of a manager is to manage the players. The easiest thing to do is to pick fights with them.

Anyway, the discussion is not about Ronaldo, my point is that ETH does not have a plan.

Wout was worse and ETH kept playing him because he had no alternatives. How many goals did Wout score? People thought that there is a plan with Wout, that he fitted better. He did not. He was a random Dutch player, there was no plan. And still there is no plan.

There is a plan but not a very good one.

 

[sglowrider]

I wouldn't count them no, seeing as he didn't buy any of those loanees.

Mount and Hojlund played for 180 minutes maybe and you're already signing them off as flops?!

While Nunez and Gakpo are some solid buys?

Feck me.

The reality is, where 7 games in. With a injured and shitty squad.
Give the man a break ffs

Loans count as they are either a consequence of injuries or limited budgets or financial constraints. We over paid for a number of players like Antony so it left us with less financial resources later.
This season, mount surely wasn't the highest priority and yet we splunked on his first. Leaving us with financial constraints later

 

[DownRiver]

Four losses already in September. We had less than 10 losses last year.

With the context of having no pattern of play, how many losses would needed by January before he gets sacked?

 

[sglowrider]

He seems incapable of constructing a very good attack.

We don't score enough goals and we don't really create enough chances. And we've only controlled the ball in 2 games where both teams ceded the ball to us. Every other game, we've had much less of the ball and less attacking threat.

He's likely not as good as I thought(or most people thought).

Not really sure how he turns this around nor if he has the ability to do so. This is far worse than last season.

Precisely. We can't score goals regardless of possession or counter-attacking approach, we are fecked. Ultimately that's the only objective. Even at the best of times we barely score more than 2 goals a game.
And right now I would take 1-0 wins

 

[sglowrider]

Yet you counted Amarabat despite being a loan.

I didn't count both as flops but the money spent on all these 4 players could have spent better. Hojlund is a 20 years old boy who suddenly wake up in the morning to find himself 64m main striker for Manchester United. Ridiculous transfer strategy.

We didn't need Mount and he adds nothing of value to the team regardless of being a good player or not. We have no clue how to shoehorn him in the squad and are just forcing him into a midfield trio that's clearly not working. United would have been better off spending all this money on a reliable attacker instead, or a midfielder that actually complements Casmeiro and Bruno better. Similarly, United would have been better off spending Casmeiro money on a long term defensive midfielder instead of someone who already looks like he's on his last leg. Not to mention Antony.

Ten Hag got ton of money but wasted most of them on players that simply don't help the team, or are just stop gaps for two years at most

I like how the number of games keep increasing every week. One month ago it was "just 3 games in, be a little patient you entitled pricks". Now it's "just 7 games, keep patient". Anyway, as we said millions of times, the team has been shit since March and not just these 7 games. We ended last season on a negative tone and we are just continuing from where we stopped.

Could have save the money on mount and developed Hannibal. We have mainoo, Hannibal and gore worth developing. Yet ... mount was priority #1

 

[Skills]

I think people genuinely think that they’re at United because they love the club inside out and it’s got nothing to do with the millions they’re being paid or working at the biggest club in the world.

It's just another evidence of the weird relationship our fans have with the managers role.

 

[Redplane]

With that cnt of a Piers Morgan taunting the club to stand up for his media whoring buddy its clear to me the *last* thing we need to do is to get rid of Erik. Meet with every player one on one and ask them if they re motivated to stay. If they're not they can feck off and then tell the Glazers they can do the same. At this pt id rather watch a team almost entirely made up of academy lads.

 

[The Hilton]

This is as disingenuous as it gets.

Liverpool finished 6th and 8th in the two years before with points totals of 62 and 60. In his first full season he finished 4th with 76 points. The year after 4th and a CL final.

The main point was Klopp knew exactly what he needed to progress in the PL and what type of players he needed for his style of play. Two things ten Hag seems absolutely lost on.

You're main point is also a little disingenuous given that Salah, by far the biggest reason for their success under Klopp, was an Edwards pick, Klopp didn't really want him.

The difference being that Klopp was supported by a good recruitment team that could find players to fit the mould he required, we simply don't have that at the moment.

 

[Red the Bear]

I know we're already at the blaming the manager for all our shortcomings part of our eternal boom bust cycle but I still at the very least give him the end of the season to see if he figures out how to make things work or not( unless we become literal relegation candidates)as I still feel he's the right guy for the job not to mention the uncertainty with the ownership and all the baggage that comes with it.

And even if you think otherwise I don't see how sacking yet another manager and bringing in another without a clear sporting direction Up top will do us any good.

 

[Skills]

With that cnt of a Piers Morgan taunting the club to stand up for his media whoring buddy its clear to me the *last* thing we need to do is to get rid of Erik. Meet with every player one on one and ask them if they re motivated to stay. If they're not they can feck off and then tell the Glazers they can do the same. At this pt id rather watch a team almost entirely made up of academy lads.

I think most of you guys would be happy if there was no football, and you could just tune into watch ETH do managerial stuff. Maybe that's what the club should do, feck the football off for good.

 

[Redplane]

I think most of you guys would be happy if there was no football, and you could just tune into watch ETH do managerial stuff. Maybe that's what the club should do, feck the football off for good.

Or maybe we've tried the manager carousel way too many times now and it's nothing but a waste of time and money? Ffs we ve had two of the most successful managers of this era and they pointed out more shit than the other three and many still think waving the magic wand again by just replacing the manager is going to have a different result. Feck that.

 

[The United]

What is going on with our tactics this season.
When Amrabat had the ball in the SH Casemiro’s position was on the edge of their box. As does Mount when he plays in that #8 role.

What an earth is the thinking behind this. Don’t remember Eriksen being that high up last season.

Well, he does have weird formation and tactics at times, but in this game, we had to push everyone up there as Palace was just defending the box most of the time after they scored. Cas may not be that good at holding midfield anymore, but he is a goal thread, especially in the air. Of course, that does not look good for the rest of the forward line because their DM was seen to be a bigger goal threat than them.

 

[Skills]

Or maybe we've tried the manager carousel way too many times now and it's nothing but a waste of time and money? Ffs we ve had two of the most successful managers of this era and they pointed out more shit than the other three and many still think waving the magic wand again by just replacing the manager is going to have a different result. Feck that.

God forbid we've had 5 permanent managers in 10 years. Somebody please think of the children! How are they going to cope with their dad changing every 2 years?!

 

[Redplane]

God forbid we've had 5 permanent managers in 10 years. Somebody please think of the children! How are they going to cope with their dad changing every 2 years?!

If we can get rid of managers then players shouldnt get more than 2 years either. So hey I agree with you we should get rid of people.

 

[El Jefe]

You're main point is also a little disingenuous given that Salah, by far the biggest reason for their success under Klopp, was an Edwards pick, Klopp didn't really want him.

The difference being that Klopp was supported by a good recruitment team that could find players to fit the mould he required, we simply don't have that at the moment.

Seriously disagree with this. While Salah has been the best player in the Klopp era the biggest reason for their success is Klopp.

The point is Klopp knew what was needed to implement his style. It’s known that Klopp’s first choice was Brandt and the club overruled to buy Salah but that isn’t the point. Brandt is a player that also suits Klopp’s style perfectly, they just opted for the better player.

In Ten Hag’s case what is he trying to accomplish with his signings. No one has a scooby of what he’s trying to achieve with Mount. Onana the ball playing goal keeper is in a team that is shite at passing out from the back and ball retention.

My point is Klopp clearly knew what type of players would suit his high octane style and the club helped him in achieving that. Ten Hag doesn’t have a style of play or a functioning system yet, this is my main issue.

What is the ten hag style? He said he wants us to be the best transition team but even then our counterpress is inconsistent as feck and we have a few slow and lazy farts in the team.

 

[marktan]

The biggest single improvement the club can make is to spend £10m building an excellent recruitment team. Take a lead out of Newcastle's hiring of Dan Ashworth and just throw a shit ton of money at the issue by hiring a lot of smart people.

I like ETH, good football last season and is smart in interviews, unfortunately he's fallen on the same sword that Tuchel fell on when he decided to rebuild the squad by spending £100m on fecking Lukaku. Only we've allowed ETH to do it over and over again to the tune of about £300m.

 

[Skills]

If we can get rid of managers then players shouldnt get more than 2 years either.

Oh yeah, it makes total sense to write off 10s of millions worth of assets every few years.

What other genius football ideas do you have?

You could do with setting up some footballing consulting business - don't share this sort of golden knowledge for free. The likes of Bayern and Madrid will be knocking down your doors in no time, having gotten football so wrong for decades.

 

[Redplane]

Oh yeah, it makes total sense to write off 10s of millions worth of assets every few years.

What other genius football ideas do you have?

You could do with setting up some footballing consulting business - don't share this sort of key knowledge for free. The likes of Bayern and Madrid will be knocking down your doors in no time, having gotten football so wrong for decades.

Stop being a pompous ass and defending the managing of this club. Or have you forgotten what literally just about everyone with an ounce of footballing experience has criticized about the club? If you think Bayern and Real operate in the same playing field your judgment should be questioned.

 

[sglowrider]

I know we're already at the blaming the manager for all our shortcomings part of our eternal boom bust cycle but I still at the very least give him the end of the season to see if he figures out how to make things work or not( unless we become literal relegation candidates)as I still feel he's the right guy for the job not to mention the uncertainty with the ownership and all the baggage that comes with it.

And even if you think otherwise I don't see how sacking yet another manager and bringing in another without a clear sporting direction Up top will do us any good.

I don't think we should sack him 7 games into the season. But he certainly isn't who we thought he was supposed to be -- the epitome of today's modern manager.
Seems like we have a modern version of LVG -- lots of possession but can't buy a goal if our life depended on it.

He needs to go back to the drawing board. Maybe his vision of modern-day football is missing a critical ingredient -- goals.

 

[redIndianDevil]

Weirdest looking formation,

Bruno is having an existential crisis right now, he seems to play in a different part of the pitch every 20 mins.

Rashford completely isolated without a fullback to support him, add his usual dosage of poor decision making. Garnacho couldn’t hack it either without support of a LB.

Mount again occupying weird places, he seemed to play next to Rashford in the first half, somewhere in the middle and disappeared completely towards the end.

Playing with Pellestri is like playing with a man down, it’s ridiculous how tiny he looks. Not quick or skilled enough to hold his own against a LB. He had support of Dalot for the most part as well.

Amarabt playing at LB was another pointless waste of time but he looks a tidy player.

Hojlund is too raw, he has got pace and that’s about it. He needs to get stronger ASAP. At times he looks like Bambi on ice but he was feeding off scraps.

It boggles the mind that Casemiro seems to be the most creative of all players in the pitch. He is only midfielder with any sort of vision.

 

[MikeKing]

only we've allowed ETH to do it over and over again to the tune of about £300m.

He has rebuilt the club multiple times for 300m? Or one signing is a rebuild, so we have 'given' him multiple chances to rebuild by buying 1 player multiple times. Different player of course. Not Lukaku.

 

[lsd]

I don't think we should sack him 7 games into the season. But he certainly isn't who we thought he was supposed to be -- the epitome of today's modern manager.
Seems like we have a modern version of LVG -- lots of possession but can't buy a goal if our life depended on it.

He needs to go back to the drawing board. Maybe his vision of modern-day football is missing a critical ingredient -- goals.

Definitely visions of Van Gaal's time here with him.

It maybe that with Ajax it was easy for him to get by as they were far and away the richest and most dominant team in the league.

What worries me though about him is how he keeps being outthought by other managers with ease.

Other managers know how to set up to beat us and he just doesn't seem to have any answer for it.

Once Palace went ahead the game was over and everyone could see it. You just knew he had nothing that would change anything

We play with absolutely no style, the players cannot string two passes to each other they play like they have never met each other before.

These are top quality players too at least some of them at least yet he gets nothing out of them.

Amrabat was left back but was wandering all over midfield most of the game.

I have no idea what position Bruno is supposed to be in and that's been the case since Erik came.

Mount and Casemiro again who knows where he has told them to play.

He seems to love wingers who never cross or pass that much.

If anything we have been fortunate we have only lost four from seven this season the way we have played and it's hard to see that changing anytime soon

 

[ManUtd1999]

Oh yeah, it makes total sense to write off 10s of millions worth of assets every few years.

What other genius football ideas do you have?

You could do with setting up some footballing consulting business - don't share this sort of golden knowledge for free. The likes of Bayern and Madrid will be knocking down your doors in no time, having gotten football so wrong for decades.

Indeed.

January 2016: Real Madrid is not looking good under Benitez. They had Ronaldo, Benzema, Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe, Modric, Kroos, etc. Now, imagine them replacing all of these players and keeping Benitez! Well, they chose to appoint Zidane. The results were “not bad”: won 3 UCLs in a row and the league in 2017. He won the UCL less than 5 months after being appointed.

 

[Gasolin]

I miss Ole football... at least, when we were losing, we had some thought on how to come back.

 

[Ubik]

Indeed.

January 2016: Real Madrid is not looking good under Benitez. They had Ronaldo, Benzema, Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe, Modric, Kroos, etc. Now, imagine them replacing all of these players and keeping Benitez! Well, they chose to appoint Zidane. The results were “not bad”: won 3 UCLs in a row and the league in 2017. He won the UCL less than 5 months after being appointed.

I mean, I can spot one tiny flaw in this particular comparison.

 

[Gasolin]

I mean, I can spot one tiny flaw in this particular comparison.

Yes, we don't have the Ronaldo, Benzema, Marcelo, Ramos, Pep, Modric or Kroos...

 

[RedRonaldo]

I was a big fan of him last year and ignored some red flags. But this season i have no sympathy or excuses for him.
He wasted 200 mil euros on wrong players and instead making step forward this year, we made 2 steps back.
He was backed like no manager was. Ever. So all this mess is on him. Not on Glazers, not on luck or injuries. 100% on him.

Exactly my thought too.

 

[Pscholes18]

I think ETH needs help in buying players but I don't trust Murtough.

 

[sglowrider]

Definitely visions of Van Gaal's time here with him.
It maybe that with Ajax it was easy for him to get by as they were far and away the richest and most dominant team in the league.
What worries me though about him is how he keeps being outthought by other managers with ease.

Other managers know how to set up to beat us and he just doesn't seem to have any answer for it.

Once Palace went ahead the game was over and everyone could see it. You just knew he had nothing that would change anything

We play with absolutely no style, the players cannot string two passes to each other they play like they have never met each other before.

These are top quality players too at least some of them at least yet he gets nothing out of them.

Amrabat was left back but was wandering all over midfield most of the game.

I have no idea what position Bruno is supposed to be in and that's been the case since Erik came.

Mount and Casemiro again who knows where he has told them to play.

He seems to love wingers who never cross or pass that much.

If anything we have been fortunate we have only lost four from seven this season the way we have played and it's hard to see that changing anytime soon

This.

We also seem to start off well for the first 20 minutes of every game. The opposition manager would re-adjust then we do nothing different or anything effective to counter those changes. Then we'll let a goal in (from a setplay or a counterattack) and then it's game over.
We used to be the team that got the most points in the league after going a goal down. I bet we have the worst points gain after going a goal down for any team in the top 8 in the league now.

Also, it seems like he isn't trying to extract the most out of the players he has -- like where was Bruno in that game? Shunted to some corner of the pitch where he wasn't effective or influential at all. Or not creating a system where it can exploit Rashford's strength but instead having everyone circulate in cul-de-sacs.

We are trying to walk the ball into the net. So teams just sit back.

 

[sglowrider]

I miss Ole football... at least, when we were losing, we had some thought on how to come back.

We saw a lot more goals with more 3+ goal games than anyone. Now it's just constipated football.

 

[sglowrider]

I think ETH needs help in buying players but I don't trust Murtough.

except that if we were still losing the excuse would be that ''Murtugh didn't back the manager, ETH.''

 

[DRJosh]

ETH may be out of his depth. It’s looking more and more likely that he is finding it difficult to tactically adapt when the chips are down and the bench isn’t gleaming with top quality players. I hope he turns things around but I just can’t see it.

 

[Mainoovement]

I'm hoping he can at least stick around until the Glazers sell, just because I don't want Arnold, Murtough, and them to make more decisions on the football side of things. I do however think he's not good enough, which is unfortunate because I really wanted it to work for him.

 

[city-puma]

Ole was let go after losing to villa, Leicester, Liverpool, mancity, watford. Many people here cheered it and had their anger vented to Ole.
It’s one more loss away from that for ETH now. We have been back to the origin again.
the games against Barcelona had been long ago and I have forgotten every highlight of them. We have not built on them to develop our progressive play as everyone hopes to see. The transfers are just a repeat of overpriced but not immediately effective. Whoever planned and executed have contributed to dig the grave for ETH, even though he most likely is one of them himself.
With the injury crisis of fullbacks, it is way too difficult for him to turn the tide if he still insists on playing the same setup which resulted in such a poor run.

 

[fallengt]

why doesn't this team do cutbacks? Like everyone and their dogs do it but not United.
Most of our conceded goals this season were from cutbacks too.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

why doesn't this team do cutbacks? Like everyone and their dogs do it but not United.
Most of our conceded goals this season were from cutbacks too.

Because we don't have a functioning analytics department, probably. If we did they would've crunched the data by now and come to the conclusion that it's the optimal way to create goalscoring opportunities.