Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager

Aside from the silly things he says, he really has an impressively bland personality. There’s no great insight in anything he says, and he seems utterly devoid of humour, charisma, charm or warmth in a way I’ve seldomly seen before.

I don't think he can win with this group of players. If he tries to play high press, there's gaps everywhere and we can't defend large spaces. When we play deep and played on the counter, the only chance we score was a fecking 1 in 30 chance and feck everything else up. We also completely cede possession and the transitions aren't incisive enough.

I'm not wedded to ten Hag, but we seriously need to work out what kind of team we want to be and get a squad capable of performing to a style - regardless of key injuries.

TsuWave said:

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It's known that every Glazer manager has a dismissal clause if they miss Champion's League. That off hand remark was ETH's P45.

Personally I would keep him (and I've been keen to sack every SAF successor) but I doubt people have the patience for that.

astracrazy said:

Looking at our fixture list between now and the end of the season, no chance in hell we are getting top 4. In fact it wouldn't be a stretch to say we could finish as low as 10th.

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It’s shit but it might be what we need to happen in order for their to be a clear out

Jev said:

Aside from the silly things he says, he really has an impressively bland personality. There’s no great insight in anything he says, and he seems utterly devoid of humour, charisma, charm or warmth in a way I’ve seldomly seen before.

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This is a guy Spurs are said to have passed on because they deemed him too uncharismatic. He has all the personality of a wet sock. Boring man, boring football.

Whatever his future I’ll trust INEOS to make the decision that’s best for the club.

KiD MoYeS said:

This is a guy Spurs are said to have passed on because they deemed him too uncharismatic. He has all the personality of a wet sock. Boring man, boring football.

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Didn’t know this but it makes sense. His personality is the complete package of blandness.

Jev said:

Didn’t know this but it makes sense. His personality is the complete package of blandness.

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Yep, he interviewed for the job the year before he joined us. Lost out to Nuno. The two reported reasons at the time were that his English wasn't good enough and he lacked charisma.

ETH is just a shite manager

BenitoSTARR said:

Whatever his future I’ll trust INEOS to make the decision that’s best for the club.

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Me too

And I trust INEOs are ruthlessly looking at the squad of players that any United manager is going to have to manage.

glazed said:

Personally I would keep him (and I've been keen to sack every SAF successor) but I doubt people have the patience for that.

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Sometimes I read stuff here that scares me to the core of my bones. This is one of those instances.

I’ll probably do a knee slide on concrete the day we finally sack him, which hopefully isn’t too far away now.

pocco said:

Unless they weirdly want United to be a transition team, both Potter and Lopetegui have had teams playing better footvall than we are right now. I know people hate on Potter, whatever, but his Brighton team was well structured, well coached, good in possession etc. If he implemented any of that then it would be helpful right now. Same goes for Lopetegui who has managed some of the best teams around and was doing a very good job in changing the Wolves style of play before he left over a transfer budget disagreement.

You're talking as though we're currently doing things well and a change would spoil everything, whereas in reality we're not doing much well and the only way is up. Even if we had a boring LVG type come in and drill us in how to keep possession, it would be a start. I'm sure whatever style they decide to go with will involve some for of control over a game and being good in possession. Two things we are falling at massively and two things every top team is very good at.

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No manager is going to turn the players we have available at the moment into a possession heavy side, most of the players we have simply aren't suited for it, that's why we've had Ten Hag's comments about turning us into a transition team rather than a possession one.

Turning us into a controlling possession side is a great aim, but it's a multiple transfer window job and potentially a multiple manager job. It won't happen overnight.

As for your suggestions, they're both great examples of just throwing a different manger at the problem. Both Potter and Lopetegui have had chances at big clubs and for both it's gone horribly. Getting Brighton or Wolves to play decent football is a completely different animal to doing so successfully at at top team, especially one as high pressure as United. Potter didn't last a season with Chelsea, having the lowest points per game of any manager in their history, and Lopetegui lasted only 2 months at Real Madrid.

TsuWave said:

Sometimes I read stuff here that scares me to the core of my bones. This is one of those instances.

I’ll probably do a knee slide on concrete the day we finally sack him, which hopefully isn’t too far away now.

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McClaren's seeing the season out if they sack him before the end.

Chumpsbechumps said:

Me too

And I trust INEOs are ruthlessly looking at the squad of players that any United manager is going to have to manage.

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Today showed the difference between a title winning and champions league winning squad and ours.

Any objective person watching today could not give the players we put out a realistic hope of winning against the players they put out.

This is no longer a debate, Eric has lost 16 from 38 games which is a 42% loss rate, he will be the first manager in God knows how long to lose 20 games this season, let that sink in!

Paying customers, fans go home and away invest so much time and money to watch a team who were assembled for over £1 billion and they lose 40-45% of their matches and this squad and manager have the gaul to say they represent Manchester United, just sack him tonight, Eric the joke has gone on far too long !

Hasn't had any luck with injuries this season but still doesn't look like he's done enough with these w*nkers we've got playing for us.Should be replaced at the end of the season CL or not.

I'll be honest, losing 7-0 to Liverpool last year has completely killed any enthusiasm I had for him. I've not gotten over it.

The Hilton said:

No manager is going to turn the players we have available at the moment into a possession heavy side, most of the players we have simply aren't suited for it, that's why we've had Ten Hag's comments about turning us into a transition team rather than a possession one.

Turning us into a controlling possession side is a great aim, but it's a multiple transfer window job and potentially a multiple manager job. It won't happen overnight.

As for your suggestions, they're both great examples of just throwing a different manger at the problem. Both Potter and Lopetegui have had chances at big clubs and for both it's gone horribly. Getting Brighton or Wolves to play decent football is a completely different animal to doing so successfully at at top team, especially one as high pressure as United. Potter didn't last a season with Chelsea, having the lowest points per game of any manager in their history, and Lopetegui lasted only 2 months at Real Madrid.

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We could and should be much further along the road towards it though.

Because a few players here and there can make a big difference.

We know this because ETH started well in that sense. He brought in Casemiro, Eriksen and Martinez and last season we looked much more composed in our own half. Three players made a massive difference.

But the signings have to almost relentlessly continue. You can't follow those three with Mount, Antony and Amrabat.

As a manager you've just stalled your own progress by doing that.

That combined with the injuries and here we are.

crossy1686 said:

Was only missing “we aspire to be like them”

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I nearly wish he would . At least we’d have some idea of what he’s trying to do at the club.

BenitoSTARR said:

Today showed the difference between a title winning and champions league winning squad and ours.

Any objective person watching today could not give the players we put out a realistic hope of winning against the players they put out.

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Maybe if ETH wasn’t injuring all the players with his after match press conferences he’d have more players to choose from.

And sure everybody has injuries, look at city missing Rodri for a few games.

Chumpsbechumps said:

Depending on what sort of plan INEOs start,


I think top 5 is as good as gone. We have to win 10 of our last 12 games which is not gonna happen.

I agree with you about the Fulham game, we just had no room for mistakes until end of season. I still think Villa or spurs could crumble if they were under pressure but we are too far behind to put any meaningful pressure on them.

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The last paragraph absolutely nails it,losing to Brighton,Palace,Bournemouth and Fulham at home is why we haven't got the ability to put pressure on either of them. Has proved to be a complete waste of time beating Villa

FujiVice said:

I'll be honest, losing 7-0 to Liverpool last year has completely killed any enthusiasm I had for him. I've not gotten over it.

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Same here. I started doubting him before that dark day but that loss broke me and my faith in him and his tactics. No United manager should bring that kind of historic humiliation of biblical proportions to this club.

FujiVice said:

I'll be honest, losing 7-0 to Liverpool last year has completely killed any enthusiasm I had for him. I've not gotten over it.

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It will define his legacy here.

Wow the hate in here tonight is rough..

I actually thought he set us out well, with a decent (albeit defensive) gameplan which was very well executed in the first half - considering our injuries and the fact City had all their best players available.

The game against Brentford has killed him long term I think. He lost faith in himself that day I think.

TsuWave said:

Sometimes I read stuff here that scares me to the core of my bones. This is one of those instances.

I’ll probably do a knee slide on concrete the day we finally sack him, which hopefully isn’t too far away now.

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The thing is we are watching the same games and we both agree we don't like what we see. Where we differ is in where the blame lies. For me we would be in largely the place even if Klopp or Pep were head coach. And we will be in the same place with the next coach too unless the club is run properly. That's exactly why INEOS have been brought in.

cpresc said:

Wow the hate in here tonight is rough..

I actually thought he set us out well, with a decent (albeit defensive) gameplan which was very well executed in the first half - considering our injuries and the fact City had all their best players available.

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Most have made their mind up, myself included. Any loss from here until the end of the season will illicit the same response. We have been utterly dreadful for over a year under this guy.

glazed said:

The thing is we are watching the same games and we both agree we don't like what we see. Where we differ is in where the blame lies. For me we would be in largely the place even if Klopp or Pep were head coach. And we will be in the same place with the next coach too unless the club is run properly. That's exactly why INEOS have been brought in.

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This notion seriously needs to stop. You're talking about two of the greatest managers in world football and two of the all time greats. Since SAF has stepped down we've signed Moyes, LVG who was past his best, Mourinho also past his best, Ole and then took a gamble on a Dutch league manager with a lot to prove.

Utter shite. I would rather give it a go and make them worry a bit with a risk of being picked off than have 20% possession, concede 30 shots and get the complete piss taken out of us.

We were always unlikely to get anything out of that game and do have injuries to a couple of our better players, but that approach and atrempt at a gameplan was admitting defeat before a ball was even kicked. Disgusting.

You can't just sit back and allow good teams to come at you until they score. Especially if you're conceding to teams that are far inferior on a regular basis with the same approach.

Can't believe Ten Hag is saying the performance overall was good. That's just lying to anyone who can see or hear.

To get something today it needed something totally different that City weren't expecting. Instead we just made it not only predictable but pretty much a kick around for them. Embarassing.

Shark said:

This notion seriously needs to stop. You're talking about two of the greatest managers in world football and two of the all time greats. Since SAF has stepped down we've signed Moyes, LVG who was past his best, Mourinho also past his best, Ole and then took a gamble on a Dutch league manager with a lot to prove.

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Moyes in his only season had more points after 27 games than Erik has this season yet apparently he was crap.

FujiVice said:

I'll be honest, losing 7-0 to Liverpool last year has completely killed any enthusiasm I had for him. I've not gotten over it.

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Same, that was completely unacceptable for a Manchester United manager to set the team up like that and let it happen during the game.

Big Ben Foster said:

Honestly you can probably count on one hand the number of wins this season that were comfortable and where you can confidently say we 100% deserved the win.

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I still think that cup game where we played the kids is the best performance of the year. Amrabats debut

Chumpsbechumps said:

Me too

And I trust INEOs are ruthlessly looking at the squad of players that any United manager is going to have to manage.

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feck em all off

Man, I was so excited for our future under Ten Hag just one year ago... it really looked like we were on the up. The downturn in our fortunes under him have nosedived unlike anything I could have imagined.

The worst part of it all is that I now go into most games -- particularly the ones against the big teams -- without any hope at all. Even at our worst under previous managers, I always retained a sense of (often misplaced) optimism that we could pull a surprise result out of the bag. But under Ten Hag in the last year or so, I am just filled with dread and, perhaps more damningly, a sense of resignation because I know now that we will barely put up a fight. We are a complete footballing non-entity at the moment, and it definitely feels like our players go into the big games believing the same.

SB16 said:

Man, I was so excited for our future under Ten Hag just one year ago... it really looked like we were on the up. The downturn in our fortunes under him have nosedived unlike anything I could have imagined.

The worst part of it all is that I now go into most games -- particularly the ones against the big teams -- without any hope at all. Even at our worst under previous managers, I always retained a sense of (often misplaced) optimism that we could pull a surprise result out of the bag. But under Ten Hag in the last year or so, I am just filled with dread and, perhaps more damningly, a sense of resignation because I know now that we will barely put up a fight. We are a complete footballing non-entity at the moment, and it definitely feels like our players go into the big games believing the same.

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The club is in a weird place where some fans & management keep thinking of the historical achievements to look at how big we are but from a footballing perspective we are a complete non entity. Fans of mid to lower half clubs look forward to playing us so that they can get their childhood hatred out but from a coaches perspective I don’t think that Guardiola or Klopp think much of us and they probably spend more time preparing for majority of the other teams because we are a completely harmless team

glazed said:

The thing is we are watching the same games and we both agree we don't like what we see. Where we differ is in where the blame lies. For me we would be in largely the place even if Klopp or Pep were head coach. And we will be in the same place with the next coach too unless the club is run properly. That's exactly why INEOS have been brought in.

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There's nothing to support that notion. Ten Hag hasn't at any point in his career been among the best managers in the world. To extrapolate that we would be in largely the same position with some of the best managers in world football is crazy, especially because we've done better with worse managers.

Ten Hag was someone we took a punt on because he looked promising. It hasn't panned out. It happens. We need to move on.

FujiVice said:

I'll be honest, losing 7-0 to Liverpool last year has completely killed any enthusiasm I had for him. I've not gotten over it.

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It's looking more and more like that result killed his self confidence in managing in this league and also stopped the players buying into his vision.

Marwood said:

We could and should be much further along the road towards it though.

Because a few players here and there can make a big difference.

We know this because ETH started well in that sense. He brought in Casemiro, Eriksen and Martinez and last season we looked much more composed in our own half. Three players made a massive difference.

But the signings have to almost relentlessly continue. You can't follow those three with Mount, Antony and Amrabat.

As a manager you've just stalled your own progress by doing that.

That combined with the injuries and here we are.

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Our injuries are a big reason why we aren't further down that road, we've demonstrated this season that we can be very comfortable on the ball with our key players in place.

The suboptimal transfers are on the previous regime as much as Ten Hag, we were relying almost entirely on him to identify targets. That's one of the things I'm most hopeful for with the new regime, that will have people dedicated to finding players who fit the profile we need, using data.

FujiVice said:

I'll be honest, losing 7-0 to Liverpool last year has completely killed any enthusiasm I had for him. I've not gotten over it.

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And our performances haven't gotten any better since either. Surprised there haven't been more thrashings this season.

cpresc said:

I actually thought he set us out well, with a decent (albeit defensive) gameplan which was very well executed in the first half - considering our injuries and the fact City had all their best players available.

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Hard to disagree too much with how he set up, sure.

All these posts criticizing what is - ultimately - very minor details (don't play Lindelöf at LB) seem a bit silly to me, to be honest.

He basically set up to hit 'em on the counter and hope for the best - which is...well, it's a pragmatic approach under the circumstances.

It's the bigger picture, though. He is to a considerable degree responsible for the state of this squad, given the time he's spent with it and - not least - the input he's had in terms of recruitment (something he, himself, has positively craved by all accounts - it's not something the club has forced on him).

So, yeah, in isolation - no issue with him not going for an obviously suicidal "let's dominate City" approach.

The fact that some form of "hit 'em on the counter" approach isn't just a contingency plan (because of injuries), but something much closer to our default approach, however...that's something else, and very much an issue well into his second season.

As always, people will go into an odd form of meltdown after a defeat like this (which was pretty much a foregone conclusion - if we had somehow pulled off a win here, it would've been...what? Feckin' lucky, it could hardly have been the result of us suddenly turning into a genuinely grand team), but on the other hand what we saw today very painfully highlights our (and his, I would say - sorry) shortcomings.