Erik ten Hag - Ajax Manager

[Red Dreams]

United will always be run as a Business first.
The football side of things will always be subservient to Revenue generation.
Why we are in the mess we are.

Getting Ronaldo instead of a DM is just one instance.

 

[Lebo]

Does anyone other than a child actually believe that hyperbole? Its a very myopic viewpoint. We are no more special than Bayern is to germany, or juventus is to italy or boca/river are to argentina. The biggest club in europe is currently Real Madrid (get the best players 85% of the time and most CL wins) with a chance of change that over the next few decades, PSG, Newcastle and City could close that gap with their bottomless funds and armys of lawyers to get around ffp etc.

Eh you are totally wrong here. I’m from South Africa. People this side of the world don’t care much about any other league except EPL and Laliga to some extent (not like the EPL though). I’m yet to meet a single person who supports Bayern but I know plenty of United fans. Worst part is Man City fans, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal fans consider Man United their most hated club which tells you about the stature of the club.

 

[Wolf1992]

Eh you are totally wrong here. I’m from South Africa. People this side of the world don’t care much about any other league except EPL and Laliga to some extent (not like the EPL though). I’m yet to meet a single person who supports Bayern but I know plenty of United fans. Worst part is Man City fans, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal fans consider Man United their most hated club which tells you about the stature of the club.

Language barrier plays a big part

How many people learn german,italian or spanish as their second language? Barely any, most choose english, even if their country have nothing in common with England.
But it helps them to access to the most commercial stuff out there : music, education, businesses,etc.

Premier League was bound to commercially dominate abroad, if they didn't do it before it was because the world wasn't globalized enough 20-30 years ago...now it is, and they have the advantage.

 

[Hammondo]

I'm not sure why people think we have the pull the biggest teams have, there is nothing we offer that others don't offer better.

 

[Offside]

United will always be run as a Business first.
The football side of things will always be subservient to Revenue generation.
Why we are in the mess we are.

Getting Ronaldo instead of a DM is just one instance.

We needed a striker though. You seem to think we had to choose between a striker and a DM rather than getting both?

 

[Gfooty]

People claiming here how Utd is the biggest club and ETH would come running to Manchester at the chance, somehow keep forgetting this club has become a manager's graveyard. Look what happened to all the other big names that came before him.

The cause of this lies much deeper than just a new manager and 1-2 big signings; this is exactly what everyone was asking for everytime it went downhill and it's exactly what happened and it changed absolutely nothing.

 

[Caesar2290]

People claiming here how Utd is the biggest club and ETH would come running to Manchester at the chance, somehow keep forgetting this club has become a manager's graveyard. Look what happened to all the other big names that came before him.

The cause of this lies much deeper than just a new manager and 1-2 big signings; this is exactly what everyone was asking for everytime it went downhill and it's exactly what happened and it changed absolutely nothing.

Who?

Moyes? Seems to have reinvented himself at West Ham

LVG was finished before we hired him.

Mourinho was on a downwards spiral after RM

Ole?

As i said before. The biggest mistake we ever did is give too much power to our managers. The board(especially the Glazers) were under the mistaken assumption that every manager is SAF reincarnate i.e. head coach + DoF in one person.

Sadly, a billion pounds later they realized it's not the case. That's why we have Mortough as our DoF and Ragnick is hired to assist him

 

[passing-wind]

Lots of nonsense in the comments. United might not be the biggest club domestically or in Europe in terms of challenging on football fronts but many are commenting as if Erik Ten Hag is some type of serial winner with a Pep / Sir Alex record of winning. He's a manager who still has to show for the hype beyond his experiences at Ajax, he's in no ways a sure guarantee. Fancy football and a semi final champions league run doesn't deter the reality that the manager needs to prove himself.

Not many clubs offer the facilities and time that United give to a manager. If ETH underperforms even for a short phase at a Chelsea, Madrid, PSG they will pull the plug. Every managing individual with the exception of Moyes has been backed with their ideas and philosophies. In fact the biggest criticism id say that the Glazers / Woodward have shown is giving the managers too much responsibility and influence to effect areas of the club that others should have been supervising (DOF).

 

[2 man midfield]

Conversely, has anyone thought he might fancy the chance of being the one to wake up a sleeping giant? If everyone before him failed, his reputation would be insane if he took us back to the top. It does happen - who gave Liverpool a hope of getting Klopp back in the day?

 

[Caesar2290]

Lots of nonsense in the comments. United might not be the biggest club domestically or in Europe in terms of challenging on football fronts but many are commenting as if Erik Ten Hag is some type of serial winner with a Pep / Sir Alex record of winning. He's a manager who still has to show for the hype beyond his experiences at Ajax, he's in no ways a sure guarantee. Fancy football and a semi final champions league run doesn't deter the reality that the manager needs to prove himself.

Not many clubs offer the facilities and time that United give to a manager. If ETH underperforms even for a short phase at a Chelsea, Madrid, PSG they will pull the plug. Every managing individual with the exception of Moyes has been backed with their ideas and philosophies. In fact the biggest criticism id say that the Glazers / Woodward have shown is giving the managers too much responsibility and influence to effect areas of the club that others should have been supervising (DOF).

Absolutely this. As much as I want ETH here at United, let's not forget that at the moment he is closer to Jardim with his Monaco CL exploits back in 2016/2017 than say Pep, Klopp or Sir Alex. If he could join us and make the step up he will definitely be in that category. Till then he is a "hot prospect" of manager that can become elite.

 

[Lebo]

Language barrier plays a big part

How many people learn german,italian or spanish as their second language? Barely any, most choose english, even if their country have nothing in common with England.
But it helps them to access to the most commercial stuff out there : music, education, businesses,etc.

Premier League was bound to commercially dominate abroad, if they didn't do it before it was because the world wasn't globalized enough 20-30 years ago...now it is, and they have the advantage.

There is always a reason why some clubs are more popular than others. From Politics to fan bases the end result is that Man United is a bigger brand than Bayern Munich currently.

There are a lot of french speaking countries but people still don’t care much about the french league. At least not compared to Italy which is not a popular language in comparison.

 

[Amadaeus]

Not sure why fans on here are still hanging onto hope of us getting Ten Hag. Isnt Ten Hag being Represented by the same agency as pep brother Pere? It is a no brainer that if pep leave Manchester city, ETH is going there unless Manchester city favors another manager.

 

[Caesar2290]

Not sure why fans on here are still hanging onto hope of us getting Ten Hag. Isnt Ten Hag being Represented by the same agency as pep brother Pere? It is a no brainer that if pep leave Manchester city, ETH is going there unless Manchester city favors another manager.

Well shit. Pack it up boys and leave. It's not like United pipped City to their signings on numerous ocassions or anything

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Conversely, has anyone thought he might fancy the chance of being the one to wake up a sleeping giant? If everyone before him failed, his reputation would be insane if he took us back to the top. It does happen - who gave Liverpool a hope of getting Klopp back in the day?

I truly believe in this. Certain types of managers and players would relish the chance to become United legends.

(also just look at how much media coverage we get vs all these other 'big' clubs in the EPL)

 

[sullydnl]

Obviously if a team like City come in for Ten Hag at the same time as United then he may well opt for City, for reasons that are all too obvious.

However if it's a choice between joining United immediately or the promise of joining City a season later, that obviously skews the odds more in our favour. Because a promise without a contract could be reneged on (if Pep changed his mind, for example) and all else being equal a team that will hire you now is better than a team will will hire you in a year.

Obviously that doesn't mean he wouldn't hold out for the City job, it depends on his priorities and his read of the situation. But saying he definitely would/wouldn't either way is just baseless speculation, it depends on him and his own personality. Some people would opt for one, some would opt for the other. Klopp turning us down but accepting Liverpool wouldn't have been what the forum thought was the on-paper correct decision then either, but he had his own opinions.

There's also the fact that he may not even be City's first choice, as they may opt to go for a post World Cup Enrique. Hell if Enrique was currently available most of this forum would probably want him over Ten Hag too, we've just taken it as read that he's staying where he is until after the WC.

 

[Strelok]

What power to the manager you are talking about?

Glazers bought ancient Ronaldo without consulting Ole, all because SAF didn't want to see Ronnie at City...there was zero plan in that signing.
It definitely wasn't an Ole signing.

That's managerial empowerment?

Tbf buying ancient Ronaldo is not the worst here but forcing the managers to use him is. Many clubs bought the players the managers didn't want, big deal. But if you force them to use the players they don't want to or is a hindrance to how they want the team to play it's seriously a big fecking deal to any manager. You stripp them off the most important authority they have and feck up any plan or tactic they have in mind.

Think about how the feck Ten Hag will be able to implement his aggressive pressing 433 with Ronaldo up front? This year he's become shite already let alone next year when he's only got older.

 

[Caesar2290]

Obviously if a team like City come in for Ten Hag at the same time as United then he may well opt for City, for reasons that are all too obvious.

However if it's a choice between joining United immediately or the promise of joining City a season later, that obviously skews the odds more in our favour. Because a promise without a contract could be reneged on (if Pep changed his mind, for example) and all else being equal a team that will hire you now is better than a team will will hire you in a year.

Obviously that doesn't mean he wouldn't hold out for the City job, it depends on his priorities and his read of the situation. But saying he definitely would/wouldn't either way is just baseless speculation, it depends on him and his own personality. Some people would opt for one, some would opt for the other. Klopp turning us down but accepting Liverpool wouldn't have been what the forum thought was the on-paper correct decision then either, but he had his own opinions.

There's also the fact that he may not even be City's first choice, as they may opt to go for a post World Cup Enrique. Hell if Enrique was currently available most of this forum would probably want him over Ten Hag too, we've just taken it as read that he's staying where he is until after the WC.

I don't know mate. Depends on the manager. Certain manager don't like taking the "Big Club" jobs i.e. Bielsa or Klopp. They don't like high pressure corporate environments. Other managers thrive in them i.e. Pep.

Personality wise Ten Hag strikes me as someone closer to Klopp than Pep. Plus the pressure of succeding Pep at City will be similar to SAF at United post retirement. You either win the PL and CL off the bat or live in Pep's shadow.

Ten Hag has stated in numerous interviews that he is building a project and a legacy at Ajax. He is a builder. Just like Klopp he will need time to implement his vision. United so happens is need of builder to rebuild it's legacy.

At City there is nothing to build. They are already top dog right now. This is why I think they will go down the Barca route: appoint Enrique after Pep.

Tbf buying ancient Ronaldo is not the worst here but forcing the managers to use him is. Many clubs bought the players the managers didn't want, big deal. But if you force them to use the players they don't want to or is a hindrance to how they want the team to play it's seriously a big fecking deal to any manager. You stripp them off the most important authority they have and feck up any plan or tactic they have in mind.

Think about how the feck Ten Hag will be able to implement his aggressive pressing 433 with Ronaldo up front? This year he's become shite already let alone next year when he's only got older.

If someone like Ragnick who is an interim can get Ronaldo on board with his philosophy and ideas, then Ten Hag will definitely do the same. At the end of the day Haller isn't exactly a pressing machine either, but he makes it work.

Plus I imagine after the current shitshow he witnessed, Ronaldo will be here for a year at most.

 

[El-Manos]

If we wait until the summer to act, he will most likely end up somewhere else. We need to get the ball rolling here.

 

[Strelok]

Ronaldo will be here for a year at most.

That I really really wish to come true. The sooner he fecks off the better.

Haller might be not exactly a pressing machine but he averages about 13 pressures per 90'. Do you know how many Ronaldo does? 6.

If not for his name and SAF he'd be benched ages ago and Greenwood would have become our #9. Like in August, when he scored a goal a match and won the Player of the Month.

 

[Red Dreams]

We needed a striker though. You seem to think we had to choose between a striker and a DM rather than getting both?

Really?

We have enough strikers.
Ronaldo was simply brought in for Revenue generation/shirt sales.

An example of how the board puts business ahead of football.

Martial's contract was extended not from a football point of view. He was not being played regularly. His contract was extended to preserve his resale value.
But his wages hit our bottom line. So the cost of a non playing player is lumped with a player that is needed.

This is how mangers are handicapped.

Why do you think so many want the Glazers out?

 

[Wolf1992]

There is always a reason why some clubs are more popular than others. From Politics to fan bases the end result is that Man United is a bigger brand than Bayern Munich currently.

There are a lot of french speaking countries but people still don’t care much about the french league. At least not compared to Italy which is not a popular language in comparison.

English teams are still winning the lead in Africa, english language helps, same goes for Asia.
When you want to promote a product worldwide you use english, not german, italian, or spanish.

French league is far from being the best league, which is why the league is less popular in french-speaking African countries.

It was about time for EPL to dominate the comercial world, Serie A, Bundesliga, and La Liga (outside of LatinAmerica) could have never competed with the fact that english language is learnt as second language in most countries around the world.

 

[giggs-beckham]

I'm not sure why people think we have the pull the biggest teams have, there is nothing we offer that others don't offer better.

Social media exposure

 

[UncleBob]

I'm not sure why people think we have the pull the biggest teams have, there is nothing we offer that others don't offer better.

Who are we?

 

[Hammondo]

Who are we?

United.

 

[Hammondo]

Social media exposure

Well yea ok. Is that so important though?

 

[UncleBob]

United.

Leeds United?
Certainly not Manchester United

 

[Hammondo]

Leeds United?
Certainly not Manchester United

Yes Manchester United.

 

[UncleBob]

Yes Manchester United.

We're one of the biggest clubs in the world.

 

[Hammondo]

We're one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Yes, other clubs can offer more. What do we have to attract that other top teams don't have better.

 

[UncleBob]

Yes, other clubs can offer more. What do we have to attract that other top teams don't have better.

Are you being serious now?

 

[Skills]

Yes, other clubs can offer more. What do we have to attract that other top teams don't have better.

A creepy fanbase, who put you on a patriarchal perch?

 

[Hammondo]

Are you being serious now?

Yes.

 

[UncleBob]

Yes.

Brilliant.

We're one of the biggest clubs in the world and we make a shitload of money, a shitload of money that is made available for squad investments depending on the wishes of the manager, managers whom we also pay a shitload of money. It's not exactly a poor combination, it really isn't. Fact is that the club still has a huge pull, which is unlikely to simply go away within a short period of not being successful. Managers and players grew up with Manchester United being a dominant team. Manchester City could cease to exist tomorrow and 10 years from now they'd be forgotten.

Being given the chance to bring success back to a club the size of Manchester United is hardly an unpleasant scenario.

 

[TheReligion]

Yes.

Why did Klopp go to Liverpool?

 

[Cheimoon]

Why did Klopp go to Liverpool?

To take the ferry to Ireland.

Not directed at you, but as far as I'm concerned, this thread could really do with less discussion on the exact bignosity of the bigness that's big United, and more on Ten Hag.

 

[DRJosh]

There is no guarantee Ten Hag would bring immediate success and there rarely is with any manager taking the reigns. I wouldn't be fussed if RR remains as manager for the next season. He seems to be gradually changing the work ethic of our players who were in dreamland under Ole.

 

[Red Dreams]

There is no guarantee Ten Hag would bring immediate success and there rarely is with any manager taking the reigns. I wouldn't be fussed if RR remains as manager for the next season. He seems to be gradually changing the work ethic of our players who were in dreamland under Ole.

I agree. If we cannot get ten Hag.

I don't want Poch for sure.

 

[weizxx]

People claiming here how Utd is the biggest club and ETH would come running to Manchester at the chance, somehow keep forgetting this club has become a manager's graveyard. Look what happened to all the other big names that came before him.

The cause of this lies much deeper than just a new manager and 1-2 big signings; this is exactly what everyone was asking for everytime it went downhill and it's exactly what happened and it changed absolutely nothing.

True but I think ETH would like this challenge: If he can be success here, what a great achievement that would be.

 

[NewYorkRed]

That I really really wish to come true. The sooner he fecks off the better.

Haller might be not exactly a pressing machine but he averages about 13 pressures per 90'. Do you know how many Ronaldo does? 6.

If not for his name and SAF he'd be benched ages ago and Greenwood would have become our #9. Like in August, when he scored a goal a match and won the Player of the Month.

Oh yeah? Greenwood would become our 9 and bench the guy who single handely kept us in the CL?

You lot do know that Greenwood himself last year told United coaches he doesn’t fancy being a number 9? Just because you guys have decided that he’s ready to be our main man, doesn’t mean he actually is. Even the lad doesn’t think so.

 

[AshRK]

Good analysis on him by an ajax fan. Tactically solid coach who is flexible with his formation. His lack of trust on squad players is one of his weakness.