Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager

[MUFC OK]

Team is a bunch more of soft touches, rashford can feck off with his head down all the time looking hard done by - find your bollocks lad.

This manager talks a great game but he’s still got a lot to prove. We are not fighters not winners. No amount of sound bites from his interviews can correct what we’re seen by in the pitch. Liverpool absolutely giddy that they’re going to steal top 4 from us.

 

[MUFC OK]

Problem is when you have 7-0 at anfield on your record you absolutely need to finish in the top 4 and above the scouse. Anything less than that and he should be in very thin ice. It’s gotten to the point that the away record can’t just be in the players, it’s the way he’s setting up and especially in second halves.

A United team that can lose 7-0 at anfield highlights a huge issue. It’s a sackable offense for the manager regardless of anything.

Utter disgrace, disinterested players and we suddenly look incapable of winning a game and every bang average club is having their day in the sun against these pansies.

 

[OrcaFat]

He really has to earn his corn over the next four games. No excuses, he has to get these players to win three games. Some things will be out of his control but he has to find a way, despite the obstacles.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He really has to earn his corn over the next four games. No excuses, he has to get these players to win three games. Some things will be out of his control but he has to find a way, despite the obstacles.

We really should be winning all 4 league games.

 

[OrcaFat]

Team is a bunch more of soft touches, rashford can feck off with his head down all the time looking hard done by - find your bollocks lad.

This manager talks a great game but he’s still got a lot to prove. We are not fighters not winners. No amount of sound bites from his interviews can correct what we’re seen by in the pitch. Liverpool absolutely giddy that they’re going to steal top 4 from us.

Yeah, I posted a similar sentiment last week.

It sounds a bit primitive but Martinez and maybe Casemiro and Antony are the only guys with a kind of street-hardness about them.

SAF’s first successful team was purposely infused with hard men - the type who would relish an actual fist fight (without actually getting into one!). That type of character gets you results above the level of quality in your team. They are the reason you can win when you really shouldn’t.

 

[OrcaFat]

We really should be winning all 4 league games.

I know. But what are the odds of that happening from here?

 

[BluesJr]

The De Gea situation will define him. I can’t believe it looks like he’s willing to die on that hill.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I know. But what are the odds of that happening from here?

Probably not high.

If we don't win our next game, I fear for our top 4 hopes.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

The De Gea situation will define him. I can’t believe it looks like he’s willing to die on that hill.

That and Weghorst potentially featuring more in top 4 decider games.

Ten Hag absolutely needs to boot De Gea out. If he wants to keep him, the club should overrule him. There is no shot he deserves to be the #1 GK next season.

 

[CaseHero]

Playing Wout is crazy but I understand some selections have been made by statistics and players who are physically and mentally not up to it like Sancho and Martial who are massive let downs including past managers.

The players have been letting us down well before ETH came along at least with the new manager we are more competitive and seeing glimpses of what we could see on a more regular basis once we have the right players in and weed out the rest.

He has improved many of the players and handled Ronaldo and Harry's situations well including the sale of the club. He definitely is the right man to lead us into a brighter future we can't afford to keep chopping and changing and this isn't his squad yet and with the possibility of having a small budget this summer and what he has produced with this mentally frail lot, we'd be mad to sack him.

 

[Marwood]

What I don't get with Wout is that ETH can clearly see he's not good enough because he keeps subbing him off. It's not like LvG and his love for a finished Rooney. So why start him in the first place?

If as a manager you keep bringing a player off you'd think eventually the penny would drop that maybe they shouldn't be starting in the first place.

 

[Gordon Godot]

What I don't get with Wout is that ETH can clearly see he's not good enough because he keeps subbing him off. So why start him in the first place?

If as a manager you keep bringing a player off you'd think eventually the penny would drop that maybe they shouldn't be starting in the first place.

The Wout thing is staggering. He is utterly useless, a lumbering embarressment. Despite limitations of many of our players, there are plenty who at least have the technical capability to play top level football. I am losing a lot of faith in him for persisting with him. Clearly tried to use him as a target for some goal kicks but as ever he didnt win a single aerial duel

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

What I don't get with Wout is that ETH can clearly see he's not good enough because he keeps subbing him off. It's not like LvG and his love for a finished Rooney. So why start him in the first place?

If as a manager you keep bringing a player off you'd think eventually the penny would drop that maybe they shouldn't be starting in the first place.

No clue how he keeps picking him honestly.

Some Ajax fans said he plays his favorites too often, but I don't know if they were trolling.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

The Wout thing is staggering. He is utterly useless, a lumbering embarressment. Despite limitations of many of our players, there are plenty who at least have the technical capability to play top level football. I am losing a lot of faith in him for persisting with him. Clearly tried to use him as a target for some goal kicks but as ever he didnt win a single aerial duel

I mean it can't be that, because he's fecking awful in the air

 

[Sarni]

We really should be winning all 4 league games.

Literally zero chance we win at Bournemouth. Our top 4 hinges on Chelsea game IMO as I expect us to beat Wolves and Fulham at home. Chelsea we should win but if they somehow have a good day it could get tricky.

 

[Marwood]

The Wout thing is staggering. He is utterly useless, a lumbering embarressment. Despite limitations of many of our players, there are plenty who at least have the technical capability to play top level football. I am losing a lot of faith in him for persisting with him. Clearly tried to use him as a target for some goal kicks but as ever he didnt win a single aerial duel

I got it when Martial was injured and Wout was the 9. There was pretty much no other choice.

But playing him as a 10?

In no way should ETH be sacked. That's silly talk.

But Weghorst playing as a 10 for Manchester United is one of the all time strangest decisions I've seen from a United manager.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Literally zero chance we win at Bournemouth. Our top 4 hinges on Chelsea game IMO as I expect us to beat Wolves and Fulham at home. Chelsea we should win but if they somehow have a good day it could get tricky.

The cafe would experience the biggest meltdown ever if the worst Chelsea team in Prem history ended our top 4 hopes.

 

[Sarni]

The cafe would experience the biggest meltdown ever if the worst Chelsea team in Prem history ended our top 4 hopes.

I don't think they will but their personnel is good enough to get a draw, probably. I don't think Wolves and Fulham, both of them being relatively secure, are going to turn up at Old Trafford playing at 100% though in case of Fulham the way they absolutely outplayed us in the cup game is concerning. Bournemouth is really a write off at this point, we may fluke a draw but that's all.

 

[OrcaFat]

Literally zero chance we win at Bournemouth. Our top 4 hinges on Chelsea game IMO as I expect us to beat Wolves and Fulham at home. Chelsea we should win but if they somehow have a good day it could get tricky.

None of those games are easy if we can’t play better than we have played lately.

However, if we manage to beat Wolves then I think we do have a chance of a win against Bournemouth.

I’m not especially hopeful of getting the nine points we need but our levels could recover if we can start with a really decent performance and result in the next game.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I don't think they will but their personnel is good enough to get a draw, probably. I don't think Wolves and Fulham, both of them being relatively secure, are going to turn up at Old Trafford playing at 100% though in case of Fulham the way they absolutely outplayed us in the cup game is concerning. Bournemouth is really a write off at this point, we may fluke a draw but that's all.

Honestly, I'm expecting the worst.

I hope I'm wrong, but we seem to be in a downward spiral and it's getting worse and worse.

 

[OrcaFat]

Honestly, I'm expecting the worst.

I hope I'm wrong, but we seem to be in a downward spiral and it's getting worse and worse.

It’s the kind of run you get just before a manager is sacked.

 

[UTG]

Next game is a must win, and something needs to change up front, and has been a long time coming. The obsession with 4231 has made utd predictable. Let's go 442 from kick off.

De Gea
AWB, lindelof, Shaw, Dalot
Antony, Casemiro, Bruno, Sancho
Martial, Rashford

Wolves will sit back so we need Sancho who at least allows us touches in the box. He is not a last 15 minute impact sub. Bruno can dictate from deep. Ask Sancho and Antony to defend inside and attack wide. Martial and Rashford rotate deep.

 

[Toshey]

I'll post this again and again.

If we had hired Pochetino, you would have been calling for his sacking even earlier than ETH. If we fire Ten Hag and get Nagelsmann tomorrow, in 8-9 months you will be calling for his sacking aswell.
The problem was, is and is always going to be the Glazers until they feck off.

Preparing a team to fight for the top spots of modern football takes much more than just throw a few hundred million at buying players.
So many people get out of the club and share the same common thing - our base is outdated, our gear is outdated. The club doesn't get investments or upgrades outside throwing idiotic money at random players. The reason we keep overpaying for players for a decade now is simply because we having shit negotiating, scouting and marketing strategy.
We fail to identify correct players for correct money.

And the BIGGEST problem - we fail to SELL or even GET RID of any players.

For example. Pep got Gündogan at City for just 20 million. Look at what he has become.
He also got Nolito - he failed and got moved on immediately. Sanè gave him mixed performance - got moved on. Jesus was around 30 miliion for City and he was great for them. They made pofit from selling him to Arsenal, didn't hesitate to do it. And upgraded big time.
Even City who don't give two shits about money they spend, are more sensible in the transfer market than us.


This summer we have to sell so many players who will clearly never be good enough or is clearly not going to work out for us - Martial, Fred, McTominay, Van de Beek, Maguire, Dalot, Sancho (not willing to give him anymore time. If he was at City he would have been moved on by now.), Elanga.


We are surely not getting any profit for Bailly, Telles. For fecks sake, we even carry Phil fecking Jones and pay him to train for fun.

And no, this is NOT purely on the manager. It's very stupid to expect a manager to come in and fix the fecking ruined club with a magic wand.

 

[andersj]

Think it is fair to give him the benefit of the doubt considering a few of the issues in the squad. In the last two years we have lost Greenwood and Cavani, wasted so much on Ronaldo (handing him a huge issue) and seen Martial ending up very, very injury prone. Basically lost for attackers in a short time. It also appears that the money thrown at Sancho was a huge waste.

Yes, he did add an expensive attacker in Antony, and he has not been good enough yet. But I do think it is fair to give Antony more time.

Weghorst as a panick deal in january when we did not have any money was ok. But the extensive use of him really gives a bit of Benitez-vibe.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Literally zero chance we win at Bournemouth. Our top 4 hinges on Chelsea game IMO as I expect us to beat Wolves and Fulham at home. Chelsea we should win but if they somehow have a good day it could get tricky.

 

[Seveneric]

Easy to have an aura and appear charming when you're winning. Nothing's really changed though, just that people were grossly overrating him when we were doing well, and being overly negative when things are not.

Yep. It's really sad that nuance is pretty much dead in all forms of discourse nowadays.

Should he be fired? Absolutely not. Is he the messiah that will get United back on top? Too early to say.

 

[OrcaFat]

I'll post this again and again.

If we had hired Pochetino, you would have been calling for his sacking even earlier than ETH. If we fire Ten Hag and get Nagelsmann tomorrow, in 8-9 months you will be calling for his sacking aswell.
The problem was, is and is always going to be the Glazers until they feck off.

Preparing a team to fight for the top spots of modern football takes much more than just throw a few hundred million at buying players.
So many people get out of the club and share the same common thing - our base is outdated, our gear is outdated. The club doesn't get investments or upgrades outside throwing idiotic money at random players. The reason we keep overpaying for players for a decade now is simply because we having shit negotiating, scouting and marketing strategy.
We fail to identify correct players for correct money.

And the BIGGEST problem - we fail to SELL or even GET RID of any players.

For example. Pep got Gündogan at City for just 20 million. Look at what he has become.
He also got Nolito - he failed and got moved on immediately. Sanè gave him mixed performance - got moved on. Jesus was around 30 miliion for City and he was great for them. They made pofit from selling him to Arsenal, didn't hesitate to do it. And upgraded big time.
Even City who don't give two shits about money they spend, are more sensible in the transfer market than us.


This summer we have to sell so many players who will clearly never be good enough or is clearly not going to work out for us - Martial, Fred, McTominay, Van de Beek, Maguire, Dalot, Sancho (not willing to give him anymore time. If he was at City he would have been moved on by now.), Elanga.


We are surely not getting any profit for Bailly, Telles. For fecks sake, we even carry Phil fecking Jones and pay him to train for fun.

And no, this is NOT purely on the manager. It's very stupid to expect a manager to come in and fix the fecking ruined club with a magic wand.

You’ll need to search long and hard to find anyone who thinks any of our problems are purely on the manager or thinks any manager will fix the club with a magic wand.

 

[Betson]

Before the Brighton game when asked about our awful run of away games against top half teams ETH said it was down to character and that the players need to show that now , then we got bet by Brighton and afterwards ETH talked about character again and how we need to show that and bounce back in the next game.

I am not sure what he said after last nights game but at what point does he realize that maybe this squad of players do not have the character to succeed and that it is not a quality you can coach.

 

[Marwood]

Easy to have an aura and appear charming when you're winning. Nothing's really changed though, just that people were grossly overrating him when we were doing well, and being overly negative when things are not.

I think this is the era of the manager and fans massively overrate what a manager can do with a player on an individual basis.

It's all about recruitment. Always has been always will be.

 

[OrcaFat]

Before the Brighton game when asked about our awful run of away games against top half teams ETH said it was down to character and that the players need to show that now , then we got bet by Brighton and afterwards ETH talked about character again and how we need to show that and bounce back in the next game.

I am not sure what he said after last nights game but at what point does he realize that maybe this squad of players do not have the character to succeed and that it is not a quality you can coach.

He’s a clever guy. Anything we’ve realised, he has too. What else can he say in public?

I’m speculating, but surely he wants to replace most of these spineless players. He is known to plan meticulously for the long term, which includes every individual player.

 

[OrcaFat]

I think this is the era of the manager and fans massively overrate what a manager can do with a player on an individual basis.

It's all about recruitment. Always has been always will be.

Yes that’s my view as well. Some managers can coach players towards their potential. Some managers are good at setting teams up to maximise the sum of their parts. But if the players don’t have “it” they never will and that’s why you have to recruit the right guys. Easier said than done, of course.

 

[Borys]

The De Gea situation will define him. I can’t believe it looks like he’s willing to die on that hill.

And you are right that you can't believe it. He's just saying things to the press. No chance in hell he wants DDG to be his only keeper next season. But what else is he going to say? That thankfully we need to last only 5 more games with him in goal?

 

[abkmufc92]

Can he stop playing Shaw and Bruno out of position to accommodate Malacia and Weghorst who are fecking dreadful, makes no fecking sense.

 

[Mmm-Qatarian]

One thing I find really odd is that people are blaming the fact that we've essentially only signed players hand-picked by Ten Hag just on Ten Hag himself. I know that sentence is going to seem strange on first viewing but let me explain.

The essential feeling I get looking at our transfer window and squad composition is that, once again, the club failed to actually prepare for the arrival of it's new manager. Basically the board and high-level football strategy team (insofar as it exists at Manchester United) seemed to think the job was just done when Ten Hag signed the contract, gave themselves a collective pat on the back, and then put their feet up.

Then, of course, the summer transfer window rolled around and we figured that after our worst season in years the squad could probably do with upgrading. It then seemed very much as though, rather than having a carefully prepared list of options and overarching directive for the summer ahead, the higher-ups basically said "Erm, Erik, do you have anyone in mind?" Essentially, the manager seemed to additionally take on the role of chief and in fact sole scout of Manchester United. This should set off the sirens and the spinning red lights for anyone looking for issues with how a football club is run.

One qualm I've seen people have with Ten Hag is that he "only goes for the players he knows from his time in Holland" but my counter to that would be what the feck else do you expect him to do when he's made solely responsible for identifying targets? If you put your manager in charge of recruitment, the scope of that recruitment will obviously be limited to the players that said manager is familiar with and this is exactly why it's a bad idea.

If we have any ambition to seriously compete in the long-run, these recruitment decisions simply cannot be placed in the hands of the manager.

 

[Bestietom]

We should be looking at Young players for the summer transfer window. We need to mix our midfield with young players and experienced players as we just don't have the legs or the lungs in this department.
I would also go and find two Young CFs to compete instead of throwing it all on 1 player.

 

[Berbaclass]

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[crossy1686]

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Probably the right approach to be fair. They need to clear their heads and refocus, too much at stake to start pointing the finger and punishing people at this stage of the season. Do a full post-mortem once the season is over.

 

[Judas]

People will go mental about giving them time off but I think it’s logical and sensible if you look at the overall picture.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Probably the right approach to be fair. They need to clear their heads and refocus, too much at stake to start pointing the finger and punishing people at this stage of the season. Do a full post-mortem once the season is over.

Yeah, sounds about right. We don't play until Saturday anyway. Getting their heads sorted and getting proper rest should be a boost.

If we don't come out guns blazing against Wolves, something will be very wrong.

 

[PlayerOne]

It would be madness to not give them time off. Key is winning the next game, there will be no excuses.