Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager

Sarni said:
He was forced to sign all these players.
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I do not get it!

Ten Hag is on record saying he gets a veto on the players signed, he might be convinced on a player he was presented to him, but he still has a say.

No player was forced on him and all the big signings since his arrival (Martinez, Casemiro, Antony, Mount, Onana, Hojlund) are players he himself wanted.

Edit: I might have misunderstood you :D
 
Waynne said:
I get your point. The thing is there's no obvious candidates out there to replace him. I remain hopeful we can turn a corner with Ten Hag or someone else in the hot seat come next season. Right now I'm holding onto a sliver of hope that happens.
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Who's an obvious candidate though?
 
pocco said:
It's quite telling that the club still haven't come out and backed him after all this time, and said that he'll be staying for next season. Absolutely no news of a new contract/extension either.
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They might be waiting for a +ve result in the FA cup to make it more palatable. I.e. if they indeed plan to go with him.
 
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NLunited said:
Was the goal an individual error?

Were the tactics that different?

I‘ve got a point.
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In the Arsenal match? The two biggest issues that everyone has repeated over and over ever since preseason weren't there in that match. The team was more compact with a smaller gap between the attackers and the defenders, and the third midfielder (Mainoo) was playing more as a normal #8 instead of acting as a #10 like they have been in almost every other game this season.

Unsurprisingly, not having a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch had the result of us not being anywhere near as open in the middle as we normally are. Who'd have thought?
 
If he’s going - and at the speed INEOS seem to be moving - I’m expecting a very similar LVG scenario. Win or lose the cup then he will be gone within a week.
 
pocco said:
It's quite telling that the club still haven't come out and backed him after all this time, and said that he'll be staying for next season. Absolutely no news of a new contract/extension either.
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We don’t want to announce a new contract amidst all the poor results. We will wait until FA Cup final - if we win, or even lose after a decent enough performance (like 2-0, 3-1 loss) they will us momentum created by that to push the announcement through. Probably a 3-year extension.
 
Sarni said:
We don’t want to announce a new contract amidst all the poor results. We will wait until FA Cup final - if we win, or even lose after a decent enough performance (like 2-0, 3-1 loss) they will us momentum created by that to push the announcement through. Probably a 3-year extension.
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Losing the cup final 3-1 really would give us incredible momentum.
 
christinaa said:
Italian managerial legend, Fabio Capello, has hit out at Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi, claiming he is “third tier”.

De Zerbi joined the Premier League side in September 2022, leading them to a sixth-place finish and the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

But the Seagulls have struggled under him this season.

They currently sit in 10th place with two fixtures left.

Brighton were also eliminated from the FA Cup in the fifth round, knocked out of the Carabao Cup in their first game and failed to get past the last 16 in the Europa League.

“I would put De Zerbi in the third tier.

“There is a lot of talk about him as one of the top coaches because Guardiola sponsors him, but this year he is tenth or eleventh in the standings.

“What has he won in his career? Let’s look at his CV: he has only won one cup in Ukraine,” Capello told Sky Sports.
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Capello was almost 46 when he won his 1st trophy as Milan manager. De Zerbri is still only 44 and has had to work his way up the football ladder.

He didn't have a playing career at multiple high profile clubs like Capello did. Capello inherited a team stacked with world class players from the Sacchi era.

De Zerbri was hardly going to be winning multiple trophies with Sassuolo and Brighton.
 
Waynne said:
I get your point. The thing is there's no obvious candidates out there to replace him. I remain hopeful we can turn a corner with Ten Hag or someone else in the hot seat come next season. Right now I'm holding onto a sliver of hope that happens.
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There's many, many options out there that aren't Ten Hag. It's been two years and we've gotten progressively worse, there will be no corner turning, just brief up ticks in form surrounded by random batterings.
 
Sarni said:
It feels pointless not to sign the players he wants though because that is a huge readymade excuse for him before we even start. How can you expect him to get results with players he had never wanted?
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No one gets the players they want! You think Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool etc all didn't want Kane in the summer? Do you hear them complaining? How many teams wanted Bellingham and didn't get him? How many teams will want Mbappe? You can't always get the players you want so you have to get the best out of the players you have or the players you get instead. Ten Hag can sit in an interview and bemoan the fact he wanted Kane and De Jong but they aren't valid excuses. I'm sure Fergie wanted Zidane, Del Piero, Thuram, Ronaldo etc back in the day, he didn't get them but he managed to do alright with O'Shea, Blomqvist and Greening etc.
 
Insanity said:
They might be waiting for a +ve result in the FA cup to make it more palatable. I.e. if they indeed plan to go with him.
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That's one hell of a long game though, don't you think? This has been rumbling on for months, way before we even got to the FA Cup Final. They've had a couple of results like the Liverpool one where they could have took the opportunity.
 
MadDogg said:
In the Arsenal match? The two biggest issues that everyone has repeated over and over ever since preseason weren't there in that match. The team was more compact with a smaller gap between the attackers and the defenders, and the third midfielder (Mainoo) was playing more as a normal #8 instead of acting as a #10 like they have been in almost every other game this season.

Unsurprisingly, not having a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch had the result of us not being anywhere near as open in the middle as we normally are. Who'd have thought?
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And was the team more compact on account of following instructions, or because the ‚tactics‘ were different?

No coach tells his players to leave aging cb‘s on their own against talented forwards like Eze and Olise or to leave a huge gap in midfield intentionally.
 
MadDogg said:
In the Arsenal match? The two biggest issues that everyone has repeated over and over ever since preseason weren't there in that match. The team was more compact with a smaller gap between the attackers and the defenders, and the third midfielder (Mainoo) was playing more as a normal #8 instead of acting as a #10 like they have been in almost every other game this season.

Unsurprisingly, not having a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch had the result of us not being anywhere near as open in the middle as we normally are. Who'd have thought?
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That actually shows that this tactical adjustment could have been made anytime earlier. But no. He had to go with the best transition team in the world nonsense until he meets a team he knows we would concede in double figures. It was not impossible and maybe we would even have suffered fewer injuries. So why was he so stubborn?
 
Marcus said:
That actually shows that this tactical adjustment could have been made anytime earlier. But no. He had to go with the best transition team in the world nonsense until he meets a team he knows we would concede in double figures. It was not impossible and maybe we would even have suffered fewer injuries. So why was he so stubborn?
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FYI it takes more energy to stay compact than to leave gaps.
 
Waynne said:
The thing is there's no obvious candidates out there to replace him.
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What do people mean by this? What is/was "obvious" about Ten Hag?

We're 8th with negative goal difference, horrible football, and it's probably our worst PL season. Almost anyone would be an improvement on this
 
Sarni said:
We don’t want to announce a new contract amidst all the poor results. We will wait until FA Cup final - if we win, or even lose after a decent enough performance (like 2-0, 3-1 loss) they will us momentum created by that to push the announcement through. Probably a 3-year extension.
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and thats decent!
 
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NLunited said:
FYI it takes more energy to stay compact than to leave gaps.
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So are you saying that EtH deliberately left gaps because we were not fit enough? Interesting take. The helter skelter chasing back when we lose the ball looks quite tiring as well to be honest.
 
dogwithabone said:
If he’s going - and at the speed INEOS seem to be moving - I’m expecting a very similar LVG scenario. Win or lose the cup then he will be gone within a week.
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People need to let go of this idea that INEOS will be making decisions, they are not the Glazers.

INEOS are getting the right people in positions to make these decisions and then INEOS will just oversee, this is the ONLY reason things seem slow because these people aren't here yet and this is going to require patience.
 
iato89 said:
and thats decent!
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Yeah if we lose that game by less than 3 goals it will be considered a good result by most I think. Just like our loss to Arsenal was considered an impressive performance.
 
There's a new manager linked every day at this stage. I'm pretty convinced tonight in his last game at Old Trafford.
 
NLunited said:
And was the team more compact on account of following instructions, or because the ‚tactics‘ were different?

No coach tells his players to leave aging cb‘s on their own against talented forwards like Eze and Olise or to leave a huge gap in midfield intentionally.
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So you think that the players just suddenly decided to play a completely different way in preseason all on their own, going against what ETH wanted? That we signed Mount with the intention of playing him deeper than he ever had before, that McTominay just decided to start pushing much further forward than he ever has before, that Eriksen decided to push further forward than he did last season, that Mainoo (when he isn't playing as the DM) plays higher up the pitch than our players in a similar position last season did?

I presume ETH isn't specifically telling the players to leave that huge gap, but it is very obviously a consequence of the tactics he is using. Our defenders are deeper this season than they ever have been before, while our attack is pushing higher and an extra one of our midfielders are pushing up with them. You can't do all those things without leaving a huge gap, and they are all things that ETH has obviously instructed. If he then can't understand why there's a huge open space in the middle of the park for the opposition to run straight through...well, that might make it even worse.
 
Djemba-Djemba said:
Losing the cup final 3-1 really would give us incredible momentum.
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Scoring a goal against City and losing by just two goals will definitely be considered a good result by ETH and his crowd. Probably also by United people in power.
 
Judas said:
Mate, do you not get a bit bored of this routine? You've been doing it for so many months :lol:
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But I’m being serious here. It’s a largely popular opinion that last weekend’s result and performance against Arsenal were good, we lost that game 1-0 having almost no shots on their goal. Why would a 3-1 loss to a better team be considered bad by the same people who are now applauding that performance?
 
Rista said:
It's pretty funny actually how people keep saying "it's not his squad" and "he didn't get all the players he wanted" but somehow insist the way to go forward is to keep Ten Hag and have new people in charge buy players for him.
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He didn't get FDJ who didn't want to come here and Harry Kane who wasn't allowed to come here. Apart from that he got his players, the first season actually scuppered the second season because he was so insistant on getting certain players we overpaid for them.
 
MadDogg said:
So you think that the players just suddenly decided to play a completely different way in preseason all on their own, going against what ETH wanted? That we signed Mount with the intention of playing him deeper than he ever had before, that McTominay just decided to start pushing much further forward than he ever has before, that Eriksen decided to push further forward than he did last season, that Mainoo (when he isn't playing as the DM) plays higher up the pitch than our players in a similar position last season did?

I presume ETH isn't specifically telling the players to leave that huge gap, but it is very obviously a consequence of the tactics he is using. Our defenders are deeper this season than they ever have been before, while our attack is pushing higher and an extra one of our midfielders are pushing up with them. You can't do all those things without leaving a huge gap, and they are all things that ETH has obviously instructed. If he then can't understand why there's a huge open space in the middle of the park for the opposition to run straight through...well, that might make it even worse.
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We are actually playing a higher line than last season, although still fairly deep.

Plenty of teams commit numbers forward quickly and leave gaps: it can be dealt with by pro-active defending.

The tactics are viable but you can argue our team isn‘t capable of it, at least not consistently.

So yes, the gaps are a consequence of the strategy chosen for this season, but not intented to the extent we have seen it.
 
afrocentricity said:
Even if the the gaps are a result of being gassed and confused from tactics based on speedy transitions and pace?
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It is normal to get stretched when attacking directly in numbers, it is very demanding tactically and physically on the players.

Other teams can do it, so why should we accept we can‘t?
 
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