Agreed. But we won't be able to sign all those players in one window.
Erik ten Hag has done a good job and quickly realised the technical limitations of his team, which I give him credit for. And in the game earlier, he got his tactics spot on and made City look worse than their form suggested. I think if we can get new owners in quickly then I believe ten Hag has the blueprint to implement a plan that will cause Guardiola a lot of problems and potentially beat him. But you need the tools and the backing from the owners for the football departments to thrive. Because at City, Sheikh Mansour has provided the financial backing to the football departments who can then back Guardiola. And even if they get transfers wrong, the financial hit has been absorbed by Mansour. So our ownership situation is critical towards how things develop in the now, midterm and long-term.
We need a striker but the critical need for ten Hag to control the game in possession is to significantly raise the technical level of the players who are weak in the build up phase. I think i'd go with Varane and Dalot for now but it's imperative we sign a GK and midfielder to raise the level on the ball. And if we can do that, then the high defensive line becomes a reality because evading/resisting the press will break the opponent's resolve and they'll retreat into a lower block.
So then we need the attackers to show a high level of intensity off the ball to maintain control of the game without the ball by pressing and counter pressing effectively. This is where Mason Mount fits in, and his high intensity play, off the ball will improve us in advanced areas off the pitch in a high defensive line. Mount is also capable on the ball in advanced areas of the pitch. So if we can control the game with and without the ball, then we'll be playing the game in the opponent's half. And the key is to develop the team, so they can play the game in the opponent's half, which is what ten Hag and other modern proponents of positional play look to develop. Guardiola, Arteta, De Zerbi and even Klopp follow similar methods but unlike them, ten Hag doesn't have the tools at his disposal, as yet.
The issues that the previous managers had was that either their methods were outdated (LVG/Mourinho) or they just failed to implement those ideas after talking about wanting to play a high-line in Solskjaer's case. Erik ten Hag at the very least, must sideline De Gea and I believe he'll do that.