Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager

Cassidy

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If they fully expect said manager to turn up, then yes they can indeed plan for his arrival. But do you have any reason at all to think we knew about ETH coming before we interviewed and appointed him?

Though for what its worth, most of the players Pep used most often in his title winning season came after he was appointed. The whole preparation thing is well overblown.
Sterling and KDB were bought for Pep
 

Cassidy

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On the other hand, more than half of the players who managed 30 appearances or more in his first title season didnt arrive until after he was appointed. As I say, overblown.
Nothing overblown about it, nobody said the whole team was signed before he arrived, only that particular signings were made knowing his arrival.
 

largelyworried

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Nothing overblown about it, nobody said the whole team was signed before he arrived, only that particular signings were made knowing his arrival.
Even ignoring the fact there's no evidence about Pep and those players, the point stands that ETH was only appointed in April, so how could we have picked players to suit him before that?
 

Cassidy

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Even ignoring the fact there's no evidence about Pep and those players, the point stands that ETH was only appointed in April, so how could we have picked players to suit him before that?
:rolleyes:

Where did I say there was an issue?
I simply replied to your post with an example of a club preparing the squad for the intended manager before their appointment, which you seemed to suggest was not possible
 

Desert Eagle

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So I've been thinking about this Ten Hag situation and my thoughts turn to two words "buying in". When implementing a new footballing philosophy, culture and style of play as a manager, you need players who are committed to the cause, who share your vision. Now look at our squad, how many players do we have who you think would display the necessary faith and trust in ETH ways. This is all having assumed ETH will be a good coach in the league and Europe for us; hardly a certainty given our recent history.

But back to the buying in, I encourage fellow fans to make a mental note of how many players fit into that boat and how skilled they are relative to what we hope to achieve. I got Fred, Varane, Slabhead, Mct, Dalot, Bruno, Ronaldo, Sancho with Rashford and De Gea as probable. That's not a shit team apart from the few obvious weaknesses . 2 cms, a full back, a cb and an attacker and we could look very very good in a few months.
 

roonster09

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I remember some Dutch fan posted a big reddit post, saying what ETH did in his past clubs. One of the point was that ETH signs few of his ex players

Prediction 5: signing former players

Erik ten Hag comes from FC Twente and had managed at Go Ahead Eagles and Bayern Munich II before he came to FC Utrecht. This was noticeable through the signings he made. He has brought along former Bayern youth players, FC Twente players and also Go Ahead Eagles players. Not always would these be players that impressed or good enough for the starting XI. He particularly gave way to players who wanted to maintain their fitness after long injuries while they were free agents, but he also signed players as rotational options. Something particularly interesting about this is that some of these at Utrecht fell of a cliff in terms of performance after he left. Rico Strieder impressed at Utrecht, but now plays for relegation candidate PEC Zwolle. Another example is Ludwig, who came from a lower league German side, never impressed and did okay as a rotation option. He left Utrecht for again, a lower league German side. At Ajax he brought along Klaiber and Labyad, who both have not been able to establish themselves as something more than a rotation option. They were purchased for a relatively large fee and haven't really added something to Ajax. Perhaps they helped Ten Hag win over the dressing room? The question now is: who will he bring along from his former sides at United? Do not be surprised if it is not an Ajax player, but instead a long lost Bayern Munich II player. For example, Ten Hag has worked with Pierre-Emile Hojberg at Bayern Munich II.
At least in this case, the players are good enough to start for us.
 

danamann

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What about Ten Hag gives you a negative feeling?
Care to elaborate?
It's just a couple of minor things but for I didn't like the way he handled the whole Ralph situation. I expected him to be more open to his input but he shot this idea down quite quickly - which is fine - he is confident in his own abilities and doesn't think he need his help. But so did all of his predecessors and in many cases it turned out they underestimated the huge structural problems at this club.

I expected United to take a more team-based approach in this transfer window, but the rumours about transfer targets and certain ultimatums show that he is not looking for a certain type of players but certain names. Like, why does it have to be FDJ at all costs? Don't get me wrong, he is a terrific player and he certainly improves the team but why isn't he more open to other players of a similar type, maybe younger and more excited to play for United? Same with the CB's. Why is he so insistent on players he has already coached? There must be many more talented CB's who can fit his idea of football. It doesn't show much flexibility, especially when there are other areas we urgently need new quality players.
 

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This is coming dangerously close to hitting the lowpoints of Woodward's first summer. Futile attempt at tough negotiations for manager's former/familiar players that would end up in us caving and overpaying to rescue the window. We need to be mindful of the descriptors and pivot from the situation if it's looking futile. If we aren't sure of FDJ and others now would be a good time to start courting alternatives. I know we are banking of FCB needing to sell but setting up camp at their doorstep used to destroy all our leverage under woodward. We need to actually have the ability to move on if we're getting jerked around. Those guys are trying to use us to secure their end of year bonus.
 

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This is coming dangerously close to hitting the lowpoints of Woodward's first summer. Futile attempt at tough negotiations for manager's former/familiar players that would end up in us caving and overpaying to rescue the window. We need to be mindful of the descriptors and pivot from the situation if it's looking futile. If we aren't sure of FDJ and others now would be a good time to start courting alternatives. I know we are banking of FCB needing to sell but setting up camp at their doorstep used to destroy all our leverage under woodward. We need to actually have the ability to move on if we're getting jerked around. Those guys are trying to use us to secure their end of year bonus.
It’s far too early in the window to be shitting yourself quite this much.
 

phelans shorts

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What I am saying is, people like Jones, should be paid off to leave, it can be negotiated to be less etc if he wants to play elsewhere still.

It makes no sense having him.

Also, no doubt, it can be some kind of tax write off or other loss which the business always incorporates into it's yearly budgets anyhow.
What is it with your Phil Jones obsession. It’s so weird.
 

golden_blunder

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It's just a couple of minor things but for I didn't like the way he handled the whole Ralph situation. I expected him to be more open to his input but he shot this idea down quite quickly - which is fine - he is confident in his own abilities and doesn't think he need his help. But so did all of his predecessors and in many cases it turned out they underestimated the huge structural problems at this club.

I expected United to take a more team-based approach in this transfer window, but the rumours about transfer targets and certain ultimatums show that he is not looking for a certain type of players but certain names. Like, why does it have to be FDJ at all costs? Don't get me wrong, he is a terrific player and he certainly improves the team but why isn't he more open to other players of a similar type, maybe younger and more excited to play for United? Same with the CB's. Why is he so insistent on players he has already coached? There must be many more talented CB's who can fit his idea of football. It doesn't show much flexibility, especially when there are other areas we urgently need new quality players.
It’s well documented that when he moves he likes to get a few former players. I guess this helps him implement his ideas quicker. Which is a win surely?
 

Greck

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It’s far too early in the window to be shitting yourself quite this much.
Did you actually read that post or do you come with the same smartass copy paste response to every comment on the situation? I said we need to take steps to avoid a rush situation. The actual rush situation hasn't yet materialized hence the point of saying to be proactive and to make sure it never matrialises. We haven't reached said critical point and don't have to if we employ due diligence early in the window. Learn to read beyond the first line and to understand before hitting the reply button.
 
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macheda14

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Did you actually read that post or do you come with the same smartass copy paste response to every comment on the situation? I said we need to take steps to avoid a rush situation. The actual rush situation hasn't yet materialized hence the point of saying to be proactive and to make sure it never matrialises. We haven't reached said critical point and don't have to if we employ due diligence early in the window. Learn to read beyond the first line and to understand before hitting the reply button.
It’s far too late in the day to be having a hissy fit.
 

Cafer007

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He might have realised its not that easy to sign players for UTD.

Probably it was far easier at Ajax as they go after upcoming targets who are keen to play for clubs like Ajax where they can improve under less pressure. As we go after established stars wanted by many clubs so its not easy as you think.
 

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How would you have felt if we had appointed Sean Dyche as either assistant coach or defensive coach ?

Knows his way around English football which apparently is McClaren's value add. Had got the best out of a very small club over the years. Knows about defending and a bit of old school reality check might have got the players playing again.

Or is he " not United material in anyway " ?
 

Flexdegea

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How would you have felt if we had appointed Sean Dyche as either assistant coach or defensive coach ?

Knows his way around English football which apparently is McClaren's value add. Had got the best out of a very small club over the years. Knows about defending and a bit of old school reality check might have got the players playing again.

Or is he " not United material in anyway " ?

Love these daft hot takes
 

TheReligion

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How would you have felt if we had appointed Sean Dyche as either assistant coach or defensive coach ?

Knows his way around English football which apparently is McClaren's value add. Had got the best out of a very small club over the years. Knows about defending and a bit of old school reality check might have got the players playing again.

Or is he " not United material in anyway " ?
I don’t think that’s the main value McClaren adds?
 

cyberman

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How would you have felt if we had appointed Sean Dyche as either assistant coach or defensive coach ?

Knows his way around English football which apparently is McClaren's value add. Had got the best out of a very small club over the years. Knows about defending and a bit of old school reality check might have got the players playing again.

Or is he " not United material in anyway " ?
Some say he posts rubbish hot takes about football and knows 2 facts about ducks that are both wrong…
 

saivet

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How do we feel about us only having credible links to players he's worked with before? Timber, Eriksen, Martinez, De Jong and now Antony. The only other one we've had is links to Nunez.

Not that I have an issue with it but does feel a bit predictable and potentially problematic if it doesn't go well.
 

phelans shorts

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How do we feel about us only having credible links to players he's worked with before? Timber, Eriksen, Martinez, De Jong and now Antony. The only other one we've had is links to Nunez.

Not that I have an issue with it but does feel a bit predictable and potentially problematic if it doesn't go well.
Saying he’s worked with Eriksen is stretching it more than a little. He trained for a few weeks with Ajax reserves, he’s hardly been Erik’s right hand.

Most of it is just pulling names out of hats that Ten Hag may want. Pau Torres has also been linked extensively, as has Malcom Ebiowei from Derby. Sam Johnstone was, now Robbie McCrorie.

It’s easy to draw up a conclusion if you ignore a load of data that contradicts it.
 

bosnian_red

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How do we feel about us only having credible links to players he's worked with before? Timber, Eriksen, Martinez, De Jong and now Antony. The only other one we've had is links to Nunez.

Not that I have an issue with it but does feel a bit predictable and potentially problematic if it doesn't go well.
Makes sense for year 1, given our needs and the quality of players that they are, and the availability of players.
 

bond19821982

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How do we feel about us only having credible links to players he's worked with before? Timber, Eriksen, Martinez, De Jong and now Antony. The only other one we've had is links to Nunez.

Not that I have an issue with it but does feel a bit predictable and potentially problematic if it doesn't go well.
I would have taken Eriksen, FDJ, Antony in a heartbeat even if it was any other manager.

Timber is a brilliant young player . Martinez is the only one I have doubts on.
 

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How do we feel about us only having credible links to players he's worked with before? Timber, Eriksen, Martinez, De Jong and now Antony. The only other one we've had is links to Nunez.

Not that I have an issue with it but does feel a bit predictable and potentially problematic if it doesn't go well.
Manager recognizes he's coming into a shitshow and wants to bring in a few players he knows he can trust. No big deal. It might be a different story if we had hired someone who was managing a lesser team than Ajax but we didn't so it's not.
 

Stig

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Manager recognizes he's coming into a shitshow and wants to bring in a few players he knows he can trust. No big deal. It might be a different story if we had hired someone who was managing a lesser team than Ajax but we didn't so it's not.
Agreed
 

Flexdegea

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Insane how our own fans have managed to suck the life out of the season before Hag even got a chance to train the squad.
 

Beachryan

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I wonder what he's been up to these past few weeks. Given he's super meticulous, I feel like each player is going to arrive back with a massive binder of work to get through - both tactically and fitness-wise.