If he wants to save his job, he needs to drop players who don't buy into his system, no matter who they are.
Erik ten Hag - Manchester United manager
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I think if you had Erik Ten Hag in a room and could ask him one question "do you regret answering the question about Sancho's absence in a direct manner the way you did?"
I think that would be a valid criticism given what was shortly to occur with the Antony situation. It has left him desperate on the wings and the right in particular. He obviously does not fancy Pellestri, otherwise he would have played against Brighton.
Also, before people start saying he wants to sell Sancho, he also wants to sell Maguire and McTominay and they are going to be playing games.
It could be a pertinent point that he is the manager, but he did not manage that situation well?
I'm tired of all these excuses. We know the problems with the Glazers but good managers mask problems behind the scenes. The Glazers are not telling Ten Hag to play the way the team is playing. The Glazers are not telling Ten Hag to not give youth a chance. The Glazers did not tell Ten Hag to make some of the questionable decisions he has made on signings.
When Ten Hag was appointed, vast majority of this forum cheered and applauded and refused to accept any form of dissent on the appointment. Now the excuses come out. At some point, Manager must take responsibility and that point is NOW. He has spent around £400m in two transfer windows with barely any proceeds from outgoings. Do you realize how insane that is? A good manager gets this team playing miles better with far less money than that. How many examples do you need? A manager came to Old Trafford yesterday and played us off the park with Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross, Lallana, Dahoud, Gilmour, Joao Pedro and Adingra. Names that would be laughed off the site if they were suggested on here. The excuses of oh Brighton have a great structure do not fly. The "club structure" is not who sets out the players on the pitch and instructs them to play in a particular way.
If Ten Hag is the great manager many on here claim, he gets this team playing great coherent football immediately. I'm not holding my breath on that.
When Ten Hag was appointed, vast majority of this forum cheered and applauded and refused to accept any form of dissent on the appointment. Now the excuses come out. At some point, Manager must take responsibility and that point is NOW. He has spent around £400m in two transfer windows with barely any proceeds from outgoings. Do you realize how insane that is? A good manager gets this team playing miles better with far less money than that. How many examples do you need? A manager came to Old Trafford yesterday and played us off the park with Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross, Lallana, Dahoud, Gilmour, Joao Pedro and Adingra. Names that would be laughed off the site if they were suggested on here. The excuses of oh Brighton have a great structure do not fly. The "club structure" is not who sets out the players on the pitch and instructs them to play in a particular way.
If Ten Hag is the great manager many on here claim, he gets this team playing great coherent football immediately. I'm not holding my breath on that.
Wait till January if situation doesn't improve then revisit it , but don't just base decision on results but more on performances , development and growth of the team .
Ten Hag has shown last season He can still get reasonable results while team is still struggling for performances so For me position on table could be deceiving for All we know We could be comfortably in top 4 in January while playing poorly but could be playing well but might be struggling in top 4 race . So decision has to be more than just result based whatever that may be .
Ten Hag has shown last season He can still get reasonable results while team is still struggling for performances so For me position on table could be deceiving for All we know We could be comfortably in top 4 in January while playing poorly but could be playing well but might be struggling in top 4 race . So decision has to be more than just result based whatever that may be .
Sorry don't think that's an exaggeration at all
Yeah I was absolutely fuming at him for doing that because was the wrong decision. We have finally exhausted all management options in this past decade,honestly don't know who available has that aura to manage us anymore. Feel free to put forward any suggestions.
Looks at his signings, I am pretty sure we are fecked:
Onana - good with his feet but everytime the ball is in the 6 yards. It is almost guaranteed goal
Martinez - seems to have regress. Not physically imposing, not fast, his passing has been safe. I have not seen a ball ping from left to right to launch an attack.
Casemiro - seems old and slow, constantly overrun by opponent midfield
Eriksen - same as Casemiro
Malacia - average LB, just a squad backup
Antony - biggest waste of money I have seen. Doesn't take on defenders, isn't fast enough, doesn't create for others. Always trying to score instead of passing
Hoijund - too young to lead the front line. Sign while injure
Amrabat - even though he hasn't kicked a ball, he is likely average player.
Mount - haven't seen what he brings. When he can't score in pre-season, you know something is wrong
It seems that the whole squad went to US for a holiday. Everyone is having a fun time, not much effort put into playing. 5 games into the season, players seems unfit, unmotivated, zero teamwork, personnel issues with Sancho, Antony, Maguire and Greenwood. We are just mid Sep and finishing top 4 is already over. Who can we blame? I think Erik needs to take some of the responsibility, there is no hiding.
Onana - good with his feet but everytime the ball is in the 6 yards. It is almost guaranteed goal
Martinez - seems to have regress. Not physically imposing, not fast, his passing has been safe. I have not seen a ball ping from left to right to launch an attack.
Casemiro - seems old and slow, constantly overrun by opponent midfield
Eriksen - same as Casemiro
Malacia - average LB, just a squad backup
Antony - biggest waste of money I have seen. Doesn't take on defenders, isn't fast enough, doesn't create for others. Always trying to score instead of passing
Hoijund - too young to lead the front line. Sign while injure
Amrabat - even though he hasn't kicked a ball, he is likely average player.
Mount - haven't seen what he brings. When he can't score in pre-season, you know something is wrong
It seems that the whole squad went to US for a holiday. Everyone is having a fun time, not much effort put into playing. 5 games into the season, players seems unfit, unmotivated, zero teamwork, personnel issues with Sancho, Antony, Maguire and Greenwood. We are just mid Sep and finishing top 4 is already over. Who can we blame? I think Erik needs to take some of the responsibility, there is no hiding.
What's this view on Amrabat ?
Pogba, Matic, Mata, Lingard, Bailly, Telles, Fred, Ronaldo have all been let go during Eth reign. This has happened under all managers ,we get rid of players and I still hear about these egos that are undermining coaches. It's like whack a mole at this point. I believe in this case they are implementing the managers tactics and coaching but other managers are poking holes in our strategy. Every game we press high, win the ball, waste the chances we make and opposing teams use the space we left behind to punish us.
I'm not sure where to find that exactly, the closest I could get is attacking third tackles, as well as overall tackle and interception stats. They all point towards a middle of the road picture in that regard from the 9th to 15th range in the last few seasons from what I can see. Is there any other good stats sites to compare?
It's a bit of a tricky stat overall because City for example also don't do particularly well in that stat, but it's obviously because they dominate possession (City are by far the lowest tacklers in the league, so in a way it's telling that they were 10th in attacking third tackles despite that). Arsenal, Liverpool and Brighton were all in the top 5 last season still so not really any excuse for us.
https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/defense/Premier-League-Stats
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Nothing against Amrabat, I just think he is an average player.
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This is embarrassing to watch. None of player pressed their target or gave up & casually watched oppo making passes
And Redditors told me, De Zerbi can fix these sub 95 IQs? I don't think so.
That lost some of the players without a doubt
When you want to sign Kim Min-Jae but end up with Evans, I'm finding really difficult to think that EtH is the problem. Yes - he's no Fergie regen or anything but still - the common factor in our downward spiral has been the board, and the owners. EtH at least managed to win us a cup and took us back to the CL. Yes, some of the tactics and subs have been questionable but I can live with that. I don't see how Nagelsmann would do better in that environment anyway - a good result here and there but in the end, it would result in the same situation.
It's clear that whatever he wants them to do, it isn't working. Whether that be through arrogance or ineptitude on the part of the players, unclear instructions from the coach, inadequate preparations from the training ground, or just a mental block who's to say. I think low morale and mental weakness is likely the biggest culprit because the way this team collapses and concedes easy goals is something to behold. Either way Ten Hag needs to find a way to get on top of it.
People would have something else to knee-jerk ludicrously about.
to be as close to the ball as Rashford was at 0:06 and not even run honestly turns my stomach
He didn't dig Sancho out. The extent of his comment was essentially that Sancho trained badly for 1 week. 1 week. That's causing all this drama? No. What caused this drama is Sancho putting up his social media post after 1 small comment that doesn't even question his professionality in any tangible way apart from having a bad week. The reason why you're perceiving this as digging him out is because Sancho made this a far bigger deal than it needed to be.
The problem with Ten Hag is that he's been far too pragmatic or he just doesn't have the coaching ability to enact the ideas that United fans want from their side. If a player doesn't provide enough movement to give his teammates passing options, then he should be stricter and not play the player. If he doesn't have that in the squad, he needs to bring that kind of player in. A player like Onana and Martinez are good examples of players that fit the style United fans want to see on the pitch. Then you keep playing players like McTominay instead of players that are younger, but are more of the right profile so one has to wonder what his beliefs are.
If he had an original plan when he initially came in and decided to change it based on the players he has in the squad, then that's his fault too. Fans can forgive results if the side plays in a way that has them believe that with a few changes (transfers), it would be worth persisting with the manager. When you are pragmatic, you don't get that same leeway for good reason.
Shhh.. its all glazers fault.
Going into the season I said this year there are no excuses. He’s gotten his team and his players, he’s been here for a season. There really is no one else to blame, so he better turn it around and show what he is made of.
Woe is me the world is against us,nah it's simple IF we did my some miracle get new owners then not fussed if they sack him at all
If that includes players like Rashford, he is screwed. Looks like he is caught between what he wants to do and caving into the united way.
It can be done here, Van Gaal changed us within three months. We just didn’t like what he turned us into.
I’m not sure who is calling the shots on players and general direction the club is going. Is it EtH or is it Murtough? Is Murtough the one deciding we are going to be a transition team and dictating that to EtH? Is that what a DoF should be doing? How are the decisions on player purchases being made? And who is deciding what prices we will go to for players and which players we sign.
My worry is that it’s a mish-mash of the two of them on both fronts and that they have very different ideas over the plan and how to implement it.
Man has no clear and defined system. Yesterday was a diamond midfield to start the game no ? Wtf was that all about ?
Lazy, overpaid and useless wankers.
Part of me sympathises with Ten Hag. But the fact is he has had three transfer windows and several hundred million available, not to mention he could've done more to sell players who don't follow his instructions. More significant changes should've been made to the team to rid it of those who are either lazy or thick as pig shit
Easy, Mr. Tin Foil Hat. For the first 20 minutes against Spurs and Brighton, the players loved "Ten Hag football" but the mid-match their memories returned and they remembered that their plan was to get him sacked?
Or maybe he's just a mediocre coach showing pretty much his best work at a big club (no, Ajax is not a big club in this context)? We had fun mocking Potter once he moved to a club with expectations and pressure. Maybe that's what's happening here.
Dude just got absolutely out-tacticked by the Brighton manager, to borrow Big Sam's phrase. It can't be all on the players. Once Brighton figured out our formation, they adjusted. How long did ETH take to respond to Brighton taking control?
These players are good enough to play possession football. Some of them played it well enough at the clubs we bought them from.
Still think we have to give him a chance with something resembling a fit first XI. Every week he's having to make compromises in 3/4 positions and that's really difficult to overcome.
I think we can (and have) put together a really solid run, if he could just keep players fit. Eriksen can't work in his preferred, system, which is why he bought Amrabat and Mount. We have no right-side of the pitch. Lindelof is light-weight and not great in the air. Our striker had his first start for the club, and is 20.
I kind of feel for EtH. If the Arsenal match had swung our way, I don't think he'd be under nearly so much pressure, that's how fine the margins are.
I think we can (and have) put together a really solid run, if he could just keep players fit. Eriksen can't work in his preferred, system, which is why he bought Amrabat and Mount. We have no right-side of the pitch. Lindelof is light-weight and not great in the air. Our striker had his first start for the club, and is 20.
I kind of feel for EtH. If the Arsenal match had swung our way, I don't think he'd be under nearly so much pressure, that's how fine the margins are.
Thoughts on our style of play now? I still can’t see it, regardless of personnel.
He's basically created a team that can't score, can't defend and can't pass. Bravo sir!
You do realise Ten Hag is not in charge of selling players? We pretty much know for certain he wanted rid of Maguire, McTominay and VDB. And probably Sancho.
I think ETH trains them too hard. Other than Bruno and Dalot the whole team looks feckee by 50/60 minutes.
He was talking rubbish about being happy to keep Maguire, and reports stated he wasn't arsed whether mctominay stayed or left.
He should be making it clear to these wasters, and to Murtough, that they have no place here.
We came 3rd last season. Won a trophy. We're only 5 games into this season with a terrible injury list and multiple off field issues. This fanbase, honestly.
Since we sacked Mourinho we have spent what... 600m or more on players? Now consider that in early 2019 when Ole was caretaker we were briefing that we won't appoint a permanent manager until we bring in a DOF, it seemed Poch was a shoo-in but we pivoted to Ole who was saying right things but the team's form was tailing off.
Come 2021 the Ole experiment has ended disastrously and we finally get Rangnick in the building. We already have a placeholder in office, he says a few things that get noses out of joint, we drop him, give all power to Ten Hag and here we are 400m later looking like strangers in the pitch.
The reason I pointed out 2019 and 2021 winters is that those were the opportunities we had to right the wrongs of the Woodward years but we doubled down on something that doesn't work.
There is no Fergie out there, Pep is not Fergie and neither is Klopp but both are smart enough to embrace teams that sort recruitment for them. It doesn't mean they are not involved but they have full time experts doing the legwork to make sure they get it right. This is where we are lost and now we have another expensive but ridiculously imbalanced squad with paper thin depth. And we are broke.
He has to remain conciliatory to players in case they remain. Of course he has to claim he's happy that Maguire stayed, but we know for a fact he wanted a CB to replace him.
We haven't had a manager since Fergie that has been as clear about who he wants out. The club have failed him on this one, sorry.
That is what I have been wondering. The main problem is that when we conceed a goal, instead of fighting back, we just drop our heads and don't look like we have any fight or desire.
Could be. In a few months we will know.
My reply being slightly facetious sort of went over your head, didn't it?
And here was me thinking the
would have given it away 
I would have gone for poch over EtH in the first place, but after last season EtH deserves the chance to turn this around... but I do worry that the momentum is gathering pace in the wrong direction.
If Antony was still available and given this summer's transfers, I'm assuming Hag's preferred starting 11 is this:
Onana
Dalot
Varane
Martinez
Reguilon
Casemiro
Mount
Bruno
Antony
Hojlund
Rashford
If Antony doesn't come back, Bruno swaps with him and Amrabat in midfield?
In either case, I wonder how many games this combination of players will actually start this season. I'm guessing not many.
Onana
Dalot
Varane
Martinez
Reguilon
Casemiro
Mount
Bruno
Antony
Hojlund
Rashford
If Antony doesn't come back, Bruno swaps with him and Amrabat in midfield?
In either case, I wonder how many games this combination of players will actually start this season. I'm guessing not many.
I wasn't being entirely serious. I still back ETH but injury list or not you'd expect him to have the team being able to pass to each other by now.