EXCLUSIVE | "If you do not do what Ten Hag wants...you'll be punished" | Bruno Fernandes Sky Sports interview

JPRouve

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So, this should make United fans nervous. I’m not saying that to WUM, or look for the negative. But there is a difference between “accountability” and “punishment”.

ETH has managed academies and a club that is essentially a higher profile academy for European teams.

The hope is that he can adapt to managing a team with the profile and roster makeup of United.But when you hear him say things like the veteran players need to get in line and approach things more like the academy kids, and then comments like this from Fernandes … it makes you wonder if he can adapt his style, or if he even realizes it’s necessary yet.

His first pro job, Tom Cougin ( who sounds a LOT like ETH) fined people for chewing gum, not wearing collar’d shorts to meeting, being exactly on time instead of 5 minutes early. He assigned coaches to check in on when players were getting to sleep at night, etc, etc. he didn’t “think” he was treating them like children, but he was coaching the way he always coached, and he didn’t see why a 25 year old on a big pro contract should be different than the 21 year olds he was primarily used to. His second time around he changed everything about his approach and was successful. But he had to fail first.
Tom Coughlin?
 

Adam-Utd

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This reminds me of that video where Fernandes is shouting at Fred/Telles.

He clearly felt the boys were far too casual and 'enjoying' life too much at United. I'm glad we have players with the right mentality still here.
 

Chesterlestreet

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Being strict on discipline can clearly backfire when you're dealing with big egos and/or individuals that just aren't used to being treated like army recruits (I would imagine that even army recruits aren't treated like army recruits anymore - at least not in some places).

LVG, for instance, seemingly fecked up in that regard to some extent: the players found his rules a bit ridiculous. That says something about the players, sure (say what you will about LVG, but he probably knew a thing or two worth taking on board even if he was old and eccentric) - but ultimately, you have to read the crowd, you have to - always - fine tune your approach based on the exact nature of the group you're leading.

However, there are some things that absolutely do not change: again, Bruno is talking about showing up for meetings on time. That sort of thing - you just have to insist on that. If I, as a leader (of whatever kind) keep giving basic instructions that are ignored by individual members of a group, then my authority is undermined over time. That's inevitable - it has to happen.

Perhaps I need to stop giving certain instructions (that I used to give, twenty years ago) - but I can't stop insisting on the instructions given being followed: that doesn't make me a progressive leader - it makes me a fool.
 

mctrials23

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People don't have an issue with rules if they are fair and they see the benefit of them.

If you don't apply them equally people don't like it.
If you make rules that have no logic to them, people don't like it.
If you aren't performing at a high level yourself and punish people for underperforming, people don't like it.

As long as EtH gets buy in from the players and delivers on his side then they will be fine. Those who are malcontents or don't want to buy in will be moved on and we will be left with players who want to be here and want to give their best for the team.

This is why I am excited for EtH. He seems like a workaholic who has high standards and doesn't compromise. Arguably the two best managers in the world at the moment (Pep and Klopp) are the same. The team comes before the individual and no matter the name, you are always replaceable. Both of these teams are happy to let players leave who no longer want to be there for whatever reason.
 

Valencia Shin Crosses

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"Martial...He's isolated Skrtel here..."
I don’t think any of the players had any individual tactical instructions from Ole tbh. Just go out there and play.
I think they had instructions, but they were very basic. As in “press high when they have the ball lads” but never any real methodical way of doing so. So we’d just run around like headless chickens and watch various players get upset when others weren’t on the same wavelength as them. Oh and he definitely told Rashford to just constantly run in behind so we could hoof it to him.
 

Valencia Shin Crosses

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"Martial...He's isolated Skrtel here..."
Also, the key in any sort of leader is to be able to be strict and unyielding, while also being able to relate to your players and connect with them. Like all things, it requires balance. LvG was the former, but he was eccentric and by all accounts not relatable or easy to talk to in the slightest so if thing weren’t going well on the pitch players are going to be pissed and fed up. Ole was the latter, super agreeable and friendly as well as being a club legend. But he clearly didn’t have it in him to lay the hammer down.

The best can do both.
 

BuzzKillington

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I feel people are taking the wrong thing away from this interview. The strictness isn’t really going to do anything, it’s the insights into training which are the most exciting. Actually coaching the players meticulously, intervening when they’re doing it wrong, being heavily personally involved. All good signs.

We’ve have disciplinarian coaches in ththe past with LvG, Jose after a fashion and David “No-ketchup” Moyes. That bit won’t make the slightest bit of difference, in fact it’ll just speed up the players throwing him under the bus if it starts going wrong.
 

Bluelion7

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Not the first time you’ve trotted this bollocks out.

You said it may also be a reason for De Jong to not want to move to United and work with Ten Hag as he won’t want to be treated liked an academy player.

I have to assume you are on the wind up as surely not that daft. You’d think Ten Hag had never managed players over the age of 18 before in his career and that the multiple comments of adoration from his ex players and fellow coaches, like veteran Steve McClaren, were fabricated.

Do some actual research and stop trotting out this rubbish. You should be more worried about the £800m loan your new owners are taking out and leave United to United.
1. You don’t seem to understand loans or finance. Again, he IS the company he just borrowed from. It is the smart way to do it.

2. I hope it works out for you. I dont dislike United. But right now Ajax has 4 or 5 players who are older and the rest are between 18 and 22. When this happens theolder players generally act like extra assistants, are fully bought in, and get treated differently than the kids. Prior to that he’s managed mostly actual academy teams. Fellow chess players thought Bobby fisher was a genius… they also wouldn’t spend more than 5 minutes in a room with him. So comments from other managers about how good he is at teaching football will NOT mean his Communication methods will go over well with 30 year old stars that aren’t beholden to the man.

It may not be a hard transition for him, but some of the stuff coming out so far imply it might be. Does United have the people in place to pull him aside and counsel him on it if needs be?

OR do you think micromanagement on the scale people attribute to him, where even their nightlife is tracked and every function of their day is timed down to the minute with … “punishments” involved for violators…. Will go down well?

I am genuinely interested in your thoughts. I don’t WANT your team to do badly. My friends make my workday a living clinic of depression when things aren’t going well for you. So please, tell me how I’m wrong.
 

TheReligion

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1. You don’t seem to understand loans or finance. Again, he IS the company he just borrowed from. It is the smart way to do it.

2. I hope it works out for you. I dont dislike United. But right now Ajax has 4 or 5 players who are older and the rest are between 18 and 22. When this happens theolder players generally act like extra assistants, are fully bought in, and get treated differently than the kids. Prior to that he’s managed mostly actual academy teams. Fellow chess players thought Bobby fisher was a genius… they also wouldn’t spend more than 5 minutes in a room with him. So comments from other managers about how good he is at teaching football will NOT mean his Communication methods will go over well with 30 year old stars that aren’t beholden to the man.

It may not be a hard transition for him, but some of the stuff coming out so far imply it might be. Does United have the people in place to pull him aside and counsel him on it if needs be?

OR do you think micromanagement on the scale people attribute to him, where even their nightlife is tracked and every function of their day is timed down to the minute with … “punishments” involved for violators…. Will go down well?

I am genuinely interested in your thoughts. I don’t WANT your team to do badly. My friends make my workday a living clinic of depression when things aren’t going well for you. So please, tell me how I’m wrong.
What about comments from players? Past and present? The fact they all love him and will do what he asks?

Who has called him a micromanager? You can have good attention to detail and want things right without being a micromanager. You seem to be confusing the two to fit a narrative you’ve created. As I said you were asking the same bizarre things in the FDJ thread and trying to suggest, despite it being well known publicly, he doesn’t like Ten Hag or his coaching style. It’s truly bonkers!

What punishments does he give out? I’ve seen him making the team do press ups. Is this evil?

Genuinely have no idea what you’re on about if I’m honest. The club had its most successful period under Sir Alex Ferguson (best manager ever). Look him up. He was very similar to Ten Hag.
 

Anustart89

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Listen at 3:08, he says that the team is poor. Get him out of the club now, I'm fuming :mad:
 

RedPed

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Just imagine if Wreck-It had implemented that philosophy in the time he was here. We still could have had a decent season.
 

Leftback99

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Basic stuff but what a mess it must have been with Rangnick by the end.
 

ayushreddevil9

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Will be interesting to see over time if the usual suspects will continue to knuckle down or eventually throw their toys out of the pram.
Zero trust in these players so I will go with the latter.
 

gorky_utd

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So, this should make United fans nervous. I’m not saying that to WUM, or look for the negative. But there is a difference between “accountability” and “punishment”.

ETH has managed academies and a club that is essentially a higher profile academy for European teams.

The hope is that he can adapt to managing a team with the profile and roster makeup of United.But when you hear him say things like the veteran players need to get in line and approach things more like the academy kids, and then comments like this from Fernandes … it makes you wonder if he can adapt his style, or if he even realizes it’s necessary yet.

His first pro job, Tom Cougin ( who sounds a LOT like ETH) fined people for chewing gum, not wearing collar’d shorts to meeting, being exactly on time instead of 5 minutes early. He assigned coaches to check in on when players were getting to sleep at night, etc, etc. he didn’t “think” he was treating them like children, but he was coaching the way he always coached, and he didn’t see why a 25 year old on a big pro contract should be different than the 21 year olds he was primarily used to. His second time around he changed everything about his approach and was successful. But he had to fail first.
:lol: :lol:
 

gorky_utd

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I feel people are taking the wrong thing away from this interview. The strictness isn’t really going to do anything, it’s the insights into training which are the most exciting. Actually coaching the players meticulously, intervening when they’re doing it wrong, being heavily personally involved. All good signs.

We’ve have disciplinarian coaches in ththe past with LvG, Jose after a fashion and David “No-ketchup” Moyes. That bit won’t make the slightest bit of difference, in fact it’ll just speed up the players throwing him under the bus if it starts going wrong.
Strictness and disciplines are required. The club is trophyless for half a decade for a reason.
 

Buster15

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Just goes to show how slack it has been in training for the last few years.
Discipline in any field is vitally important.
And for any elite sports person, there is no excuse at all for poor discipline.
 

RedDevilQuebecois

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Just goes to show how slack it has been in training for the last few years.
Discipline in any field is vitally important.
And for any elite sports person, there is no excuse at all for poor discipline.
Yep. Anything that opens the door for a lackadaisical behavior should never be tolerated, and many people in the last decade should be held responsible for allowing the toxic environment to fester.
 

Buzzbee

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Begs the question, who was the latest to all the meetings over the past years and why was it Pogba?
 

sunama

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So for the last 3 years everyone was just showing up when they want and doing what they want?

Makes sense to be fair.
You nailed it.
Though during the last 6 months, Ralf R tried to get the players to run and play his style of football and they refused. This is why I believe this set of players (most of them, anyway) needs to be sold.
 

Lost bear

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You nailed it.
Though during the last 6 months, Ralf R tried to get the players to run and play his style of football and they refused. This is why I believe this set of players (most of them, anyway) needs to be sold.
I’m not sure. Ralf was a very reasonable sort of guy but he clearly failed to ignite the team emotionally. I say this as someone who respects him. With ETH I think we have somebody both tactically astute and able to connect with the players and get them on his side. At least, I’m hoping so. It looks promising so far.
 

Buster15

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Yep. Anything that opens the door for a lackadaisical behavior should never be tolerated, and many people in the last decade should be held responsible for allowing the toxic environment to fester.
It is pretty clear that there was a toxic environment. So hopefully those primarily responsible have been moved on.
But I am still very critical of Ole for not being far stronger on discipline and attitude.
That is what leadership is about and he was most definitely not a leader.
 

I’m loving my life

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So, this should make United fans nervous. I’m not saying that to WUM, or look for the negative. But there is a difference between “accountability” and “punishment”.

ETH has managed academies and a club that is essentially a higher profile academy for European teams.

The hope is that he can adapt to managing a team with the profile and roster makeup of United.But when you hear him say things like the veteran players need to get in line and approach things more like the academy kids, and then comments like this from Fernandes … it makes you wonder if he can adapt his style, or if he even realizes it’s necessary yet.

His first pro job, Tom Cougin ( who sounds a LOT like ETH) fined people for chewing gum, not wearing collar’d shorts to meeting, being exactly on time instead of 5 minutes early. He assigned coaches to check in on when players were getting to sleep at night, etc, etc. he didn’t “think” he was treating them like children, but he was coaching the way he always coached, and he didn’t see why a 25 year old on a big pro contract should be different than the 21 year olds he was primarily used to. His second time around he changed everything about his approach and was successful. But he had to fail first.
So ETH should basically let the players do what they want then?
 

Isotope

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I don't think many of us are surprised with these. Most shocking for me when it was revealed that players had their own chef on the Club canteen.
Although it is understandable for players that have certain food allergies.


Discipline is welcomed in every type of sport. It's all about the way the coach performs discipline, and convey it in such that players buy into it.
 
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rimaldo

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Now that's a kinky headline
does bruno go on to say what type of punishment is meted out? is it like “sing a song on the team bus and do push ups” or does he do things like pull their hair and spit in their mouths?
 

bringbackbebe

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I feel people are taking the wrong thing away from this interview. The strictness isn’t really going to do anything, it’s the insights into training which are the most exciting. Actually coaching the players meticulously, intervening when they’re doing it wrong, being heavily personally involved. All good signs.

We’ve have disciplinarian coaches in ththe past with LvG, Jose after a fashion and David “No-ketchup” Moyes. That bit won’t make the slightest bit of difference, in fact it’ll just speed up the players throwing him under the bus if it starts going wrong.
Exactly this. Players will listen to you if you help them improve. Just being strict without purpose is going to make the manager look like that principal from Matilda (and Rangnick) and players are going to start mocking the approach used which is going to look even more ridiculous . Its not fear that rules, it's respect.
 

0le

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Heard it all before. Every time a new manager comes in there are stories about how they made some positive change.
 

El Jefe

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I can't imagine things being any different under Pep and he did well enough didn't he.

I remember Zlatan's jibe about the Barcelona team being schoolboys. Well if the best team ever could be managed in that way, I'm sure EtH will be fine. It really just depends on the end results, if it bares fruit the players will follow him and respect him, if not it will turn sour and end quick.

I actually think this must be quite exciting for the players. EtH has so much knowledge and advice to give players that will only aid their development. Its the sort of direction and accountability they've been lacking.