Is ten Hag still *the one* (for you) or another placeholder?

[DanielofLeyland]

He deserves more time. He literally won us a cup and earned us a top 4 place despite a horrible start. There were some very lop-sided games which mar what was a progressive season last year.

We haven't begun this season with all of our new signings in place playing consecutive games so it is too soon to write him off after 4 games. My only concern is the lack of response in some games tactically when it is clear we are being outperformed. Perhaps that is down to personnel rather than anything else, however.

He deserves another season to try and remove further deadwood and players who don't fit his style of playing and see if we begin to transition into an ETH team. At the moment we are still between managerial eras.

 

[Jerom]

Please, give the guy some time to build his machine.

 

[Rawls]

Some of the discourse across social media has been crazy in the last few weeks. On paper, the defeat on Sunday was worse than the defeat in January but in reality, the January defeat was about as much of an annihalation as a 3-2 defeat to a last-minute winner can be. On Sunday, we were able to control possession for long periods of time. Sure, we didn't really do much with it but last season, we were hard set to control possession against the same calibre of opposition, Sunday represented tangible progress.

In reality, everyone has to realise that Utd fans don't do patience; this is not like any other club, fans have grown up under Fergie and have come pretty much to (unrealistically) expect total dominance from Utd. Let's stop the complaining, let's stop the moaning; people in the media thrive on this as portraying Utd as a crisis club generates content and views for them. Things are not quite as bad as they seem; Spurs away and Arsenal away are for sure two of out hardest 38 games all season. 6 points after four games isn't a disaster; in golf terms, it's probably more like par for the course. People need to keep their heads screwed on and analyse ten Hag and the club as whole with a clear mind.

 

[ESR10]

I ve read a lot of people taking the defense of Ten Hag by saying: look at Arteta what he did in is first 3 seasons etc. Give Ten Hag time for that reason (alone). Success comes with time.

Ok I agree with that. But what is the plan? Arteta had a plan and spoke openly of the process since day one.
We also had a clear strategy to build a young team with amazing gems like Saka, Martinelli, ESR
We were happy to get rid of Auba or Ozil because we knew we already had on board our future.

But Ten Hag… he takes pride of showing the door to Ronaldo first, then De Gea, now maybe Sancho. He has issues because it seems to be the only way for him to show: « I m the boss ». Ok but what do you do with rest of your squad? Ronaldo gone? Let’s call my friend Weghorst. De Gea gone, ok let’s call my friend Onana.
Ten Hag is certainly a lovely guy who attract a lot of sympathy. But boy when he doesn’t like you because you showed him you don’t like him, he makes you suffer. I mean this is not a good behavior for a manager. Also when you are acting like that as a manager you only attract after that the people who want your power. That are not fidele by any means. They are interested. £££ They tell you: you are the best. A manager should chose only the best players not the most in love with him.

I m sure that now it s impossible for a player to say to him: Yes Garnacho was off.
He would put you on the bench. You have to follow what is says, if you don’t that means you are against him.
Why is Maguire still there? Because he is smart. He will bite his tongue, take the cash and NEVER say a word against Ten Hag. NEVER.

Ten Hag management and communication is pretty low level.

The opposite of Arteta who is strong and love his players for what they (can) achieve together. He wants to make them better not for him but for themselves.

Ten Hag is one of the bigger ego in football. But sadly not as funny as Mourinho.

 

[Abraxas]

I don't really seperate it as "the one" versus a "placeholder", because I don't think a manager should generally be falling under either category, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Ralf Rangnick was a placeholder in the classic sense of the word. It was quite literally his job to hold down a place until a decent candidate could be sought. That isn't a full-time managers job. Once a full-time manager is a placeholder then he is potentially a matter of weeks away from being sacked because it indicates there is very little room for error and that it may simply come down to when the next preferred candidate can be hired. I don't put him in that position at all.

But I wouldn't put him as "the one" either. I think you have to be open minded to the evidence that comes in, and more evidence arrives on a weekly basis in football. Is there really a "one" or are there potentially multiple candidates at any one time that can do a similar or maybe better job? Logically speaking it's probably the latter unless you have hired Pep. Once you have somebody as "the one" are you then going to ignore or be less inclined to consider evidence that compromises his position beyond what you would if you remained in a balanced state? It seems to imply some deeper level of affection than is probably due for a bloke that is primarily judged on the outcomes of his role against targets.

My position would be that I don't see any compelling reason to change manager at this stage. I have seen some good work out of ten Hag, and I have seen some things that lead me to question. But I've also seen the club spend a bucket load on some key positions and I want to see that come to fruition over the season and I think the manager's position will either be strengthened or weakened by that process.

 

[Laurencio]

When you hire someone like Ten Hag you have to accept that he will want to replace players and move players on at less than their value. "The One" has a tendency to blow things up and require huge and costly changes in pursuit of their vision.

See managers like Conte, Mourinho, Pep, Van Gaal.

If you don't want that, then you need to hire a different profile - Ancelotti, Pochettino, Allegri. Managers who adapt to what they get.

Personally I think that profile, and particularly Ancelotti, has been right for us and our business model ever since Fergie retired. However, we've gone with "The One" again, and if we are to persist with that we have to let him tear the team apart and rebuild it in his image. Unfortunately, at the moment, I don't think we're doing that very well.

We can't keep hiring managers who need to be able to clear their squads, and then not let them clear the squad.

 

[Tibs]

Yes 100%.

Solid first season.

He has massively fecked up by signing Mount for such a huge fee, and a bad start to the season with all the off-the-pitch BS is going to be a real test...we need to win 3-4 games on the bounce after the break, even if its scrappy 1-0 wins.

 

[Jeffthered]

Course we have to keep him. He has improved how we run as a team and took over from a complete debacle to deliver silverware. I also think he is learning about the demands of the job, and the club.

He (we) need a couple of star players though. Real, top, gamechanger type talent. And he needs to define how he wants his team be defined. That's what my concern is and he has to respond to that. Can't just keep saying 'we have to do it...' Some of his comments after the game against Arsenal were strange, emotive, understandably... but he needs to define how Man Utd play.

He has a big job, and I will support him, but he has to show his acumen to learn and learn quickly. He knows what he needs to do about transfers now..

 

[alexthelion]

I thought he the one, then he let us get beat 7-0 by Liverpool. Should’ve been sacked on the spot. I said it at the time but there’s no coming back from that.

 

[AshRK]

To imagine had that garnacho goal stood and we received the penalty for the Hojlund foul by gabriel, we would have won and such threads won't have existed.

 

[Wolfbot]

I think he should be given time based on what he delivered last season in terms of the league placing and cup finals. It's not much better than what Mourinho did during his time, but considering where we were at prior to his arrival and it being his first season in a new league, it was impressive.

I'm not impressed at all however with the start to this season whatsoever. There's no excuse at all for not looking ready to start the season, it's OK to not be at full speed for a few games but there's no way the team should be turning up levels below the fitness and sharpness of the other teams in the league.

Then there's the footballing side, we're only a few games in but it doesn't look like there's been an improvement in the level of control in games and we're still not creating a great deal and turning the ball over regularly. People might point to heavy possession across the back line but unless this actually leads to spaces and chances being created, it's essentially just holding the ball, not hurting the opposition and liable to an error being made too close to our goal.

We've not had a focal point in attack so I'm keen to see how Hojlund affects our play but on the other side of it, I expect other forward players to be able to step in and put themselves about a bit and link the play, we didn't see that from Rashford and when it wasn't working Ten Hag didn't try someone else.

I'm also not buying that our team is lacking in technical ability, I've seen the majority showcase their ability on occasion or know they were good players at other clubs. There are teams with lesser quality players than Man Utd playing slick enough football so for me this falls on the coaches and the manager.

To echo others I'm also not impressed with his choice not to change the approach in games where it's not going well and often when we are winning he makes substitutions that I would argue put the team under pressure ie bringing Maguire on or shunting Bruno wide for another midfielder when he's been playing well in the middle.

Again people bang on about players reverting to type but it's the manager and coaching staff's remit to ensure this doesn't happen and that the team as a whole are doing the right things for 90 minutes. To many times we go ahead or have a good first half and then just stop doing the things that put us in that position which isn't really acceptable

I'm still open to him being the man to improve us but I need to see more control in games, more attractive football, and more chances created along with better decision making and adaptability in the next 6 months or so, because the start to the season has quite frankly been shoddy.

 

[afrocentricity]

Some of the discourse across social media has been crazy in the last few weeks. On paper, the defeat on Sunday was worse than the defeat in January but in reality, the January defeat was about as much of an annihalation as a 3-2 defeat to a last-minute winner can be. On Sunday, we were able to control possession for long periods of time. Sure, we didn't really do much with it but last season, we were hard set to control possession against the same calibre of opposition, Sunday represented tangible progress.

In reality, everyone has to realise that Utd fans don't do patience; this is not like any other club, fans have grown up under Fergie and have come pretty much to (unrealistically) expect total dominance from Utd. Let's stop the complaining, let's stop the moaning; people in the media thrive on this as portraying Utd as a crisis club generates content and views for them. Things are not quite as bad as they seem; Spurs away and Arsenal away are for sure two of out hardest 38 games all season. 6 points after four games isn't a disaster; in golf terms, it's probably more like par for the course. People need to keep their heads screwed on and analyse ten Hag and the club as whole with a clear mind.

I'd say that's a pretty good view of the situation. It's definitely overreaction, fuelled by all the other shit going on at the moment. We need to get a few wins

 

[DWelbz19]

Very indifferent on him. I think he’s done a lot of things well, but I just can’t overlook the transfer activity/profiles targeted, and more importantly, how horrid we look away from home against anyone of significance.

 

[Ekeke]

The more windows that go by the less I'm convinced he's a good manager for us

 

[The holy trinity 68]

I thought he the one, then he let us get beat 7-0 by Liverpool. Should’ve been sacked on the spot. I said it at the time but there’s no coming back from that.

Embarrassing comment really. Yes that was a disgraceful defeat but it was on the players. Have the last 10 years not shown you that it doesn't matter how many managers we sack.

 

[GBBQ]

To imagine had that garnacho goal stood and we received the penalty for the Hojlund foul by gabriel, we would have won and such threads won't have existed.

There’s always what ifs. Same about the Arsenal penalty if VAR didn’t intervene. Or if Havertz didn’t fluff his lines. I think the issue is that we folded away from home and it happens quite often against the big teamand that’s why threads like this exist.

Ten Hag has earned a couple of seasons now to get things right. Even if he finishes outside the top 4 he should get next season because he has pedigree with Ajax and he’s still contending with woodwards legacy.

It’s so early and Mount Hojlund and Amrabat need to bed in, which takes time.

 

[SirScholes]

Very indifferent on him. I think he’s done a lot of things well, but I just can’t overlook the transfer activity/profiles targeted, and more importantly, how horrid we look away from home against anyone of significance.

We just played a good game against a significant team

 

[Scriblerus]

He has had one season without a functioning number 9, and with a stack of deadwood (that still isn't entirely cleared, not through any fault of his). Questions about this summer's recruitment need to find answers (again not all down to him). But he should get this season at least as a chance to show significant signs of progress.

 

[Trophy Room]

I think the second season is always difficult. This is going to take a few years. There is no one else.

 

[Josep Dowling]

No manager succeeds until the Glazers are gone. There is too much incompetence with squad building and poor management above the club manager for United to be successful.

 

[Amir]

Some of the discourse across social media has been crazy in the last few weeks. On paper, the defeat on Sunday was worse than the defeat in January but in reality, the January defeat was about as much of an annihalation as a 3-2 defeat to a last-minute winner can be. On Sunday, we were able to control possession for long periods of time. Sure, we didn't really do much with it but last season, we were hard set to control possession against the same calibre of opposition, Sunday represented tangible progress.

Just to play devil's advocat - was Sunday progress compared to our last game at the Emirates, or was it having Casemiro around this time and maybe Arsenal just not being in the form they were last season?

In reality, everyone has to realise that Utd fans don't do patience; this is not like any other club, fans have grown up under Fergie and have come pretty much to (unrealistically) expect total dominance from Utd. Let's stop the complaining, let's stop the moaning; people in the media thrive on this as portraying Utd as a crisis club generates content and views for them. Things are not quite as bad as they seem; Spurs away and Arsenal away are for sure two of out hardest 38 games all season. 6 points after four games isn't a disaster; in golf terms, it's probably more like par for the course. People need to keep their heads screwed on and analyse ten Hag and the club as whole with a clear mind.

I don't think United fans are different and are certainly not worse than other clubs. Fans at top clubs are used to success and don't tend to give managers much time when things go rotten.

The real important thing is that United as a club tends to give managers a lot more time than other big clubs.

 

[owlo]

'The one' doesn't exist. Managers are immortalised through their feats at a club, not in advance. SAF, Clough, Simeone, Pep, none were sure things without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

The goal is to have a structure that operates independently of the manager, so the role is minimised at first but one can grow into it.

 

[arnie_ni]

He needs time, 3 4 5 seasons. They need to sell all the crap and back him. If they aren't prepared to do that they need to get rid now.

Let him get his own players, his own vision, his own style. It all takes time.

 

[Tragically Hip]

Many United fans bemoan the negative focus the club receives in the media, yet the same fans fuel the hysteria by seriously beginning debates about ETH's ability. I stayed on this forum to gain insight from knowledgeable fans, but sifting through the constant negativity is so tiresome.

 

[Drz]

I don't know about the "one" thing.
But I do back the manager, even if we get relegated.
I don't trust the players that downed tools under Mourinho, Ole and Rangnik, don't think I ever will.
Can't get over supposedly professional footballers suddenly forgetting how to control, pass, make themselves available for a pass.

 

[Bondi77]

Erik all the way,
Feck this player power shite....weak as piss!

 

[Jezpeza]

When you hire someone like Ten Hag you have to accept that he will want to replace players and move players on at less than their value. "The One" has a tendency to blow things up and require huge and costly changes in pursuit of their vision.

See managers like Conte, Mourinho, Pep, Van Gaal.

If you don't want that, then you need to hire a different profile - Ancelotti, Pochettino, Allegri. Managers who adapt to what they get.

Personally I think that profile, and particularly Ancelotti, has been right for us and our business model ever since Fergie retired. However, we've gone with "The One" again, and if we are to persist with that we have to let him tear the team apart and rebuild it in his image. Unfortunately, at the moment, I don't think we're doing that very well.

We can't keep hiring managers who need to be able to clear their squads, and then not let them clear the squad.

I think spot on. The Glazers dont back the manager once they secure top 4 and champions league. After a promising first season, I fear that the man who is the best manager we’ve had post SAF will go the way of the others as he struggles to get the players he needs and things begin to stagnate, against the backdrop of the teams we beat to top 4 around us investing and improving. Thats the reason I think he will be a placeholder, unless the new ownership comes in soon.

 

[Ricardo de la Vega]

Of course he's the one. 100%. Back the man and we will win things. Hard times happen. We need new owners, obviously, we need a new transfer structure and football philosophy to be installed by a DOF whose reign is longer than a given manager, we need a new scouting department. The ONE area of this club we dont need change is in our head coach.

 

[FujiVice]

You cant change 11 players. You cant change the owners. Its always the manager who gets it in the neck. He'll be scapegoated if our form and performances continue. And considering the shit storm about with hit with Antony, I hope Ten Hag chooses his words wisey, because the press will be at him if he is seen in anyway defending him.

 

[Parma Dewol]

Erik’s the one for me.

However, I’d have to temper that by saying I fear he won’t succeed. Not through any fault of his own, but due to the fact the club as a whole is, in my opinion, not setup for on-field success.

Pains me to say it, but until a new owner comes in and guts the whole operation, I can’t see things improving a great deal.

I hope Erik gets that opportunity but, sadly, expect to see him become just another name as our great football club limps on.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Still the one for now? I'd say yes. He's got enough goodwill and I still have faith in him to achieve good results.

Did I have more faith in him before? Yes I did. There's been some warning signs of our performances/results since the cup final that worries me. I'm not sure if he's the one to lead us back to glory.

I was more convinced he'd lead us back to the top right away after the cup final than I am now.

 

[Marwood]

Considering SAF’s God-like status in our club, I genuinely think that speech was one of the most damaging things to have happened to our club.

Why? It's not like its actually happened. We've done the opposite if anything.

We've had six managers since he left. How many more should we have burned through?

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

Yes.

Mostly because I don't see what the alternative is. We throw away the progress we've made last season and start all over again for the 4th/5th/6th/nth time since Fergie, chancing it with another manager who we don't know will be a success.

The problems in the club stem from the top down. So it won't make a difference until we feck the owners off back to Tampa and bring in a proper elite footballing structure.

Until then Ten Hag still has enough credit in the bank for us to stick by him. So he has my full backing knowing the issues we've had with injuries, the sale limbo, and the off the field shenanigans. If we're still looking a little hopeless by the New Year then I'll revise my assessment.

There shouldn’t be a ‘the one’ manager.

Instead we should build a good structure above the manager, with the manager being an easily replaceable part. See Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern who change managers every year or two. Or in EPL, we saw Brighton changing the manager without needing to replace half of the squad.

With regards to EtH, I think he did alright last season. I think he is terrible in transfers and should not have been in charge of them. I think he is a good, but not great manager and I do not see him competing with the best managers. I have no idea how this season will go, my guess is we will end somewhere in 4th-8th place, with 4th and 5th being relative successes. But I do not expect a significant improvement from last season football wise of points wise. Saying that, because we fully committed on him (buying so many players that played for him or he is very familiar) and because we do not have a good football structure in place, unless he loses the dressing room, I think it would be wrong to fire him regardless of our results. Of course, if we change the owners, then if he does not get UCL, he should be off.

Obviously no, because there’s not “the chosen one” who with his genius will compensate for our lackluster structure and the fact that such a giant club is ran in such a terrible manner. We can find a shiny new gaffer every couple of years and juggle between hoping a former legend turns out to be a messiah and poaching flavor of the year managers from other clubs, but it’s never going to be a sustainable model if we don’t have a proper structure in place and if we don’t prioritize investment in infrastructure and top human capital in management/scouting/footballing roles. The game is much bigger than “one genius guy to awaken a sleeping giant” for a long while now and the sooner we accept it, the better.

There is no such thing as "The One". The manager is an employee of the club, nothing more - ideally, the manager would be an easily replaceable cog in a well-oiled machine with a cohesive structure. We need to stop ascribing this godlike status to them or we'll never move forward.

It's just an incredibly difficult club to to work for at the moment, almost entirely because of the Glazers and their poor leadership. It's like he's got the ship sailing in the right direction, but it's got one sail, the anchor won't come up and parts keep falling off at the most inopportune time.

People can pine for De Zerbi but he's managing one of the best run clubs, put him in the chaos at United and he'll struggle to do better than ten Hag.

Ten Hag looked a superstar at Ajax with Overmars running the show, after the two left Ajax became a shambles.

Klopp did marvellously at Liverpool when they were getting every transfer right, when that stopped they slipped down from title contenders to barely in the top 4.

Pep has had everything his way at City but if you took away that structure he would also struggle.

Until we get new owners and back any manager with whatever they need this is going to be the continuous story, good in parts then ultimately fall apart.

I am convinced that it has nothing to do with the manager anymore at our club. If they miraculously come here, I won't be surprised to see Pep or Klopp fail too. The whole structure behind the team seems to be rotten and the transfer dealings, players' fitness, player contracts, and club sale are only a handful of proof of how badly the club is run. Sadly nothing is going to change until Glazers are in charge, so you can change another 10 managers but sooner or later he will fail just like the others.

You will still get the same result (or worse) with any other manager in his place. We all are aware of where the problem stems from and it's above the manager's head.

We’re still not a club built to allow the manager to succeed. It’s still a mess from the top down and I doubt the protracted club sale has really helped much in that regard. There’s just too much negativity around the club beyond simple results on the pitch, and it’ll be the same again for the next manager who comes in. He’s about as good a manager as we can get right now, I don’t see any other coming in and making us challenge all of a sudden.

No manager succeeds until the Glazers are gone. There is too much incompetence with squad building and poor management above the club manager for United to be successful.

Pretty much agree with all of this - we will never get the best out of managers, players or the team as a whole till we're under new ownership. You can have temporary highs and good streaks, but it will always be despite poor management, not because of it. By default, every manager post-SAF has been set up to fail, irrespective of how much transfer backing they've had.

 

[redshaw]

I very much like and rate him but I also said at the time of his appointment he needs support. He could yet save this season out of the fire and build on it (I'm very optimistic on Amra,Hoj/Onana) but I wonder how much he can do with the club sale and funding issues alongside the recruitment aspect.

I can see him being headhunted by another club that is able to give the funds and direction and just allow him to coach more. I'd like to keep him with visible progress but the clubs situation might mean he's just another guy to be chewed up and we're back to square one.

 

[Someone]

I have faith in him, but not the players, and managers lose their jobs once they lose the dressing room. This seasons was supposed to see improvement, and so far it's more of the same, which adds more pressure on him and the players.

I won't be surprised if he gets sacked even though he's a good manager, because I don't really think the club is set up in a way that helps a manager succeed.

 

[Castia]

I’m behind him but I must say I do have a few concerns. I’m not convinced about his signings, he’s spent a lot of money and I don’t feel the quality of the squad has advanced all that much. Also his attachment to former players is understandable but at the same time it’s starting to get a bit bizarre that almost every single signing has a connection to the manager.

Our system and style of play. It’s dreadful at times, we have little to no identity and everything we seem to try doesn’t come off. I keep hearing the buzzwords ‘counter pressing‘, ‘front pressing’ etc but it’s pointless if when we actually get on the ball we can barely put 5 passes together. We need to improve massively on the ball we’re miles behind a lot of mid table pl teams. I mean our players are stood still and not even making runs for large periods of games it’s laughable.

 

[Cathy Ferguson]

Pretty much agree with all of this - we will never get the best out of managers, players or the team as a whole till we're under new ownership. You can have temporary highs and good streaks, but it will always be despite poor management, not because of it. By default, every manager post-SAF has been set up to fail, irrespective of how much transfer backing they've had.

Yup. A really good manager can get us top 3, a poor manager will get us top 6. ETH got us top 3 in his first season which suggests he is a very good manager, but the last couple of months suggest that he is maybe only a decent one. A lot will depend on if ETH can fix our midfield and RW. He certainly cannot blame Antony and Mount on Arnold and the Glazers. Those signings are on him.

 

[ArmaDino]

Had my doubts at the start it wasn't like he was this young up and coming manager after all but gave him a chance and almost win me round especially with winning a cup and securing top four.

However there are too many warning signs in how we play how he approaches games and how reluctant he is to change things that are clearly not working.

He did well with the Ronaldo and Maguire situation less so with tactics and his unwillingness to give some promising young players a decent run.

Our away record is shocking set pieces are shocking we have no style of play and I'm not convinced by his man management.

He has spent an awful amount of money on some questionable signings while ignoring other areas we perhaps needed more

If we don't get top four this season then he has to go simple as that.

Imagine if Arsenal would have sacked Arteta after two straight 8 finishes and after bottling Top4 whilist having a 10 point lead.

Not saying any manager needs an unlimited amount of time, but clearly Erik has shown that he at least deserves to see out this season at the very least

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

Fully back him, you can see what he wants to do, how he wants to play, how the club should be run. It'll take time, we should be patient.

I think this is the only way now, even if this season is a failure we need to give him a few more years to rebuild the club.

 

[tjb]

This is only a topic because our fans are really impatient at the moment and don't have a good understanding of how bad of a state we truly were in 2022 and how much work Ten Haag, Arnold and Murtough have actually done since then.

We had a line up consisting of DDG, AWB, Maguire, Varane, Shaw, Fred, Mctominay, Bruno, Sancho, Ronaldo and Rashford.... with absolutely no depth which is why we HAD to play Elanga. We had no depth in midfield and no depth in attack.

Since then, we've noticed a few things with this line up.

a. DDG - For the first time in history, we were able to play the ball out from the back without much stress when faced with a tough pressing team. This was due to Onana. It showed that our passing out from the back in big games was actually an issue because we had DDG there.
b. Maguire on ball ability was actually a massive detriment to us. Again, Sunday showed this when he came on. His lack of pace and poor defending was immediately spotted and dropped. We couldn't play a high line with him in the team.
c. Neither Fred or Mctominay are even considered good enough to be useful squad players, yet they started most of our games for 3 seasons.
d. Sancho - He consistently was producing poor performances. Excuses were made for him, but at the end of the day, his lack of intensity and pace has shown definitively that he's not a United player.
e. Striker - We've been suffering for almost 5 seasons without a striker until this summer. 15 minutes of Hojlund proved the difference the movements of a striker would make to our attack. We've been talking about decision making for years, but we didn't actually have a focal point to make that easy.
f. Lack of depth

When you consider all these playing factors, ETH literally had to start from scratch.

We are now able to control games enough to win home games consistently. We can match top teams at home as well. We have a clear playing pattern ( which some people would fail to recognize, but its quite clear to see) and we have bought well since he came on board, aside from Antony at the moment.

But fans need to understand that this is a process. We currently have 5 new signings and 2 young players ( Amad and Mainoo) who haven't had a chance to bed into the team. On sunday, we were able to maneuver a press consistently, which has been a major issue in big games and frantic away games. This simple progression can literally change the poor away form we had last season. People need to understand that we aren't City, we most likely won't end up playing like them and are still working on the exact look we are going to have. ETH isn't perfect either. We literally had the greatest manager of all time in our club and people questioned his decisions all the time.

If we actually want to get to a place where we are playing great football, we have to trust the process. We have to understand that the process itself is not linear and also understand that we were far behind other top clubs when we started progressing. There is no magic wand. We still have Martial and Sancho in the squad. We still have tweaks in tactics that are being made ( which other teams do too). We still have attitudes that need to be rooted out and have had to deal with injuries that have tested our new found depth. The fact that after 4 games, and 2 losses to Arsenal and Spurs away, that this question is even being raised shows how unreasonable our fanbase is at the moment. Again, I know its the biggest club in the world, but our fans also need to understand that too. Understand that stories from us get clicks, understand that there are outlets like espnfc that only report negative information and understand we always have eyes on us. Mendy and Partey's allegations get swept up, Greenwoods and Antony's are front page. There's a reason for that. We are not the only club dealing with things like this, we're just the only one worth writing about. Pep talks about training issues from players all the time, as do other managers. Those teams also have players responding. We are the only team where those off the pitch issues actually come out to this degree. For other clubs, they'd need to have a public spat and even then ( like Liverpool with Salah), that still gets swept under the rug.