A summary of Ten Hag's playing style and philosophy:
* The fundamental, unyielding starting point is the strategic principle. This consists of a specific set of key playing patterns that are the core focus of training sessions and are drilled into the players to become automatic and intuitive.
* Team formations, types of players and playing styles are all subject to this strategic principle. If the game calls for a deep striker, he will play a deep striker. if it needs a false nine, he'll play a false nine. The central tenet is that it doesn't matter who you play in which position, as long as that player knows their patterns and the strategic principle. This allows for flexibility while still retaining a recognisable style that is intuitive for the players.
* Strategic principle key patterns breakdown:
i. Outnumber your opponent in midfield . This can be achieved either by moving up your central defender(s) (e.g. De Jong, Timber at Ajax), dropping back your central forward (e.g. Tadic) or have your wingers roam freely (e.g. Ziyech, Berghuis).
ii. Positional changes in attack. A central theme of the 'Dutch School' and long practiced at Ajax, but modernised by Ten Hag.
iii. Don't overuse the wide spaces. The old Ajax philosophy was to have the wingers glued to the sidelines in order to make rushes and provide crosses into the sixteen yard box. Under Ten Hag, the wingers and backs instead work in tandem. If one moves in, the other moves out, and vice versa. This creates a dilemma for the opposing defenders: do I stick with my opponent or do I guard the space?
iiii. Ball possession is a means, not a goal. Movement off the ball is just as important. The key is to identify promising movements by your forwards in order to launch them into free spaces behind the opponent's defence.
iiiii. During an attack all players, regardless of their 'normal' position on the pitch, must anticipate loss of possession. This translates into having 3-4 players behind the ball at all times, e.g. by having an attacker drop back when a defender is actively involved in an attack higher up the pitch.
iiiiii. Collective pressing on the opponent in all lines when loss of possession occurs.
iiiiiii. If pressing fails, focus on defending the sixteen yard box, even if this means falling back and opening up the wings. this ensures players are able to regroup quickly and cover key areas, to minimise counter attack success.
iiiiiiii. The central axis is key. force the opponents to use the wings and smother them there.
iiiiiiiii. Keep the distances between the lines short. When attacking, defenders are very high up the pitch. When defending, attackers are back in their own half. It allows for quick positional shifts and short, speedy passing.
iiiiiiiiii. Defensively, zonal marking is strongly preferred over man marking. This avoids players being dragged out of position.
* Preferred formation: 4-2-3-1.
* Ten Hag adjusts his playing style to best fit the specific skill sets of his players. As long as the players adhere to the strategic principles, the automatic patterns, there can be a lot of flexibility in playing style and it is easy to make adjustments to compensate for injuries or to fit in new players.
* Players must know exactly what to do when switching from attacking to defensive play during loss of possession. Key is to smother the lost ball early and cut off passing lines of play in order to win the ball back quickly.
* Most glaring defensive weakness: by pressurising the ball and forcing the opponent wide, Ten Hag's teams allow large open spaces to form in other areas of the pitch. If an opponent successfully avoids being smothered or cut off, suddenly the way to the goal is wide open.
that's how I see it anyway. Appreciate different strokes for different folks.