Signings B+
We didn't buy a centre forward.
I wasn't sure about spending so much of our budget on a CB, but it was an excellent choice.
Similarly, I thought the price for Casemiro was too high. It wasn't.
Eriksen was a fantastic short term signing for free.
Malacia I like the look of, should improve over the next couple of years.
I think I like Antony more than most on here. He's had a tough first year. Being expected to play in every big game at quite a young age, it's been a mixed bag for sure. But his fight and desire will give him a great chance to keep improving.
Sabitzer was a shrewd loan signing.
Weghorst wasn't.
Discipline A
We've all heard the stories of how he's tightened the rules and seemingly applied them fairly and firmly. The fact that the group appears to have readily gone along with this says alot for the character of the manager.
Tactics B+
No manager gets it right all the time. We've had a few bad tactical games. We've also had quite a number of resounding tactical successes. Key injuries and poor options have posed difficult problems to solve.
Style of play C
There have been brief periods that hinted at a promising final destination. Again, injuries and other issues appeared to hinder progress at times. By the end, it felt like much of the progress had been abandoned in order to secure much needed wins.
Team selection C+
This might have gone up a whole grade had he not selected Sancho for the final. That might sound harsh, it's not personal though. Sancho has just started, over the last few weeks, to show glimpses of what he can do. I've been happy with that recent form, and pleased that he wasn't abandoned. There's a player in there somewhere and even if our only intention is to build him up again to recoup some of the money through a sale, ETH has been doing the right thing. But selecting him to start the cup final was either blind faith, or a misreading of the players attributes. He was always going to be a passenger in that type of game. We couldn't afford to carry him. Our options were limited of course, but we had a couple of specialist players who, if used correctly, could have posed problems to city.
This has been a theme this season. Quite often getting the balance between offensive and defensive players wrong. Particularly in our away games. Over-using some players and not recognising when certain players aren't suited to a game.
Overall not bad though. Strong enough to drop anybody. Would like to have seen more minutes for a few youngsters.
Squad management B
There's no need for me to list the players who could quite easily have been thrown on the scrap heap by ETH. He's given most a fair chance. Those who have been sidelined can't really have a complaint and he's largely managed to maintain some value to these players. Whereas some managers discard them like dirt, Ten Hag has mostly kept the fringe players ready and willing to perform. This should be a given in a professional setting, but unfortunately it's not these days.
Ideally we would have seen much more rotation. Maybe we couldn't have afforded it, maybe it would have helped toward the end of the season. I hope we get a better squad for him to use next season and that he makes changes more proactively as a result.
Game management/Substitutions C
Lots of mistakes here. Too many really. It's his first season in the league, but he really hasn't got to grips with away games at all well. Even against the lower teams, where our results have been okay, the performances have been really patchy. Too often we've invited pressure with the wrong changes. We don't seem able to take the sting out of games when we need to. We've had some comebacks, but also conceded a lot of late goals. Much room for improvement here.
Public persona A+
I've long believed that a foreign accent is an advantage for PL managers. They are normally afforded leeway in their choice of words and are rarely pressed for the true meaning of what's been said. This, often deliberate, ambiguity can be a really useful tool for a manager when facing awkward questions. Ole wasn't afforded this benefit of the doubt. His English is too good and he'd been here too long. Sir Alex qualified due to the difficulty of his accent and demeanor. Jose used to, but lost it. (I very much doubt LVG cared who he was talking to, ever )
Erik Ten Hag, apparently unusually for a Dutchman, came with a reputation of only having broken/average English. I can't help but wonder if this was a deliberate ploy to make life easier for him in dealing with the press.
Whatever his strategy, he's managed to cultivate a gruff, serious and professional face for the cameras. His confidence is obvious for all to see and he's more than capable of diffusing difficult interview situations.
He also has a good balance on the sidelines, getting involved at the right times, without embarassing himself like some managers. Has a good angry face.
Results A
It can't be a A+ because of a few key results. A couple of which could easily see a manager sacked at such a big club. But overall he's pulled out some massive results and produced a huge number of wins, considering our situation. Sometimes it's felt like he's been lucky. Other times everything has been going against him. But the wins have pretty much kept on coming. Really impressive.
