What decisions has Ten Hag got right since joining?

Posh Red

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There's nothing to indicate the club is going through a complete rebuild though.

The actions of the club (and the words of Erik) all point towards ETH being hired to work with the current group plus a few additions. You can rightly criticize the club for that direction but imo the manager who accepts being hired under such conditions also deserves it. He should have made one of his demands that the club will go through a complete and utter rebuild ala what Ralf said rather than a few additions to the current group.
I don’t see how this changes the mangers quotes though, even if I agree.
 

Dan600

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I don't think it's too fair to blame Ten Hag at this point. And to ask what he has got right, again too early to tell. I think Telles leaving on loan was the right call. So there's at least 1 correct decision so far.

I don't understand how we've got to a point where we now have a DOF and a Sporting Director. We had Rangnick here to oversee the club structure and make corrections (which fell flat), and now the manager is picking the transfer targets with almost no input or suggestion from anybody else. That's not on him, that's on the club and it's becoming apparent that the structural changes were rather more just cosmetic touches, a tarting up if you will, to change the external appearance while not actually dealing with the real issues. The likes of the chief scout sacked and not replaced, maybe it was yet another cost saving exercise rather than the overhaul we needed?

Regardless we need to give him time, but for all the stick Ole got, he was able to assess the players we had when he first came in and pick a tactical style (Counter Attacking) that suited them. I'm a little worried that Ten Hag's rigidity in his philosophy without considering the players' suitability could be a huge problem if he can't adapt 1, to the squad and 2 to the premier league. Obviously its on the board too to make sure he has the correct style for his squad if this is what they want. The window so far has been abysmal, 9 players out 3 in, with another 4-5 scheduled outgoings (Bailly/Jones/Tuanzebe/Williams/Wan-Bissaka). He's been hamstrung from the start..

But I'm just hoping his persistance pays off and the players start reacting.

I'm hopeful we have a successful manager on our hands, but I'm also wary that it's not instead a repeat of when Palace appointed Frank De Boer...
 

Thiagoal

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Probably thought he was going to get players to suit his system - FdJ, Antony and Timber.

It’s like asking Pep to manage Derby County, he can ask them to play out from the back and play Tiki Taka but on match days they’d get slapped every week. Our players are absolutely shite.

I can’t believe people are still blaming managers do you know anything about fecking football?
While I get your point, Graham Potter managed to get Championship players playing a beautiful brand of possession football! You’d hope our millionaire internationals would be able to play a few passes too…
 

NinjaFletch

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Us going after the likes of Arnautovic is suggestive of the level of planning and strategy within the club, ie none.
He was, by absolutely all accounts, entirely an ETH target. Another point of significant concern about his judgement for me, even with the mitigation that he shouldn't be responsible for talent ID.
 

humdinger

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I expected him to have a rocky start, as he acclimitised to our league, got his tactics/ideas across and seeing how tricky the opening fixtures were . I didn't expect the awful transfer window and our squad being worse this year than last year though. The club have really set him up to fail.
 

The Mitcher

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I expected him to have a rocky start, as he acclimitised to our league, got his tactics/ideas across and seeing how tricky the opening fixtures were . I didn't expect the awful transfer window and our squad being worse this year than last year though. The club have really set him up to fail.
He's spearheading the transfer policy, though. How is it not his fault?
 

Real Madras

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I like this post. I enjoy this line of thinking and it could be a motivating influence; and if anything he's sure to be getting a bead on some of this shite that are week-in-week-out stealing a living. Certainly gives him a greater insight when it comes to team sheets and early subbing.
I think it’s vitally important, if we’re going to lose, lose as early as possible. Get it out of the system and out the way and allow Ten Hag to see the reaction. The clean slate isn’t very clean right now and rightly so. Arsenal lost the first three games last season as well but finished within a whisker of fourth. I trust Ten Hag to turn this around.

Hopefully Richard Arnold sitting in the stands today should be straight back to his office in London booking flights to Barca (FDJ), Turin (Rabiot), Amsterdam (Antony)/ Stuttgart for (Kalajdzic).
How long have we left of this transfer window? Expect the vaults to open up now. We need to buy NOW.
 

Amadaeus

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Staying bald, speaking with an accent, not sitting on the bench, looking at Frankie De Jong, and trying to play from the back (however this can also be seen as something he did wrong, as he needs more technical players on the pitch for that)
Oh nice, one day back and the mods are already on my case. Not sure how a joke could be considered wumming. Not sure who I offended with this post. Maybe a mod can tell me. Can't remember which mod has always been on my case.
 

Cassidy

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Identified that midfield is the number one problem that needs solving
 

Zen86

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If you think we should be getting beaten four nil by Brentford based on a player by player comparison then you haven't q clue what you are talking about. No person who actually has a position in the sport, no manager in the premiership for example, would agree with you.
Whi said we should be getting beaten 4-0 by Brentford?
 

Zen86

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He was, by absolutely all accounts, entirely an ETH target. Another point of significant concern about his judgement for me, even with the mitigation that he shouldn't be responsible for talent ID.
He might’ve been a name that came from ETH, but I highly doubt Arnautovic is somebody he demanded. The likelihood is that we needed and striker and looked to ETH to pull names out of a hat, because we had no one else identified.
 
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DeGea’sFeet

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Two games into 38, how would you judge what he's got right or wrong ?
He’s had a summer. You don’t have to wait until December and we’re 1st or 20th to judge what he is doing well and not so well.
 
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Longshanks

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So far, not a great deal. He has underestimated the task and underestimated the PL and its unique requirements. He is also yet to recruit and improve any of the key areas that require it.

Hopefully the shock of the first two performances and results have shown him where we actually need to improve and how he may need to adapt his philosophy and accept that he needs to recruit players that have the required physical attributes to play in the PL aswell as technical.
 

Van Piorsing

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1. Immediately identified Telles is a no go, went for Malacia rather fast.

2. Went after few rats in the dressing room. That went fast also.

3. Presented his plan as an honest demand of particular players, Frenkie one of them.

4. Started giving attention to details and still a long work ahead it seems.

5. Gave no attention to shit stirring journos. (Hope it stays that way)
 

Raoul

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He’s had a summer. You don’t have to wait until December and we’re 1st or 20th to judge what he is doing well and not so well.
Nothing happens in the summer. He will need a year at least to instill a new ethos with players that can implement what he wants to do. See how Klopp did it at Pool.
 

DeGea’sFeet

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Nothing happens in the summer. He will need a year at least to instill a new ethos with players that can implement what he wants to do. See how Klopp did it at Pool.
Klopp didn’t have a pre season, as he joined when the season had already started.

I disagree. A lot happens during the summer. It’s plenty of time for a manager to implement, but not perfect, his coaching and style of play. After the a pre season I’d expect to see a team that can play to the manager’s system, even if they get beaten and the players are not good enough, but most importantly you see who are suited to it and who are not suited to it.
 

Raoul

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Klopp didn’t have a pre season, as he joined when the season had already started.

I disagree. A lot happens during the summer. It’s plenty of time for a manager to implement, but not perfect, his coaching and style of play. After the a pre season I’d expect to see a team that can play to the manager’s system, even if they get beaten and the players are not good enough, but most importantly you see who are suited to it and who are not suited to it.
Then you're being unrealistic. A side that was in free fall for the latter half of last season isn't going to suddenly start playing better because of the summer and a new manager. If done properly, it will take at least 6 months to a year to see how ETH's approach is working. It may even take multiple years.
 

DeGea’sFeet

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Then you're being unrealistic. A side that was in free fall for the latter half of last season isn't going to suddenly start playing better because of the summer and a new manager. If done properly, it will take at least 6 months to a year to see how ETH's approach is working. It may even take multiple years.
We can still get beaten but you see signs of the system and what he is trying to do.
 

AmanNits04

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Most of us knew this would happen, we would not perform well initially and people will turn against ETH. People will find new ways to moan about anything and everything. So much for back the manager
 

DeGea’sFeet

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Most of us knew this would happen, we would not perform well initially and people will turn against ETH. People will find new ways to moan about anything and everything. So much for back the manager
Think you confuse backing the manager with blindly following. I back the manager, but can see things I think he’s done wrong.
 

MrSingh2002

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A short fullback I can accept. But a short centreback coming to the Premier League was never a masterstroke.

Making Maguire captain was his first big blunder when he has Varane and now Martinez to replace him as centrebacks.

Also not having good enough 2nd or 3rd choices that were available was utterly stupid.
 

Bastian

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It's hard to judge as it's both early and there are so many other factors at play with a club that's rotten from top to bottom.

- I think he did the right thing by not endorsing any of Ralf's views publicly, though privately he should absolutely be saying the same things to the board.
- I think he made a good call by sending Telles on loan (probably couldn't sell him) and get in a young, positive and hungry player.
- It's good that he insisted on his own personnel instead of getting some collection of rabbit-in-the-headlights coaches from the club.

Jury is out on the fee paid to Ajax for that centre back.

Impossible to know, but what I'm most curious about is what did the board promise him in terms of ambition short-term and long-term. He had leverage negotiating with that incompetent board that was being savaged on a weekly basis by Ralf who was laying it all bare with his unfiltered truth. Buying a couple of players is one thing, competing with the three rivals for the top 4 who are all a lot more ambitious and coherent in what they're doing is another, let alone trying to catch up with Liverpool and City.

When Jose said it would be easier to start with a completely new team he wasn't lying. We've kept trying to address one or two flaws each season in a team that is almost all flaws.
 

OnlyTwoDaSilvas

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I trust him. I just don't trust the players. Not a single one of them.

Malacia, Eriksen and Martinez get a bit of a free pass for now. Every single one of the rest are dispensable.


Still, I'm a little bit concerned about a 5ft9 centre back in the PL.
 

DSG

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Every thread about managers needs to be banned until we stop falling into this trap. Prime Ferguson would fail here
No. Ferguson would have gone mental at the effort. He would have straight up benched most of these players, played all squad players, set up in a 4-4-2, kick the shit out of the opposition and dared them to come at him. All he cared about was winning, not some mythical system where he has to have the right players, yada yada….

I’ve said time and again, this is a squad that is built to counterattack. If I were Ten Hag, I’d get back to the basics, run the shit out of the players, create that siege mentality and make them angry. The ones that don’t have the stones would sulk on the bench, the ones with courage would play.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

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No. Ferguson would have gone mental at the effort. He would have straight up benched most of these players, played all squad players, set up in a 4-4-2, kick the shit out of the opposition and dared them to come at him. All he cared about was winning, not some mythical system where he has to have the right players, yada yada….

I’ve said time and again, this is a squad that is built to counterattack. If I were Ten Hag, I’d get back to the basics, run the shit out of the players, create that siege mentality and make them angry. The ones that don’t have the stones would sulk on the bench, the ones with courage would play.
Counterattack what? Themselves?

There isn’t some mythical successful team in this squad, we’ve seen some of it under Mou, a lot of it under OgS, Ralf & now EtH. At different points they’ve played differently providing the square root of feck all. This team ran 15km less than Brentford in an early but ‘must win’ scenario, it is rotten. We tried to sit back last season against Pool at home & barely lasted 5 minutes, there’s no courage in them.

EtH has certainly not covered himself in glory managerially these past 2 games but we were t a few counters away from not losing to Brighton & fecking Brentford.

The squad isn’t good enough & people need to begin to realise that the squad members they love/rate won’t be here for long if EtH is. They’ve done for themselves the past few weeks.
 

RC89

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This place is ridiculous at times. The man has had two games. Sure, there might be some mistakes but to make a thread already? You'd have had Klopp out at Pool too.
 

DSG

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Counterattack what? Themselves?

There isn’t some mythical successful team in this squad, we’ve seen some of it under Mou, a lot of it under OgS, Ralf & now EtH. At different points they’ve played differently providing the square root of feck all. This team ran 15km less than Brentford in an early but ‘must win’ scenario, it is rotten. We tried to sit back last season against Pool at home & barely lasted 5 minutes, there’s no courage in them.

EtH has certainly not covered himself in glory managerially these past 2 games but we were t a few counters away from not losing to Brighton & fecking Brentford.

The squad isn’t good enough & people need to begin to realise that the squad members they love/rate won’t be here for long if EtH is. They’ve done for themselves the past few weeks.
:confused:

This is in response to someone who said SAF couldn’t do anything with this squad. I disagree, I think that’s how SAF would have handled it. Does that mean that I don’t support Ten Hag? No. It means that the greatest manager of all time would have put this team right and gotten the best out of them. If that meant cutting several of them loose, then he’d have done so and been ruthless about it. The best out of this lot may have been 7th, I don’t know, but remember Ole got them to 3rd and 2nd, Ronaldo won a Ballon D’Or under SAF.

The fact that they ran 15km less is partly on the manager. When you are this bad, there is PLENTY of blame to go around. It’s multiple factors. I personally think Ten Hag is the least of our worries right now, but if he cannot shelve his system and play simple football, stop conceding goals, or get his system to work immediately, we’ll lose the whole season.

Let me add that the whole concept of nuance is lost in the Caf. It’s either black or white. Well, I believe we live in a world with many shades of gray.
 

Crashoutcassius

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While I get your point, Graham Potter managed to get Championship players playing a beautiful brand of possession football! You’d hope our millionaire internationals would be able to play a few passes too…
Yes, it is the childish delusion that ten hag needs the best 11 players in the world before we don't get threaded by Brentford. Embarrassing
 

DSG

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While I get your point, Graham Potter managed to get Championship players playing a beautiful brand of possession football! You’d hope our millionaire internationals would be able to play a few passes too…
I agree with you. But Potter has also had 3+ seasons with these players. I think I was more embarrassed with last week’s result in some ways. Ten Hag now knows that the opposition has the book on United. Pressure McFred as we attempt to play out of the back. Counter attack quickly on the wings after gaining possession because our FBs are too far up the pitch and McFred are always too far forward and out of position.

He’s going to have to alter his tactics.
 

city-puma

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I agree with you. But Potter has also had 3+ seasons with these players. I think I was more embarrassed with last week’s result in some ways. Ten Hag now knows that the opposition has the book on United. Pressure McFred as we attempt to play out of the back. Counter attack quickly on the wings after gaining possession because our FBs are too far up the pitch and McFred are always too far forward and out of position.

He’s going to have to alter his tactics.
McFred didn’t play today.
 

arthurka

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So now this is on him, jesus these players have fecked every single manager so far let's get ETH fired now too.
 

ayushreddevil9

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So now this is on him, jesus these players have fecked every single manager so far let's get ETH fired now too.
I doubt people want him to get sacked but giving these cretins clean slate is all on him. There are many other questionable decisions during the last 2 games as well.
 

Kinky Melinky

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Not gonna lie, I'm pessimistic as feck that this season's a writr off already and Ten Hag is massively out of his depth. So let's go, what has he got right, and what can we be optimistic about that he's going to put us on the right path.
Word of advice, never ever get into investing. You're too emotional and impatient. You would lose all of your money.
 

Kinky Melinky

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Can we feck off from blaming the manager. This place is so toxic and clowns jumping on the manager already just highlights what. Set of fans we have.
Aye it's an absolute joke mate. Honest to god. None of us are happy with the first two games of the season, but to go and take it to the idiotic levels of deciding you are pessimistic about the manager this soon into his first campaign as Manchester United manager is a whole new level of spaz.
 

Kinky Melinky

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Malacia is a very exciting player, and ETH has pretty much come out and said we need some serious replacements where the starting 11is a collection of footballers who can actually play. You're not going to get any more straight to the point than that. To me this is a much needed characteristic, so it's a plus. Has this realisation or paradigm shift happened too late? Probably, but at least he's now on the right page.