Its all bullshit again. We will be linked with 50 managers before we get one in. Same every transfer window with players. The press just shout names out, hoping one will be right.
Who replaces Ten Hag?
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Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen, and Simone Inzaghi's Inter Milan.
Onana, Martinez, Dalot, Mainoo, Holjund and Garnacho would all fit into a "German" inspired gegenpressing team. Rashford and Bruno in attack would be fine, but would completely fail the system defensively.
You'd need a big athletic centre back, a left back that can bomb forward all game, 2 tireless midfielders and a high intensity attacking player who can occupy an inside forward role.
It is certainly a style we can go with moving forward.
This must be sarcasm.
Eleven Hag
Who picks the players? And do we allow him to continue with his vision of making us the best transition team? Will he be allowed to sign players who are limited on the ball like Casemiro when we are already terrible in the buildup phase? Honestly it doesn’t feel like he’s earned another year
The same way Moyes, LVG, Jose and Ole struggled to get the players they really wanted ETH has had the same struggles.
We all know the total structure has to be correct and it's on the way to getting to where it needs to be with the ongoing and recent appointments.
With the new structure ETHs black book of players won't be relied on anymore. It should deliver top players or players with top potential from a global operation feeding it.
If that happens and Ten Hag is brought more players of a Martinez or Hojlund calibre then why wouldn't we want Ten Hag in place? Given the circumstances that no other manager has had to deal with, he's done ok.
He has chosen to defend deep when Evans, Maguire and Varane play. When he has centrebacks that are capable of defending a high line, he will. He's pragmatic and disciplined enough to have this interim strategy and I'm all for it. There's no point playing a higher line with Evans and Maguire playing just to appease forum posters and fans.
He's doing the right thing until we have the players capable of playing the more progressive system. Until then it's sit deep and counter. This isn't his final version.
A lot of these concepts we are seeing at work at MU right now: three at the back build up, diagonal switches, overlapping runs by full backs, striker dropping deep to pull cb‘s with him, trying to get in behind rather than progress up the pitch slowly.
Inter‘s formation can work for us with new cb’s in addition to Martinez and Inzaghi would be a good fit at MU stylistically.
I get that but we see teams with much worse players playing better possession footy than us throughout this league. Sitting deep and countering for 1.5 years when the aim is to control games is terrible and highly counter productive as it sets us back a long time never mind is an expensive mistake.
Many seem to think style of play is this switch you can turn at will but it’s not. We had the same rhetoric under Ole - he wants to play free flowing attacking football, he wants to play with a high press. I’m sorry if you spend years doing one thing high chances are that you will not be able implement the opposite. That’s what worries me most about ETH - that he signed Casmeiro, Eriksen, Mount etc and that we haven’t seen on iota of impediment in our possession play in 1.5 years.
Exactly. Yes, playing a high line while being forced to play slow CBs when the fast ones are injured would be suicidal. But if you value control over matches, the smart thing would be to keep possession, but deeper. Try to bait the opposition's pressing, before launching fast attacks, but stay in control, keep possession, stay true to your basic philosophy.
If you instead sit deep with your defence, position your attackers quite high and ignore the midfield, then you simply don't value control and possession but want to play the transition style. Would that look less broken with a higher defence? Yes. But it's still a deliberate decision to "break" the team instead retreating the attackers a bit as well. So if that's what EtH focuses on now, no one should expect him to build a possession side at United soon.
Then he isn’t fit to be our manager as the “basic phiolosphy” is shit. With 400m he should be able to bring in players that allow him to play a more expansive style of football that has greater control over matches.
I agree we need a manager to start changing how we play from day one, if they crash and burn so be it but then the next manager picks up from there. We have just repeated the same cycle under ETH wasted two years, squad still full of deadwood and our style of football is bland and predictable. We’re nowhere nearer to top teams in terms of quality or style of play which is same as every manager post SAF.
If ETH were to stay he would have to start from square one again but under huge pressure and a poor run away from being sacked. Alternatively he carries on what he has been doing which will just lead to more mediocrity and the sack.
Yes... I mean, he said himself he wants to make United the best transition team in the league, he never talked about best possession. And to be fair to him that actually fits United history well, it never was a club renowned for its possession play, unlike Ajax or Barca.
The big question then is if that's the right approach to a modern Manchester United. You and I are sure that it isn't, but as we see he still has a lot of defenders here.
This is really quite eye opening and he looks to have implemented his style very well to a club that didn't play that way and that's the key for me. ETH did brilliant at Ajax but he was using a system that Ajax have long championed and been trained in but it would seem Inzaghi has transformed their style - As someone who hasn't seen a lot of Inter, I do want to ask - What are the downsides to Inzaghi? Why isn't he the clear front runner to replace ETH?
Dont think he speaks very good English for one thing
Even if we assume that both approaches can work, let’s use Real Madrid as an example of a top team that wasn’t very possession obsessed, or Liverpool in the Klopp’s first phase (where they didn’t play much keep ball but moved the ball much faster ala his Dortmund days). There’s a world of difference between those teams and Manchester United of the Jose-Ole-ETH era. Those teams weren’t pure possession based teams and could tear you a new one on the break but they also excelled in all the basic fundamentals of possession play - cohesiveness, retaining it in tight spaces, being compact when necessary, being able to play out from the back, always having a spare man to pass to etc They just chose go for the kill faster as opposed to being really shitty at imposing themselves on teams and passing it in between the lines.
We are basically an enormously expensive team that plays like a 90s mid table side which is completely unable to play cohesive front foot attacking football and an absolute dud at possession play.
Good question. There seems to be so little hype surrounding him. Is he very attached to Inter like Simeone with Atletico? I was thinking ETH’s European run put him on the map but Inter went step further and made last years final. Maybe the footy isn’t as fun as Ajax’s?
Inzaghi is great. I followed his Lazio team a lot for Luis Alberto. The reason why I never really fancied him for us is, one, he insists on 3/5 at the back which is a formation I'm not a fan of, and, two, he isn't someone who priorities possession and dominating teams.
I wouldn't be against him joining as I do like him. He just wouldn't be my first choice.
I wouldn't be against him joining as I do like him. He just wouldn't be my first choice.
Question is at present why would Inzaghi come to this shitshow
My guess is because what he’s doing isn’t with a team like Lazio
That's not something that should stand in the way really, translators and learning the language is never far off.
Considering he happily played 4 (or more?) Italian clubs in his playing career, he didn't seem more affiliated with 1 over any other and I would imagine if he was given a chance at a bigger club, like 99% of managers would jump at the chance.
Don't want him then. Sick and tired of playing cat and mouse counter football.
I think there's a difference between counter attack and a team who effectively overloads in transition. In the same way there are possession teams like United under LVG and tiki taka teams under Pep.
Good video.
Plug our team in and add a couple signings, and I guess it's this:
--------Rashford/Garnacho-------Hojlund-----------------
Shaw-------CM--Mainoo-Bruno/Mount---------Dalot
------------Licha----Varane/Maguire--------RCB-------
and an LWB (since Shaw can cover Licha's role), a midfielder, and really a stealth replacement for Bruno in that Mount seems a more obvious fit tactically anyways), and a striker.
I don't really see us having the athletes to play this and the fit for Garnacho infield is a tough one, but it would in theory suit Hojlund, Mount, Mainoo, Dalot and Onana (made the CL final in it). Garnacho feels like the real issue here, as well as what role Lisando plays (too small for the middle CB role, not quick enough for Bastoni's?) though you'd figure he'd make something work if healthy.
Feels like he could get the bag from Newcastle at some point. They aren't suited to high possession/dominating (Isak, especially Joelinton, slower back line).
-------------Gordon------Isak-------------------
------------Tonali--------Joelinton-----------
Hall------------Bruno-------------Livramento
---------LCB-Botman-Schar-----------------
and maybe Gordon and Almiron ends up as casualties as wingers and a swap/series of deals like Gordon for Bowen or another striker happens.
No but he might be another like Zidane, who just isnt interested in leaving the continent. We're not going to attract guys like Inzaghi and Zidane over anyway with no CL football.
That line up would struggle to control the game as our current one does. You need a lot more players who are comfortable in tight spaces and at keep ball than that. There’s just not enough playmaking quality there.
Mainoo should be a good passer for a #6 (if not Calhanoglu), Mount and a theoretically coached to be less wild in possession to Bruno aren't worse than Mkhitaryan, but we're missing a Barella for sure (or a Calhanoglu with Mainoo playing as a #8).
Different league though. Inter won’t just play the same way in this league. Players like Mkhitarian already got found out here. Also this bolded is hard to ever see happening. He probably just is what he is and eventually we’ll need to bin him and move to a three man midfield all capable of keeping it well.
Of course Zidane won't take the job but it's really funny to see people on here turning their nose up at a proven champion like him. 
I watched Inter closely for the first time this last weekend to check him out in their game against Bologna. Based on grand total of that one game, I found Bologna's style of play much more impressive than Inter's. They were both good, and it was weird witnessing a game which so tactical. Most of the play was concentrated in middle of the pitch on either side of the half-line. It almost felt like there were 24 outfield players on the pitch as it was so crowded. Inzaghi's team were looking to play on the transition whereas Bologna were better at the moving the ball trying to create attacking opportunities.
But as I said, it was just one game. Will have to watch more of their games both in the Serie A and the Champions League to form a better opinion.
I think probably because of the formation and Inter aren’t really a dominant possession team (their average is 55%). That’s not to say they aren’t dominant. You watch their games and honestly you feel sorry for the opposition. In the way city demoralise you on the ball Inter do it off the ball. I think a key thing about Inter is it’s a team full of warriors in supreme physical condition.
Old school Mourinho type team. I guess the issue would be coming here he’d be coming into a team that are generally very weak mentally and are poor physically. I doubt they’d be able to carry out what it is he wants. I think if we went for him we’d have to be quite patient and wait for the right players to come in. That midfield trio especially - Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhiy, they’re technically just so good and they don’t always need the ball. They’re also quite a team of older and mature heads, again coming into United not something he’d have. But yeah what he’s done there is quite something. I reckon they win the CL. Also Italian managers just aren’t really in at the minute except Don Carlo. Nobody touched Allegri when he left Juve initially. Even Conte was only Spurs. So Inzaghi will need a European cup to be taken seriously:
So 2 different questions here. The Bruno one I think we're all sick of.
But whether or not Inzaghi's football would work here is interesting.
The final was a very strong performance (better chances, higher XG) against Man City, and when you look at the teams the only real issue for Guardiola is that De Bruyne got hurt 30 minutes in, whereas Inzaghi had the squad issues of having a 37 year old Dzeko (great player, underrated career in England I think, but 37), a 36 year old Acerbi and Darmian in a back 3. That's pretty impressive.
I sort of think it would work okay. It's not the most exciting style, but it provides security at the back. Conte did well here for a bit, so I don't think an Italian 3-5-2 is unusable here, and you'd have to say Inter have been more impressive than the usual Italian champions lately. Miles ahead in Serie A and +57, a draw away against Atletico from the final 8 in the CL.
Conte won the league and the FA cup in his two seasons at Chelsea a couple of seasons before he joined Spurs.
I agree with the assessment that most of their good work seems to be off the ball than on the ball. But again, my observations from a grand total of one game closely watching them.
Just looking at their usual XI, it doesn't look like a team that should be physically stronger than the usual top side at all. Thuram, Bastoni and Dumfries are big, fast players, but there's also some old guys in the team, the midfield is tiny (though quite mobile as a result). If you spend money, seems like you could build an XI like this. Newcastle might just be a striker, CB and a midfielder away for instance, and Spurs seem like they could do it without any changes, apart from maybe adding another CB and a midfielder and selling Brennan Johnson and replacing him with a striker.
Ajax played exciting football. Drawing Bayern twice, eliminating Juventus and Madrid in the knockouts.
Inter lost twice against Bayern in the group matches and then had one of the easiest ways to the final. Porto, Benfica and Milan. The last 2 even didn't make it to the knockout stages this year.
Seen talk about who Liverpool/city would hire, according to data analysis, when their managers leave to continue their respective styles of play beyond their managers leaving
I know football has changed, but if INEOS/Berrada/Ashworth decided they wanted United's style of play to return to a modern day version of how United played in the successful 2006-2013 period, is there any data out there to show who is stylistically most suited to that style of football in the modern day? Or if not, who do you think it would be?
I know football has changed, but if INEOS/Berrada/Ashworth decided they wanted United's style of play to return to a modern day version of how United played in the successful 2006-2013 period, is there any data out there to show who is stylistically most suited to that style of football in the modern day? Or if not, who do you think it would be?
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Whats another 10m when we've already thrown the better part of half a billion pounds at his signings