Do the fans actually trust ETH or is he walking the Green Mile?

Certainly didn't sound like it in the Erik thread last night,many were proper chucking him under the bus for the away form
 
Yagami said:
I trust that he can coach a team to be good in possession (with the right players).

I've always had - and still do - have concerns about his coaching out of possession with our pressing, compactness in defence, etc.

I absolutely do not trust him in the transfer market.

That's why the next transfer window is make or break. If we get the right players, I believe he'll coach us to be good enough in possession that it somewhat negates our defensive vulnerability, but it entirely depends on signing multiple press resistant players, which is unlikely as we have trouble signing one.
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Yeah I didn't mind him having such a big say on transfers last years,however things need to be very different this summer.
 
I think ETH has done a great job this season with the squad and the hectic fixtures.
  • Ten Hag got his summer signings right with Martinez, Casemiro, Eriksen and I think Antony has alot of potential.
  • Adding Benni McCarthy to the staff paid off. In a season where we have been short on strikers and short on goals, Rashford has been excellent.
  • Ten Hag's ability to influence the game with subs is an asset. He doesn't always get it right. But when he does, it really shows.
  • ETH has improved our defence. The partnership of Varane and Martinez together with Casemiro. Even De Gea seems to have found his confidence. Yeah our PL goal difference is pathetic. But I think that's down to our lack of goalscoring and a couple of heavy defeats. The Club needs to invest in a striker, preferably one that can score goals (sorry Wout!).
  • Ten Hag has proven he doesn't pull any punches. I thought he handled the CR situation superbly. I think he'll be just as ruthless in the summer, subject to our ownership being sorted.
So, yeah, I trust Ten Hag. It's not perfect, it never will be. But it has been great for his first season in charge.
 
Chairman Woodie said:
I think ETH has done a great job this season with the squad and the hectic fixtures.
  • Ten Hag got his summer signings right with Martinez, Casemiro, Eriksen and I think Antony has alot of potential.
  • Adding Benni McCarthy to the staff paid off. In a season where we have been short on strikers and short on goals, Rashford has been excellent.
  • Ten Hag's ability to influence the game with subs is an asset. He doesn't always get it right. But when he does, it really shows.
  • ETH has improved our defence. The partnership of Varane and Martinez together with Casemiro. Even De Gea seems to have found his confidence. Yeah our PL goal difference is pathetic. But I think that's down to our lack of goalscoring and a couple of heavy defeats. The Club needs to invest in a striker, preferably one that can score goals (sorry Wout!).
  • Ten Hag has proven he doesn't pull any punches. I thought he handled the CR situation superbly. I think he'll be just as ruthless in the summer, subject to our ownership being sorted.
So, yeah, I trust Ten Hag. It's not perfect, it never will be. But it has been a great start for his first season in charge.
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He should have looked cheaper than Antony
 
Absolutely trust ETH. If we make the CL and win a cup or two then that's a successful year. He does need to make sure he gets offseason #2 right on transfers. Scoring a lot more goals next year must be priority #1.
 
Yep, more so than any manager since Ferguson.

He's still dealing with a squad full of mostly shite accumulated from the 4 previous managers. We couldn't bin 15 or so players last summer due to a mix of useless arseholes in the boardroom thinking "sweating the assets" is a better option than getting rid of shite we don't need, and the fact we've given perpetually injured squad players £100k+ pw on long-term contracts.

This was never going to be a quick turnaround. At the start of the season I said a decent style of football coming in, a challenge for top 4, and a trophy would be a bonus. More than happy with how it's gone. Have some faith ffs.
 
Till he gives me tangible reasons to trust him, I don't trust him just like I didn't trust any other manager in the post-Fergie era. Truth is we are no different from the way we've played under other managers at the best of times. We still do not control football matches, we cede possession so easily and continue to rely on counters both at home and away. We also still crumble under the slightest pressure and continue to flounder in the biggest games and the biggest moments. Its really not much different from the way we played under Ole during the good times of Ole's reign and Ole got us 2nd and 3rd!!!. Not saying I want Ole back because I don't but there is little difference between the best of the Ole era and the Ten Hag era so far. So till there is a tangible shift in the way we play, I don't see any reason to trust him. He also sanctioned the Antony, Weghorst and Sabitzer signings and apparently wants to extend David De Gea. Four very questionable decisions. Especially the De Gea and Weghorst ones.

We have seen this before and there's lIttle sign as of yet that things will be different going forward. However, let's see what happens in the summer. One thing I will give him credit for is that he finally benched Maguire and also benched Wan Bissaka (earlier on), which shows that he has the balls to make the big decisions. He also benched Shaw for a bit when he was playing poorly early on in the season. But we need more big decisions like that going forward. De Gea absolutely cannot be extended if we want to move forward as a club. We need to move on from him. And a few of these guys have to leave the club in the summer. Will he actually perform the mass cull that we have needed for about 5 years? We'll see in the summer.
 
Definitely trust ETH. But I don't agree with people saying he has done a great job. If great is an A, then for me, he's done a good job which is like a B. This might change if we win the FA cup, but for now its a B. For it to be an A, I'd have wanted the team to be very comfortable for top 4 by now, consistent good football, not have so many thumpings, and a one or two more academy players coming through getting decent amount of minutes. But ofcourse, there have been a few hurdles preventing that which are not completely his fault, but its difficult to separate the manager's performance from that of the team's.
 
Dannn411 said:
Till he gives me tangible reasons to trust him, I don't trust him just like I didn't trust any other manager in the post-Fergie era. Truth is we are no different from the way we've played under other managers at the best of times. We still do not control football matches, we cede possession so easily and continue to rely on counters both at home and away. We also still crumble under the slightest pressure and continue to flounder in the biggest games and the biggest moments. Its really not much different from the way we played under Ole during the good times of Ole's reign and Ole got us 2nd and 3rd!!!. Not saying I want Ole back because I don't but there is little difference between the best of the Ole era and the Ten Hag era so far. So till there is a tangible shift in the way we play, I don't see any reason to trust him. He also sanctioned the Antony, Weghorst and Sabitzer signings and apparently wants to extend David De Gea. Four very questionable decisions. Especially the De Gea and Weghorst ones.

We have seen this before and there's lIttle sign as of yet that things will be different going forward. However, let's see what happens in the summer. One thing I will give him credit for is that he finally benched Maguire and also benched Wan Bissaka (earlier on), which shows that he has the balls to make the big decisions. He also benched Shaw for a bit when he was playing poorly early on in the season. But we need more big decisions like that going forward. De Gea absolutely cannot be extended if we want to move forward as a club. We need to move on from him. And a few of these guys have to leave the club in the summer. Will he actually perform the mass cull that we have needed for about 5 years? We'll see in the summer.
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* Post above you gives about 5 reasons.
* If you can genuinely not see the difference between a clear plan that is stage by stage getting better, and Oles (who I love btw) complete game by game structure and leaning into the nostalgia, then I don't know what game you're watching.
* Sabitzer and Weghorst are loans, it was them or playing Iqbal as a 6 and Hugill as a 9. What would you do? Antony has huge potential, and id trust ETH more than you, he's hardly been a bad signing.

All you've done is agree with his dropping of players, question deadline day loans which have quite literally saved out season, and speculate whether or not he will be ruthless in the summer, which it looks like he will be.
 
Fully trust EtH. He is just a victim of his success. This is not fully his own team yet. We thought it would take a few seasons. And yet here we are, 1 trophy, 1 more final, good chance of Top 4.

Having said that, his team seems to have less control of the ball towards the end of the season I feel. Maybe it's fatigue, injuries or just tweaking the team to have more goalscoring opportunities and sacrificing defensive structure.
 
65/35 for me. I will never ever fully trust any other manager after SAF. It's just impossible for me.
I said 35% because of poor we were at rotating when there was a rare chance to do it ( Forrest return leg for instance) and mainly because of unexplainable love for Weghorst.
 
overall very happy with a few concerns

give him a keeper, cm and striker this summer and we should improve a lot
 
I’d say ETH has a huge amount of trust/support from our fans, from what I’ve seen.

Seems that the current assessment amongst fans is he’s done an incredible job this season, with more to come next year and beyond. Personally I’m unconvinced, this Summer is absolutely huge for us and unless we behave like a big club with our business I expect another season of competing to finish somewhere in the top 6. In summary i think we have a very good manager but unless we devise a clear strategy, we run the Risk of stagnating as a top 6 team. Do not see any reason that this current group of players will kick on and achieve anything better than they have this season in the future.
 
I was excited when we hired him, and along the way he has earned my trust.

I had some doubts about his signings, but i think right now im happy with almost all of them.

I really trust his man management, and the way he has handled the locker room. That is refreshing to see.

On the pitch, last season under Ragnick i honestly had no idea how this team can be fixed. Right now, i feel like we have an identity being built, and the weaknesses that are costing us away from home can be fixed by one transfer window.

So all in all, yes, i trust him and im excited for next season.
 
I believe it could go either way with him as our manager.

There's a good chunk of me that does trust him considering our patterns of play are better and the fact that we won our 1st trophy in years but at the same time I wouldn't be opposed to sacking him if we don't win the fa cup and I'll tell you why.

At bayern Munich and Real Madrid he would be sacked at the end of the season,possibly even after the dubbing to Liverpool or even the sevilla game so why not for us or are we going to keep waiting for 3 years of mediocrity before we pull the trigger then need another rebuild.

At bayern or real if all he could muster up is a 3rd rate trophy which has probably been one of the easiest routes to a final ever with multiple home games,many against average opponents,dumped out of the europaleague to a midtable team,destroyed 7-0 by our biggest rivals and no wins away from home against the top 9 and just about got 4th place he would definitely be sacked at both of these teams and these are the teams we should aspire to be like.

There does seem like a huge air of been here before with him imo. Very similar to previous managers lvg,one,jose. Huge promise,fun times but glaring deficiencies and probably not good enough.
 
He's the right man for the job.

The board should've backs him in January.

The squad is thin with big gaps (eg striker) and big drop offs if starting 11 get injured. This is why the starting 11 are fatigued.
 
croadyman said:
Certainly didn't sound like it in the Erik thread last night,many were proper chucking him under the bus for the away form
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Yeah Croady, but the away form, especially against top half teams, is proper f**king scandalous. Not "mediocre", not "poor", it's actually relegation standard (P9 W0 D1 L8 GF8 GA28 GD -20).

In a thread about the manager, you can't expect people to just not mention it!

It's the much improved home form (which Erik should deservedly be praised for) which has kept us as high as we are in the table. But if he's praised for the home form, then the away form needs to be criticised too, can't have it both ways!

Improving the away performances and results will be one of the main barometers of how Erik will be judged next season.
 
croadyman said:
Certainly didn't sound like it in the Erik thread last night,many were proper chucking him under the bus for the away form
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There are still lots of Jose and Ole fans around who desperately want him to fail, just so they can brag about how we should never have got rid of their boy.
 
I feel for ETH in all honesty. No matter what he would have done we would probably be in the same place due to quality of our depth.

Yes, he didn’t rotate much but we can all see the huge drop in performance when squad players play. 95% of those squad players are not ETH players and most on CAF wanted a purge of these players for many seasons now.

In the circumstances, ETH rotated to the absolute bare minimum and our first choice players are either injured or gassed at this stage. Surprise, surprise. They only played twice or three times a week for couple of months. And you can clearly see this in our passing, decision making etc. which is constantly off.

That’s why we look terrible against sides like Brighton as it is not physically possible for the players to match energy of teams like Brighton who are properly (or, at the very least, better) rested.

I don’t know how people can expect proper press (or even football) from the team in these circumstances. There is a reason why we haven’t seen this much in the second half of the season as compared with the first half.
 
fergiethegoat said:
I believe it could go either way with him as our manager.

There's a good chunk of me that does trust him considering our patterns of play are better and the fact that we won our 1st trophy in years but at the same time I wouldn't be opposed to sacking him if we don't win the fa cup and I'll tell you why.

At bayern Munich and Real Madrid he would be sacked at the end of the season,possibly even after the dubbing to Liverpool or even the sevilla game so why not for us or are we going to keep waiting for 3 years of mediocrity before we pull the trigger then need another rebuild.

At bayern or real if all he could muster up is a 3rd rate trophy which has probably been one of the easiest routes to a final ever with multiple home games,many against average opponents,dumped out of the europaleague to a midtable team,destroyed 7-0 by our biggest rivals and no wins away from home against the top 9 and just about got 4th place he would definitely be sacked at both of these teams and these are the teams we should aspire to be like.

There does seem like a huge air of been here before with him imo. Very similar to previous managers lvg,one,jose. Huge promise,fun times but glaring deficiencies and probably not good enough.
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Bayern & Real do not have years of mismanagement behind them. Further, they are not part of a league where there are multiple state owned clubs.
Removing context and saying Bayern / Real would sack him is surface level thinking.

It is really unfortunate that our fans patience and tolerance has been wasted on previous managers / executives who did not deserve it and now that we finally have the right person in charge, we have no patience left and demand he delivers results (rather exceeds expectations) from the first day.
 
He’s done a superb job with this squad this season. A squad that was on it arse last season, he’s had to keep mainly the same squad with only a back up left back, and a 30 year old on a free transfer ready to start the season. Had we got better results the first two games then I’m not convinced that we’d have signed Casemiro and Antony. In January we had to replace Ronaldo from the free transfer range. Our owners doing what they’ve always done, reacting only when the shite hits the fan.

Some of our football this season has been night and day from the past few years, we’ve looked a proper team especially from around October to end of February. Injuries, suspensions and so many games have taken its toll like most suggested and people are reacting irrationally to it. This season was never going to be perfect but ETH is 100% the man for this club long term.
 
I trust him. However, it has to be said that he makes some very weird decisions quite often, and he is usually late with subs. I also find it a bit annoying how he insists on playing out from the back with Maguire and De Gea in there. We've conceded a fair bunch of goals because of that, and he has to take blame for it.

He's done very good, though. It's not easy to win trophies with this squad. Players that can't control a ball or make a simple pass. It's quite unreal that some of these play for us, really.
 
The question should be - Does Erik trust the club? I guarantee you that if he does not feel that he is fairly backed, he will say it as it is and probably be asked to leave. One of our EPL rivals or the Spanish giants would easily pay out his contract. We need him more than he needs us really.
 
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He's made some dodgy squad decisions and had some dodgy results, but overall it will be good if he secures top 4.

I would like to see him be the first manager post SAF to have the guts and will to persuade the board to sell half these players in the summer instead of just sending a few of them out on loan. If he does that, he will gain a lot of my trust.

We'll never be a top club if we keep hoarding crap.
 
Oscar Bonavena said:
Yeah Croady, but the away form, especially against top half teams, is proper f**king scandalous. Not "mediocre", not "poor", it's actually relegation standard (P9 W0 D1 L8 GF8 GA28 GD -20).

In a thread about the manager, you can't expect people to just not mention it!

It's the much improved home form (which Erik should deservedly be praised for) which has kept us as high as we are in the table. But if he's praised for the home form, then the away form needs to be criticised too, can't have it both ways!

Improving the away performances and results will be one of the main barometers of how Erik will be judged next season.
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I may have misread or I’m imagining things, but in the same thread aren’t we supposedly “5th” on the table for away form? Meaning basically everyone’s struggled on the road this campaign? Could be making that up though.

Of course against only top half teams drastic improvement is needed, especially around the mentality/tactics of the team folding in drubbings to City, Pool, Brentford etc.
 
I trust him, yeah.

Ish said:
I may have misread or I’m imagining things, but in the same thread aren’t we supposedly “5th” on the table for away form? Meaning basically everyone’s struggled on the road this campaign? Could be making that up though.

Of course against only top half teams drastic improvement is needed, especially around the mentality/tactics of the team folding in drubbings to City, Pool, Brentford etc.
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Yep. 4th in the home table. 5th in the away table.
 
I'll judge him when he has his team.

For me, that's going to be a few transfer windows away. Our full strength first team still isn't good enough and he's had one proper transfer window to change it.

When we have a first 11 that he's happy with and options off the bench that are a notch above our current crop.

He has done fine with the tools he's had. He needs backing big time to get rid of what is of no use to us and bring in what is.
 
I think you cant judge him until rhe 2nd season. He came in last summer and had to make decisions 'cold'. Now hes had a season he should know 100% what is and isnt needed player wise. If the new owner back him even 80% then we can judge him next season and see if he can be trusted to take us back to the top.
 
Nick7 said:
I trust him, yeah.


Yep. 4th in the home table. 5th in the away table.
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This doesn’t quite cover the reality.



We have a game in hand on both Liverpool and Arsenal. If we win our next home game (Wolves) then we are joint second with Arsenal, who have been lauded on here as a truly wonderful team. And only 4 points off City in first.
 
I trust him, i like him a lot. Anyone who can spot Maguire is very limited and sidelines him in favour of a fullback at CH gets my vote for a start.
 
Yes. Questioning a few of his decisions doesn't equate with lacking trust in his overall direction.

At the moment the economics of the Antony deal and the continued use of Weghorst are certainly big question marks that make you wonder what he was thinking.

But overall, if he secures top 4 he's had a successful year.
 
I trust him, but not as much as I did 1-2 months ago.

I trust him more than any manager post-SAF, but that's probably not saying much.
 
Definitely a middle ground between trust and blind faith. Erik ten Hag has shown himself to be very sensible in some ways and not so much in other ways. I’m not convinced on his transfer strategy, and I think he will make the same mistake managers before him have done in not culling those who do not fit the football he wants to play.
 
DWelbz19 said:
Definitely a middle ground between trust and blind faith. Erik ten Hag has shown himself to be very sensible in some ways and not so much in other ways. I’m not convinced on his transfer strategy, and I think he will make the same mistake managers before him have done in not culling those who do not fit the football he wants to play.
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I don't think it's as simple as being able to cull those who don't fit his style. I'm sure Eric would love to get rid of 5 or 6 players instantly and replace them with those whom he does like, but so many players are on fat contracts and unwilling to move unless we pay them off. Or if we do manage to get some money for them, it's not enough to buy a better replacement because we're simply not fantastic and getting decent money for players we don't want to keep.

I think we need to see at least another year, possibly two before we start to see how ETH really wants to play - we're simply not going to be able to buy a sweeper keeper to replace DDG / elite striker / RB / CM that he needs this transfer window.
 
We need an rvn said:
I don't think it's as simple as being able to cull those who don't fit his style. I'm sure Eric would love to get rid of 5 or 6 players instantly and replace them with those whom he does like, but so many players are on fat contracts and unwilling to move unless we pay them off. Or if we do manage to get some money for them, it's not enough to buy a better replacement because we're simply not fantastic and getting decent money for players we don't want to keep.

I think we need to see at least another year, possibly two before we start to see how ETH really wants to play - we're simply not going to be able to buy a sweeper keeper to replace DDG / elite striker / RB / CM that he needs this transfer window.
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Oh I completely agree - it’s a phenomenal struggle to get rid of these vastly overpaid players, but I also think he needs to be more ruthless. I also agree he’ll probably need a lot longer to truly put his mark on the side — he just won’t get that time if he retains a lot of these players in the interim - the poor results will get him sacked. We’ve seen it happen time and time again.
 
I think you just need to look at Pep and Klopp and the struggles they had earlier on with players they didn’t fancy and the adaptation to the premier league.
I honestly believe that Ten Hag can win the title with United, he just needs to be backed and given time.
 
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