Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24

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slored1 said:
Incredibly disappointed in him. I know he had nothing to do with his suspension in the first place, but for a man who is strict on team spirit and atmosphere, he now has a tendency to support vile human beings because they can kick a ball well (Promes, Greenwood).
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He is a pragmatist and a winner, nowt wrong with that.
 
We’re defending well, and we now have a modern keeper to help grease the attacking gears, but our progression dies when the front line is engaged. I don’t have a great solution to propose, but until Hojlund is ready to take the stage I’d start Sancho over Garnacho. What to do with Rashford is a close call, but for me he’s far more effective on the left, so Sancho in the middle.
 
Sir Alex continued to play Giggs after the world found out he was sleeping with his sister in law for several years. Are you going to pile on Sir Alex now too?

If you’re using professional football as a barometer for moral authority in society then I suggest you take a hard look at yourselves and the choices you’re making in life. Football is about profits and winning. Ten Hag could give a feck what you think, he wants to deliver success to ensure he leaves a winner.
 
I do find the apparent lack of style of play a little concerning. I'd have thought that by now between him and the coaching staff, that we would be much better in possession and keeping the ball than we are. If clubs like Brighton (and I mean zero disrespect to them) can coach players who came up from the Championship (Dunk, March, etc.) and find players who they bring in capable of playing such fantastic football, then surely a club of our size should be able to either provide a similar level of coaching or be able to identify players capable. A lot seems to be made of, "if we signed FdJ it would be different", but he is not the only player on the plant capable of making a pass and suitable to a possession based system.

I appreciate our best player, Bruno, is not necessarily a player best suited for such a system and he is all risk versus reward, but that doesn't have to be the case for the rest of the team. I'm not vouching for us to pass teams to death, but I expect us to be able to dominate games of football against 'weaker' opposition, especially this season. There were a number of games last season where we barley laid a glove on the opposition - that, for me, can't continue into this season as well, or we'll continue to get hammered against better opposition.
 
Giggsy13 said:
Sir Alex continued to play Giggs after the world found out he was sleeping with his sister in law for several years. Are you going to pile on Sir Alex now too?

If you’re using professional football as a barometer for moral authority in society then I suggest you take a hard look at yourselves and the choices you’re making in life. Football is about profits and winning. Ten Hag could give a feck what you think, he wants to deliver success to ensure he leaves a winner.
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I've never understood this. I don't see why people look to celebrities to be some sort of moral compass for them. They are people just like the rest of us and their chosen professions shouldn't make anyone think they are good people. Look at Hollywood and all the weirdos and creeps involved there. If we are basing our morals on what these people do or say then I think it reflects extremely poorly on society and like I said I've never understood it.
 
slored1 said:
Incredibly disappointed in him. I know he had nothing to do with his suspension in the first place, but for a man who is strict on team spirit and atmosphere, he now has a tendency to support vile human beings because they can kick a ball well (Promes, Greenwood).
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There is two things, your speculating based what The Athletic says and Greenwood isn't deffo back yet.

- As the statement says there is lot of context and evidence not in the public domain, maybe we will find out what that is, maybe we won't but with a dropped CPS case and the club doing a taking a long time to investigate, if their is context that supports him coming back then so be it.

- It ultimately sits with Arnold.
 
McGrathsipan said:
Rashford gets away with murder. He's an egomaniac - does it when it suits him and goes in slow motion otherwise

ETH gives him a free ride I think
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He literally got dropped and fined for being 45 seconds late to the team bus. Hardly a free ride (pun aside).
 
Relfy said:
I do find the apparent lack of style of play a little concerning. I'd have thought that by now between him and the coaching staff, that we would be much better in possession and keeping the ball than we are. If clubs like Brighton (and I mean zero disrespect to them) can coach players who came up from the Championship (Dunk, March, etc.) and find players who they bring in capable of playing such fantastic football, then surely a club of our size should be able to either provide a similar level of coaching or be able to identify players capable. A lot seems to be made of, "if we signed FdJ it would be different", but he is not the only player on the plant capable of making a pass and suitable to a possession based system.

I appreciate our best player, Bruno, is not necessarily a player best suited for such a system and he is all risk versus reward, but that doesn't have to be the case for the rest of the team. I'm not vouching for us to pass teams to death, but I expect us to be able to dominate games of football against 'weaker' opposition, especially this season. There were a number of games last season where we barley laid a glove on the opposition - that, for me, can't continue into this season as well, or we'll continue to get hammered against better opposition.
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I think bolded is fair. Monday's game in particular, whilst you can see we are clearly being coached into a setup with Shaw inverting etc. It's strange to lose the ball 81 times. Because I'm not a professional footballer, I wonder is that something that you can improve with coaching. It makes no sense to me how professional footballer's can have such awful first touches, or not be able to pass the ball in a straight line. So in some aspects you can clearly see the impact of the coaches, but in other's we are still heavily lacking. The coming games will be interesting to see if this was a one-off or a sign of issues.
 
Hal9000 said:
There is two things, your speculating based what The Athletic says and Greenwood isn't deffo back yet.

- As the statement says there is lot of context and evidence not in the public domain, maybe we will find out what that is, maybe we won't but with a dropped CPS case and the club doing a taking a long time to investigate, if their is context that supports him coming back then so be it.

- It ultimately sits with Arnold.
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They need to show it, because the context that currently is out there and has been for months paints a picture, they cannot expect for people to believe them when they say "trust us there's more context" and not show it
 
Relfy said:
I do find the apparent lack of style of play a little concerning. I'd have thought that by now between him and the coaching staff, that we would be much better in possession and keeping the ball than we are. If clubs like Brighton (and I mean zero disrespect to them) can coach players who came up from the Championship (Dunk, March, etc.) and find players who they bring in capable of playing such fantastic football, then surely a club of our size should be able to either provide a similar level of coaching or be able to identify players capable. A lot seems to be made of, "if we signed FdJ it would be different", but he is not the only player on the plant capable of making a pass and suitable to a possession based system.

I appreciate our best player, Bruno, is not necessarily a player best suited for such a system and he is all risk versus reward, but that doesn't have to be the case for the rest of the team. I'm not vouching for us to pass teams to death, but I expect us to be able to dominate games of football against 'weaker' opposition, especially this season. There were a number of games last season where we barley laid a glove on the opposition - that, for me, can't continue into this season as well, or we'll continue to get hammered against better opposition.
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It's been one game so we don't really know how we'll shape up. But the point regarding Brighton is a bit more nuanced. For one thing they've had a continuous spell of being coached by progressive managers since 2019 (Potter taking over) and they've got a much more coherent hierarchy behind the scenes which is evident for all to see. Add to that they've not had the insane schedule we've had with the Europa League (this season will be interesting for them, and Newcastle in that regard) nor are they burdened by the expectation. So plenty of factors. That being said, they are a fantastically well run club and we still have the same set of owners who gave Woodward permission to burn through a billion pounds with absolutely nothing to show for it and stack the squad with underperforming players on inflated contracts that requires magicians it seems to shift out of the club.

Last season we definitely did look like a side at times that could overpower teams and it was the first time since SAF that happened, if I recall. The issues we're currently dealing with are the midfield that has been speculated on by every journalist around, the team getting used to having a GK who can play, waiting for our #9 to get fit, and our lack of physicality. So some recruitment issues, which may point to the hierarchy not being ahead of the curve and just going with the manager's wishlist, and some settling in period.

There were two matches in pre-season that looked quite good tactically, one being against Arsenal with a midfield of Mount-Mainoo-Mejbri and against Lens which was the team against Wolves with Dalot in for AWB. Admittedly, pre-season and Lens were maybe not as far along as Wolves in their fitness building, but that disaster performance against Wolves may be a one off.

edit: it wasn't Mejbri, it was Bruno against Arsenal.
 
L1nk said:
They need to show it, because the context that currently is out there and has been for months paints a picture, they cannot expect for people to believe them when they say "trust us there's more context" and not show it
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I'm sure once it's been confirmed, and various people see the reports/evidence it'll either leak or maybe MG would give context himself.
 
slored1 said:
Incredibly disappointed in him. I know he had nothing to do with his suspension in the first place, but for a man who is strict on team spirit and atmosphere, he now has a tendency to support vile human beings because they can kick a ball well (Promes, Greenwood).
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You're making the assumption that the dressing room is against Greenwood's return but there's no evidence of that. Yeah the reaction from some fans and the media will be a concern, but I think privately most people at the club would be happy to have a top goal-scorer come back into the team.
 
Be interesting to see if he persists with the same midfield against Spurs. Didn't seem like it was working at all.
 
slored1 said:
Incredibly disappointed in him. I know he had nothing to do with his suspension in the first place, but for a man who is strict on team spirit and atmosphere, he now has a tendency to support vile human beings because they can kick a ball well (Promes, Greenwood).
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Not unique when it comes to football managers, unfortunately. Here’s an example involving an all-round good guy doing it.

https://thesportsrush.com/ole-gunna...-a-player-accused-of-rape-back-in-norway/?amp
 
Howl said:
I've never understood this. I don't see why people look to celebrities to be some sort of moral compass for them. They are people just like the rest of us and their chosen professions shouldn't make anyone think they are good people. Look at Hollywood and all the weirdos and creeps involved there. If we are basing our morals on what these people do or say then I think it reflects extremely poorly on society and like I said I've never understood it.
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Not sure what you mean here? I never said I look up to Ten Hag, just that I am disappointed in his willingness to support and use a player accused of committing crimes (multiple instances of that now).
 
astracrazy said:
It's not, there have been numerous posts explaining how our transfer policy now works.
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There can be a huge difference between how the process works de-jure (and how it is described to journalists) and how it works de-facto taking into account the power dynamics between decision-makers. Our actual transfers suggest that it might be that multiple people with input on transfers tend (for whatever reason) not to overrule EtH/defer to him whereas formally following the “club policy on transfer committee” or whatever they are of course supposed to form a in independent opinion. I just cannot imagine that everybody though it was ok to splash that much on Antony, I mean hindsight and all that but still…
 
Giggsy13 said:
Sir Alex continued to play Giggs after the world found out he was sleeping with his sister in law for several years. Are you going to pile on Sir Alex now too?

If you’re using professional football as a barometer for moral authority in society then I suggest you take a hard look at yourselves and the choices you’re making in life. Football is about profits and winning. Ten Hag could give a feck what you think, he wants to deliver success to ensure he leaves a winner.
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I just don't understand people who expect a football club to be a moral barometer.

These guys are professionals who are paid to ensure they win football matches. That's it! Nothing more, nothing less.

Unless you are a kid who believes football clubs stand for the fancy phrases they make like " Mes qué, un club" or "You'll never walk alone", I don't understand the outrage directed towards the club.

It is the judiciary's job to convict guilty individuals, not the football club's.
 
Rhyme Animal said:
What!? What is this based on?

He seems like a very balanced young man and a cool guy to me.
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That's my opinion based on what I see and his body language. He doesn't have the appearance of someone that will run through walls for his team

It's OK if you disagree.
 
slored1 said:
Incredibly disappointed in him. I know he had nothing to do with his suspension in the first place, but for a man who is strict on team spirit and atmosphere, he now has a tendency to support vile human beings because they can kick a ball well (Promes, Greenwood).
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Yeah must admit today’s news has made lose so much for EtH and the club in general.
It was the easiest decision in the world and they fecked it up.
 
Very few of those players got even one 90 minute appearance under their belts in pre-season. The tour to the USA was more about making money than preparing for the season.

Why are so many looking to jump on the manager after one poor performance?

Those who seem to want him sacked already, who is the next saviour going to be? How will they fare any better under the glazernomic conditions in the transfer market?
 
Howl said:
I've never understood this. I don't see why people look to celebrities to be some sort of moral compass for them. They are people just like the rest of us and their chosen professions shouldn't make anyone think they are good people. Look at Hollywood and all the weirdos and creeps involved there. If we are basing our morals on what these people do or say then I think it reflects extremely poorly on society and like I said I've never understood it.
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Imo I disagree with you here because we want our kids growing up to be good people and seeing celebrities doing good around them and shows young kids/adults this is the correct way of living. There is a lot of sick young and older people out there thinking “oh he or she did that, it must be alright then so”

Todays news all boils down to a footballing decision at the end of the day, the rest of just noise.
 
slored1 said:
Not sure what you mean here? I never said I look up to Ten Hag, just that I am disappointed in his willingness to support and use a player accused of committing crimes (multiple instances of that now).
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Huh? I never replied to you. I was just making a comment on how people use celebrities as moral compasses. Are you replying to the right comment?

I personally don't like to get into the moral argument about MG because it has nothing to do with me, and quite frankly as far as the case is (was) concerned we as the public knew jack all. Everyone is making comments based on a moral stand but know realistically no facets of the case. We saw a couple of pictures, a 50 second snippet of a 12 minute long recording, and another short video. Personally for me, that's not enough to condemn someone because I've seen the power of photoshop firsthand, as well as selective photos and videos. I am an investigator for work and I've had it before where people will show me selective evidence which makes themselves look innocent. The club might have (probably) more information than we do. My personal opinion on him has never changed and it is that he is a moron. He's a moron if he did it, and he's a moron if he didn't but hangs around people who would jeopardize his future. Either way he's a moron. As far as the club is concerned as well, as soon as the charges were dropped the club most likely lost any justification to rip up his contract. They also can't force him to leave either. It's a lot of money to keep paying a player to have zero return.
 
Howl said:
Huh? I never replied to you. I was just making a comment on how people use celebrities as moral compasses. Are you replying to the right comment?

I personally don't like to get into the moral argument about MG because it has nothing to do with me, and quite frankly as far as the case is (was) concerned we as the public knew jack all. Everyone is making comments based on a moral stand but know realistically no facets of the case. We saw a couple of pictures, a 50 second snippet of a 12 minute long recording, and another short video. Personally for me, that's not enough to condemn someone because I've seen the power of photoshop firsthand, as well as selective photos and videos. I am an investigator for work and I've had it before where people will show me selective evidence which makes themselves look innocent. The club might have (probably) more information than we do. My personal opinion on him has never changed and it is that he is a moron. He's a moron if he did it, and he's a moron if he didn't but hangs around people who would jeopardize his future. Either way he's a moron. As far as the club is concerned as well, as soon as the charges were dropped the club most likely lost any justification to rip up his contract. They also can't force him to leave either. It's a lot of money to keep paying a player to have zero return.
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You saying she photoshopped the images? ok.
 
united_99 said:
Somehow he has made Mount a signing you can’t miss out on. Like he was some special talent/player. At least in the past when we made signings like this when other positions were more urgently needed, it were special/top players like RvP or Berbatov. And Fergie loved his strikers and knew how to create chances for them. So it still made sense.
Either Mount works out for him as most likely he will keep playing him even if this means playing others out of position, or it will be his downfall as a manager here.
But all is not lost yet. Probably too late this summer, but our next big signing needs to be a CM, a proper 8 (not a 10 who ETH thinks he can play as 8), even if we have to pay around 100 mil, we need to get this kind of player. Mount and Co. will still get enough games, so all good (hopefully).

Even Newcastle have the midfield balance right. They are mostly hard to beat, they are rarely overrun in midfield and now they have also started scoring goals regularly.
So shouldn’t be that difficult for us with the money spent.
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I think ETH has enough credit in the bank should the Mount transfer not work. Now if the Mount, Anthony and Hojland transfers are all a flop, then there may be an issue, especially given that is 200mil of transfers.

I don't love the Mount signing because I think he only had one good season under Lampard, but we do have to give him some time.

Agree, we need a proper number 8.
 
What happens if he who mustn't be named is brought back into the fold as he's been championed by ten Hag, but then ten Hag gets sacked? Do we only appoint a manager willing to work with said player?
 
If we lose to Spurs, thread title should be changed to Erik nine Hag

One less with every league defeat to a rival and then... he is out
 
One common trait each team has had since SAF left is that any sight of success and they relax and drop off as if they have made it...see post Carabao Cup form.

I hope EtH gave them a mini rollicking for that performance against Wolves.
 
pascell said:
What happens if he who mustn't be named is brought back into the fold as he's been championed by ten Hag, but then ten Hag gets sacked? Do we only appoint a manager willing to work with said player?
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Generally speaking to bring players in/back or to get rid should be a club decision.
The manager(s) should provide input based on each player’s ability and suitability to the team/system.
ETH has done nothing wrong here. He would be lying to his employer if he said he doesn’t see great ability in a talented player. And I am sure if he is sacked there will be enough good managers interested in managing us (regardless of certain players we may or may not have).
 
Seriously hope we get battered and everyone boos the feck out of both EtH and the player if he ever sets foot on the pitch.

Disgusting.
 
Top said:
Seriously hope we get battered and everyone boos the feck out of both EtH and the player if he ever sets foot on the pitch.

Disgusting.
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Do you seriously think clubs and other managers in big clubs are much better than that anyway?
 
The overreaction to a start of season bad performance in a game we won.

Remember losing to Brighton and then losing 4-0 to Brentford last season? Nothing about either of those matches ended up reflecting anything - good or bad - about our season overall, or even about the next couple of months.
 
Amar__ said:
Do you seriously think clubs and other managers in big clubs are much better than that anyway?
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I don’t fecking care about other clubs, this is the club I have supported for over 30 years and I have never been this disgusted before.

Vile.
 
Top said:
I don’t fecking care about other clubs, this is the club I have supported for over 30 years and I have never been this disgusted before.

Vile.
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I understand why are you disgusted, and I agree with that, I lost lot of love for this club, however it's really not something that makes us worse than others and that makes me want us to lose games against already bad clubs around us, in modern football that's full of bad things anyway.

I am pretty sure Ronaldo is pretty much proven rapist and I don't think single club or his national team ever thought of banning him from playing for them. Benzema, Ribery, etc.

If you feel like that about the club, then you shouldn't probably enjoy football in general either.
 
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