Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24

[Plant0x84]

We’re 6th with a GD of 0, 8 points from 5th and 11 from 4th

Yes we are. Probably didn’t expect Villa to get their shit together like they have or for Ange to have such an impact at spurs.

We came in last in our CL group

Our goalkeeper was adjusting to a new team/country. He had a few stinkers and it cost us.

We’ve lost 11 matches in the league.

So have Bournemouth yet many sing Iraolas praises. Same for Wolves and O’Neill. Newcastle has lost 12 and are supposedly the new force in the PL. Doesn’t really prove anything.

We have a -6.8 xGD

What does that even mean?

We are 14th in goals scored with only 40, our worst showing post SAF.

We have 1 young striker who has been in and out of the side with injuries throughout the season, and in and out of form. Again he is adjusting to a new league and country. We probably don’t play much like Atalanta and he wasn’t the main man there. This is a whole new level for the lad.

We’ve given up 495 shots in the league so far, 3rd most after Luton and Sheffield.

Is that by design? Carl Anka thinks so. We aren’t conceding a lot of goals, so we must be defending effectively?

It goes on and on.

And so do you
If nothing else this shows there are 2 side to every aspect of this season, and just because it has been undeniably poor doesn’t automatically mean it’s the managers sole responsibility. There is every chance without Erik’s (and his coaches) efforts this year we would be in a much worse position. Look at Chelsea for example.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Yes we are. Probably didn’t expect Villa to get their shit together like they have or for Ange to have such an impact at spurs.
Our goalkeeper was adjusting to a new team/country. He had a few stinkers and it cost us.
So have Bournemouth yet many sing Iraolas praises. Same for Wolves and O’Neill. Newcastle has lost 12 and are supposedly the new force in the PL. Doesn’t really prove anything.
What does that even mean?
We have 1 young striker who has been in and out of the side with injuries throughout the season, and in and out of form. Again he is adjusting to a new league and country. We probably don’t play much like Atalanta and he wasn’t the main man there. This is a whole new level for the lad.
Is that by design? Carl Anka thinks so. We aren’t conceding a lot of goals, so we must be defending effectively?
And so do you

So much wrong with many of these responses, but the cherry on top is agreeing with Carl Anka and not knowing what negative xGD is yet saying we are defending effectively

 

[Plant0x84]

So much wrong with many of these responses, but the cherry on top is agreeing with Carl Anka and not knowing what negative xGD is yet saying we are defending effectively

Glad you enjoyed my post. I’m here to entertain.
What’s so bad about agreeing with Carl Anka? We aren’t conceding a ton of goals even with all these shots, so really what difference does it make? We must be doing something right, cos Onana isn’t facing a ton of shots/making a ton of saves either?!

 

[mu4c_20le]

Who determines right or wrong though. Who are we to say if ETH isn't already doing a miracle job keeping this lot out of the relegation zone.

 

[Plant0x84]

Who determines right or wrong though. Who are we to say if ETH isn't already doing a miracle job keeping this lot out of the relegation zone.

Exactly. I’m convinced Ole was much more important to the team performance than he was given credit for, and I think Erik is the same. It’s a measure of just how messed up the club is internally.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Glad you enjoyed my post. I’m here to entertain.
What’s so bad about agreeing with Carl Anka? We aren’t conceding a ton of goals even with all these shots, so really what difference does it make? We must be doing something right, cos Onana isn’t facing a ton of shots/making a ton of saves either?!

Is this a WUM? Or do you just not bother to fact check anything? Onana has made the 5th most saves in the entire league.

 

[Plant0x84]

Is this a WUM? Or do you just not bother to fact check anything? Onana has made the 5th most saves in the entire league.

Do I look like a fat Spanish waiter to you?!

 

[Iker Quesadillas]

We aren’t conceding a ton of goals even with all these shots, so really what difference does it make?

United's current GA/game ratio (1.38) is the third-worst in the last 10 seasons, only better than the Ole-Rangnick season and the Mourinho-Ole season.

 

[croadyman]

Skysports claim they want him.
Unfinished business?

https://www.skysports.com/amp/footb...gelsmann-top-candidates-for-bayern-munich-job

Feck off and take De Zerbi instead,wasn’t our fault you realised it was wrong to sack him

 

[Plant0x84]

Feck off and take De Zerbi instead,wasn’t our fault you realised it was wrong to sack him

I think de Zerbi will go to Liverpool.

 

[Plant0x84]

United's current GA/game ratio (1.38) is the third-worst in the last 10 seasons, only better than the Ole-Rangnick season and the Mourinho-Ole season.

Glass half full, it’s not the worst!

 

[Dazzmondo]

The medical and coaching teams are both to blame for this (including ETH). The players are clearly not being given the rest they need and are being overtrained. You don't get this amount of injuries otherwise. I'm not sure if the medical team are advising ETH and the coaching team to reduce the intensity of the training and ETH is refusing to listen, or if the medical team are simply not doing a good job in the recuperation process and are not giving accurate recommendations for recovery time.

Whatever the reality, this is not bad luck. This is the direct result of ignoring sports science, and we deserve every bit of the consequences. Hopefully, INEOS and the new sporting directors will address this and put their foot down if the manager (whoever they are) isn't listening to the medical tests.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Glass half full, it’s not the worst!

This is how standards erode.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Who determines right or wrong though. Who are we to say if ETH isn't already doing a miracle job keeping this lot out of the relegation zone.

This is nonsensical.

I mean some of you have to be wumming at this point.

 

[Plant0x84]

This is how standards erode.

Why so serious?

 

[Dazzmondo]

Glad you enjoyed my post. I’m here to entertain.
What’s so bad about agreeing with Carl Anka? We aren’t conceding a ton of goals even with all these shots, so really what difference does it make? We must be doing something right, cos Onana isn’t facing a ton of shots/making a ton of saves either?!

There are only 2 goalkeepers in the league who have made more saves than Onana this season - Kaminski (Luton) and Areola (West Ham)

What you've said is demonstrably false.

 

[FootballAI]

This is what happens when you engage in the derivative debates in this thread. End up down a dead end and have absolutely no idea what the point of it all is.

If you want to feel better about how god awful a manager ETH is by bashing Ole's signings, fine. Just like ETH, Ole was a terrible manager and made terrible signings. But my point was you should rate signings based on what the managers wanted at the time, not abstract concepts like "progressive football" that no one at the club had a clue about in 2019, and actually still haven't got a clue about now based on ETH's signings and flailing about wildly between, what could generously be called, styles of play. None of which have been progressive so far.

My money is on ETH getting fired by end of this season. Billionaires like SJR won't spend a dime unless they already identify the root of the problems and solve it first. It makes no sense for him to spend a few hundred mil more on ETH's philosophy then risk seeing another season looking like this. I bet not just ETH but we will see the last game of a good number of players by end of this campaign.

Regardless of prediction, I really feel bad for ETH this season considering the number of injuries in some of the key positions within the team. However, people will pass judgement on him based on the style of football that we display regardless of who is or is not available on the pitch

 

[FortunaUtd]

Yes we are. Probably didn’t expect Villa to get their shit together like they have or for Ange to have such an impact at spurs.
Our goalkeeper was adjusting to a new team/country. He had a few stinkers and it cost us.
So have Bournemouth yet many sing Iraolas praises. Same for Wolves and O’Neill. Newcastle has lost 12 and are supposedly the new force in the PL. Doesn’t really prove anything.
What does that even mean?
We have 1 young striker who has been in and out of the side with injuries throughout the season, and in and out of form. Again he is adjusting to a new league and country. We probably don’t play much like Atalanta and he wasn’t the main man there. This is a whole new level for the lad.
Is that by design? Carl Anka thinks so. We aren’t conceding a lot of goals, so we must be defending effectively?
And so do you
If nothing else this shows there are 2 side to every aspect of this season, and just because it has been undeniably poor doesn’t automatically mean it’s the managers sole responsibility. There is every chance without Erik’s (and his coaches) efforts this year we would be in a much worse position. Look at Chelsea for example.

This happy, wummy tone of yours is really weird and also quite obnoxious. The fact we lost as many games as Bournemouth and Wolves "doesn't really prove anything"? Are you trolling? Or why do you not seem to be bothered by how poor we are doing?

 

[Vidooq]

Again, do we seriously dont have a fitness coach? I just can believe this to be true.

 

[pocco]

This happy, wummy tone of yours is really weird and also quite obnoxious. The fact we lost as many games as Bournemouth and Wolves "doesn't really prove anything"? Are you trolling? Or why do you not seem to be bothered by how poor we are doing?

Got to be a possible scouser at this stage.

 

[DSG]

Getting Martinez continually injured is the biggest sackable offence. Like what is he doing?

If he's not ready he's not ready...

The Ten Hag in crowd has really latched on to Lisandro being so critical to Ten Hag’s tactics, he’s reached Virgil Van Dyke territory. Licha is good, probably our most consistent performer at CB and I love his temperament, but he may not even be among the 10 best CBs in the league. We’ve given up 22 goals and scored 18 with him in the side this season…

Let’s agree to be a little more nuanced with our analysis.

 

[DSG]

Yes we are. Probably didn’t expect Villa to get their shit together like they have or for Ange to have such an impact at spurs.
Our goalkeeper was adjusting to a new team/country. He had a few stinkers and it cost us.
So have Bournemouth yet many sing Iraolas praises. Same for Wolves and O’Neill. Newcastle has lost 12 and are supposedly the new force in the PL. Doesn’t really prove anything.
What does that even mean?
We have 1 young striker who has been in and out of the side with injuries throughout the season, and in and out of form. Again he is adjusting to a new league and country. We probably don’t play much like Atalanta and he wasn’t the main man there. This is a whole new level for the lad.
Is that by design? Carl Anka thinks so. We aren’t conceding a lot of goals, so we must be defending effectively?
And so do you
If nothing else this shows there are 2 side to every aspect of this season, and just because it has been undeniably poor doesn’t automatically mean it’s the managers sole responsibility. There is every chance without Erik’s (and his coaches) efforts this year we would be in a much worse position. Look at Chelsea for example.

Mate, it’s just a ton of excuses. Seriously. I agree, there are two sides to this: Reality (Ten Hag is a mediocre manager) and pipe dream (greatest manager alive). Don’t let your desire for Ten Hag to be our savior make you blind to what is pretty damning results and statistical evidence that he’s not…

 

[pocco]

Again, do we seriously dont have a fitness coach? I just can believe this to be true.

The thing is that, all season it seems we've been desperate to rush players back. As soon as they're fit, they're straight back in. Martinez the other night, just back from yet anther injury and is thrown in cold. It's happened with him previously at the end of last season, it's happened with Shaw and Casemiro etc. And they don't last 2 minutes. This is because Ten Hag is desperate and he's sacrificing their careers and health to try and save his job.

And there's been talk of the players being unhappy with the amount of running they do, which they apparently believe is leaving them jaded on match days and prone to injury. How true that is, I don't know.

The best thing our fitness team can do is figure out a date for a players return and add 2 weeks minimum to what they tell Ten Hag, because he can't help himself.

 

[DSG]

Glad you enjoyed my post. I’m here to entertain.
What’s so bad about agreeing with Carl Anka? We aren’t conceding a ton of goals even with all these shots, so really what difference does it make? We must be doing something right, cos Onana isn’t facing a ton of shots/making a ton of saves either?!

United's current GA/game ratio (1.38) is the third-worst in the last 10 seasons, only better than the Ole-Rangnick season and the Mourinho-Ole season.

Is that including CL or just PL? I think if you include the CL, League Cup and FA cup it may be damn near the worst since before SAF. Probably more like 1.6 or 1.7 per game.

So, yeah, we are conceding a lot of goals against subpar competition.

I mean hell, who needs facts when you’re into blind faith.

 

[JeffFromHK]

We signed a highly rated Head of Sports Medicine from Arsenal last summer.

Why is Gary O’Driscoll highly rated? Arsenal didn't have good record of injuries during his tenure (ironically, they have got much better this season) and his arrival coincides with our poor injury record this year

 

[croadyman]

Yet more injured defenders

What is the root cause? Poor rehab? ETH rushing players back to try and save his job? Training programmes?

I also link the looking gassed after 20 minutes into this, as I think this and the injuries are closely linked

I can't believe so many players have suddenly become injury prone. It's completely unacceptable. ETH can now hide behind the multiple injuries excuse

Hangover from last season and the ridiculous number of games? It happened to Liverpool last season after their Europa campaign.

I hope this is getting seriously investigated because it's costing us massively. Imagine if we were competing on multiple fronts?

Yeah and these injuries will probably mean INEOS feel sorry for him and delay their decision until the end of season. By which point scousers will probably have agreed deal for Amorim/De Zerbi and Nagelsmann returns to Bayern. Basically we get left with whatever crumbs are left on the manager table.

 

[Borys]

To be honest, considering the way we play (chaos football, basketball games, conceding record number of shots every game), I wouldn't be surprised if we finished the season with no actual defenders. No wonder the only guy who can match that intensity is Dalot, probably the fittest player in the squad.

 

[miliebrowndivorceattorney]

To be honest, considering the way we play (chaos football, basketball games, conceding record number of shots every game), I wouldn't be surprised if we finished the season with no actual defenders. No wonder the only guy who can match that intensity is Dalot, probably the fittest player in the squad.

Actual defending, parking the bus and have the opposition let go at Onana isn't supposed to involve any running, is it?

Dalot, Rashford, Bruno, Garnacho, McTominay, Kwambala they all seem to cope quite well with the intensity and "mad Ten Hags'' training regime.

The injuries are a real bummer. The season is finished and if we manage to keep hold of P6 would be a miracle. Maybe the FA should start to think about making squad selection a bit bigger or implement emergency measures. Maybe United's current defender mess will allow United to get a new player? But this injury mess cannot be on Ten Hag. Probably saves his job for at least the summer even if we play like against Brentford the next 8 games. I have good hopes we won't.

 

[Borys]

Actual defending, parking the bus and have the opposition let go at Onana isn't supposed to involve any running, is it?

Dalot, Rashford, Bruno, Garnacho, McTominay, Kwambala they all seem to cope quite well with the intensity and "mad Ten Hags'' training regime.

The injuries are a real bummer. The season is finished and if we manage to keep hold of P6 would be a miracle. Maybe the FA should start to think about making squad selection a bit bigger or implement emergency measures. Maybe United's current defender mess will allow United to get a new player? But this injury mess cannot be on Ten Hag. Probably saves his job for at least the summer even if we play like against Brentford the next 8 games. I have good hopes we won't.

We don't park the bus though, we seem to run all over the pitch starting from "high press", then through open midfield, ending up with defenders doing last-ditch tackles and saves. Honestly, this intensity has to take it's toll.

 

[crossy1686]

Again, do we seriously dont have a fitness coach? I just can believe this to be true.

What exactly do you think a fitness coach does?

 

[BenitoSTARR]

United's current GA/game ratio (1.38) is the third-worst in the last 10 seasons, only better than the Ole-Rangnick season and the Mourinho-Ole season.

So despite having the worst defensive injury crisis I think we’ve ever had, let’s now view this in the context of what the rest of the leagues like:

Spurs 1.47
Villa 1.40

Everyone else is worse apart from City, Liverpool and Arsenal?

So what exactly is your point here?

 

[stevoc]

Yes we are. Probably didn’t expect Villa to get their shit together like they have or for Ange to have such an impact at spurs.
Our goalkeeper was adjusting to a new team/country. He had a few stinkers and it cost us.
So have Bournemouth yet many sing Iraolas praises. Same for Wolves and O’Neill. Newcastle has lost 12 and are supposedly the new force in the PL. Doesn’t really prove anything.
What does that even mean?
We have 1 young striker who has been in and out of the side with injuries throughout the season, and in and out of form. Again he is adjusting to a new league and country. We probably don’t play much like Atalanta and he wasn’t the main man there. This is a whole new level for the lad.
Is that by design? Carl Anka thinks so. We aren’t conceding a lot of goals, so we must be defending effectively?
And so do you
If nothing else this shows there are 2 side to every aspect of this season, and just because it has been undeniably poor doesn’t automatically mean it’s the managers sole responsibility. There is every chance without Erik’s (and his coaches) efforts this year we would be in a much worse position. Look at Chelsea for example.

Ah right so that explains our poor league position this season then, we're exactly where Ten Hag planned on us being but he just didn't account for other teams doing better. Well that's ok then sign him up to a new deal, I'm sure our league position next season will be much better as next time he'll remember there are other teams in the league who can improve.

 

[Lay]

Wait, Martinez is injured again!?

He didn't even look close to fitness against Brentford.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

Wait, Martinez is injured again!?

He didn't even look close to fitness against Brentford.

He came on as 2nd CB sub. I think that tells you how ready he was.

 

[Berbaclass]

He came on as 2nd CB sub. I think that tells you how ready he was.

Yeah, should have just put Kambwala on.

 

[P-Nut]

The Ten Hag in crowd has really latched on to Lisandro being so critical to Ten Hag’s tactics, he’s reached Virgil Van Dyke territory. Licha is good, probably our most consistent performer at CB and I love his temperament, but he may not even be among the 10 best CBs in the league. We’ve given up 22 goals and scored 18 with him in the side this season…

Let’s agree to be a little more nuanced with our analysis.

That can't be true, I feel like he's played 4 games this season

 

[Sarni]

Actual defending, parking the bus and have the opposition let go at Onana isn't supposed to involve any running, is it?

Dalot, Rashford, Bruno, Garnacho, McTominay, Kwambala they all seem to cope quite well with the intensity and "mad Ten Hags'' training regime.

The injuries are a real bummer. The season is finished and if we manage to keep hold of P6 would be a miracle. Maybe the FA should start to think about making squad selection a bit bigger or implement emergency measures. Maybe United's current defender mess will allow United to get a new player? But this injury mess cannot be on Ten Hag. Probably saves his job for at least the summer even if we play like against Brentford the next 8 games. I have good hopes we won't.

He doesn’t even play.

Also, excusing that Brentford game because Martinez and Shaw are out is funny. How low are ETH’s fanatics expectations towards him?

 

[stefan92]

So despite having the worst defensive injury crisis I think we’ve ever had, let’s now view this in the context of what the rest of the leagues like:

Spurs 1.47
Villa 1.40

Everyone else is worse apart from City, Liverpool and Arsenal?

So what exactly is your point here?

I'm truly baffled at how easily fans like you just accept United being on a similar level to Spurs and Villa. United should be miles ahead of both clubs.

Even then this is telling just half the truth, because those two clubs have a very similar GA ratio as United, but score 50% more goals than United does. Which results in them having 20% more points.

 

[BenitoSTARR]

I'm truly baffled at how easily fans like you just accept United being on a similar level to Spurs and Villa. United should be miles ahead of both clubs.

Even then this is telling just half the truth, because those two clubs have a very similar GA ratio as United, but score 50% more goals than United does. Which results in them having 20% more points.

I agree in a normal season we should be able to compete for the top 4.

The poster was only being critical of our goals against record.

I agree we need to score more and concede less. But please explain how to do that with an 18/19 year old winger, a 20/21 year old forward, a midfield missing it’s only defensive midfielder regularly and it’s two player’s capable of receiving between the lines (Mainoo start of season/Mount most of season) no LB, and more injuries to defence than I can even keep track of?

Now fix it.

 

[Borys]

He doesn’t even play.

Also, excusing that Brentford game because Martinez and Shaw are out is funny. How low are ETH’s fanatics expectations towards him?

Don't forget we still don't have De Jong in the team. It's a well established fact you can't play football without De Jong in the team. All is forgiven and will be fixed once we finally sign him.

It's beyond joke how can people believe in all those excuses. Anyway, more key players are back now so we'll see progressive football and results very soon.