Our first halves have Always been good in pre season, you can expect the drop of in the second halves when we’re changing a full team. There bound to lose rhythm and tempo. It’s all about seeing if any of the young lads shine and about getting the fitness up on all the players.
Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24
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It’s the usual suspects. Just keep out of the match day threads and you’ll be fine.
I find the comparison between LVG and ETH's style of play rather odd based on what we've seen in pre-season. Both are possession-based, in a sense, but that's where the comparison ends. We're far more focused on end product under ETH, willing to commit bodies forward - even at the expense of the defence, quicker in possession, harder working and pressing higher up the pitch. We never saw any of that under LVG.
In truth, we're more comparable to Klopp's Liverpool, the early days of his tenure anyway.
In truth, we're more comparable to Klopp's Liverpool, the early days of his tenure anyway.
The pitch was horrible to fair, the first half was good enough overall, the second half wasn't, but for kind of football we want to play its terrible conditions.
No one is comparing ETH to LVG, the comparison is DvB and LvG.
With the wholesale changes and a different midfield combination (it is clear he is trying to understand how the players can fare in different positions) it is expected that there will be mistakes. Its surprising that most of the fans don't realize that pre-season is just an experimentation and fitness recovery period.
Agreed, this is a far more modern take on possession football and I'm really glad we went with Erik rather than Poch. The fan pressure for Ten Hag in the face of the media love in for Poch may have swung the appointment in his favour.
I'm talking minutes 45-63. We had no problem with pressing 0-45 and the same side came out and looked totally incompetent 45-63. You can talk about the weather etc all you want but just being bamboozled by who goes where is not a good look.
I haven't been paying attention to the Villa formation but I feel like they changed something at HT that caused the chaos.
Yeah, that's true.
The players are still adapting to ETH's more physically demanding system and are, inevitably, running out of steam after 50-60 minutes. Fortunately, we can make wholesale changes to account for that in pre-season, but that won't work in the PL proper. I'm expecting things to be rather rough in the first season; with injuries piling up and inconsistent/underperforming due to a foreign and more rigorous system. Happy for the lads to prove me wrong on this one.
It's a cliche at this point, I know, but we need to be patient.
Privately he must be seething that United board have been so slow in delivering him his targets.
I'd like to believe we fans have that kind of influence over our owners, but I'm sceptical about that
It looks like the board made the right choice either way. I'm fully behind ETH and it seems most of the fanbase feels the same way. The majority of the fanbase being on the same page makes for a nice change of pace doesn't it?
I think we still lack that technical leader in the middle of pitch, that guy who gets on the ball and no one can come close to him, this are the qualities you'll get from Eriksen and De Jong.
The intensity off the ball needs to improve though, didn't help DvB was his usual self.
The conditions were brutal and people have to take that into account while assessing the performance.
Regarding pressing, their match fitness is probably not there yet. I would be more concerned if the pressing has issues in the competitive fixtures.
Yes Villa made a tactical switch via bypassing our pressing via quick and long passes to the wingers where they used their speed and skills to cut in. That was the reason for the chaos.
Definitely will be patient with the development of the system which of course will have tough period to grind through. The main concern is if EtH naively ignored well known issues. Teams would be cynical to exploit us, and PL level there are quite many teams capable to.
Have to disagree. It's a simple outball but they played through the middle plenty of times too.
100%, it’s always going to be an up and down first season whilst the players adapt and learn the new system and style. Took klopp a good few years to get his team and to play the way he wanted. Patience is massive with this one… feel like we’ve got the right man finally, just need to back him and be patient and then rewards will come.
One thing that concerns me sightly is our openness to the counter, particularly down our left. Often it's lindelof covering that byline with our LB completely out of the picture. There's been many examples of potential dangerous breaks against us that the opposition have squandered in pre season, then quite a few from Bailey today and the goal from Melbourne. That's going to be the aim of lower quality opposition. The recovery pace of our CBs is non existent.
The issue is our LB is expected to be attacking more since Rashford is not that great a dribbler. Sancho on the right do so much with his dribble, so Dalot is in better position to choose and pick when to join attack, when to withdraw.
I feel to make it more balance, Antony signing for right wing, and return Sancho to left wing is needed. Rashford improved from last season, but he's not at his best dribbling wise, and even at his best his dribbling not consitently great.
Easy to blame the CB. Doesn’t happen as much with Malacia at LB. Shaw doesn’t recover quickly enough and is regularly a few steps off the pace when pressing. If he doesn’t shape up Malacia will be starting within a month.
Yes, it was horrible and our new brand of football is not suitable for such conditions. I do agree, first half was good. Second was more of a duty to get through.
Villa were playing some great stuff in the second half though so I don't think it's an excuse. The reality is the team fell apart due to the increased pressure Villa were putting on us.
don’t think so
I stopped watching as soon as the pitch turned into a fecking bog. The players were trying to pass forward and the ball barely inches more than a yard.
Bailey was giving us problems well before that though. Lisandro Martinez couldn’t arrive fast enough because our defense needs divine intervention.
Bailey was giving us problems well before that though. Lisandro Martinez couldn’t arrive fast enough because our defense needs divine intervention.
I love listening to the Dutch guys speaking English, great accent, Ten Hag, Van Gaal, Stam, Van Persie, McClaren. Could listen to them all day.
Feckin love this post. Absolutely 100% correct
People adapt differently to different circumstances. We did indeed drop off in the second half and couldn't cope with their pressing but the fact that the pitch was also horrendous and almost unplayable in that second half shouldn't just be dismissed.
conditions of the pitch is the same for both teams so that is such a shit excuse for anyone to make
The corner had nothing to do with the pitch anyway.
You have to love how he is all about accountability which you can see from this and that Maguire quote about booing. No excuses.
Yeah he's not full of bullshit like some managers we've had. Really like the guy
Good that he doesn't look for excuses, that's a winner mindset.
When I comes to the real deal you have to win not withstanding the circumstances.
ETH possibly got a reality check today about holding midfielder. If he is betting everything on Frenkie and if he doesn't arrive then ETH has a monumental task to build someone already at the club to an acceptable level.
Our depth there is shocking. Clear to all that it was the area that needed reinforced before last season and it wasn’t.
It’s a mistake to rely on our younger players should we not sign FDJ. They may well be good enough one day, but not sure they can be expected to pull us to where the barometers of success for Ten Hag will be (top 4).
I really do like him though. Speaks well and won’t let anyone think they’re above getting dropped if their performances deserve it. We’ve been screaming out for that most of all for years.
This.
If Ronaldo goes (and even if he doesnt is he going to stink the place up?) that leaves us with Martial and Rashford to play CF, who havent got 20 premier goals apiece a season in them. Elanga and Sancho are basically wingers. Even if we get Antony, ideally we need another striker. Could we promote McNeill, or the fact hes not even on tour means hes miles away from the bench?
Yes but we didnt change anyone until around 65 mins and we were dreadful in that 20 mins with the team that played the first half.
Not really. It was a combination of few things, not to mention the weather and huge amount of changes 2nd half.
It’s no big deal at all. Good run out.
“Reality check”? What a non-sense!
This is a proper game in preseason for aETH and the team. It shows what to be expected in the real league game from the opponents like Aston Vila, including Everton, westham, newcastle, wolf, etc. It also shows him under horrible circumstances due to weather what to expect. EPL is tough!
But, it is not a reality check. Anyone talking such a nonsense is just finding a way to bash the players they dislike.
this is a proper experience for the coach team to prepare our new season. It’s as good as it.
This is a proper game in preseason for aETH and the team. It shows what to be expected in the real league game from the opponents like Aston Vila, including Everton, westham, newcastle, wolf, etc. It also shows him under horrible circumstances due to weather what to expect. EPL is tough!
But, it is not a reality check. Anyone talking such a nonsense is just finding a way to bash the players they dislike.
this is a proper experience for the coach team to prepare our new season. It’s as good as it.
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