That's not a tactical decision though, is it? It's a fitness/well-being issue and could have easily been explained as such.
Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24
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That's not a tactical decision though, is it? It's a fitness/well-being issue and could have easily been explained as such.
Yes, but like I said, maybe at the time they were unsure of his condition and didn't want to make it public, so he just explained it off as tactical.
Say what you like about ETH but I already know Southgate is fecking gash so it would be a complete backwards/sideways move. Which would also cost money.
I feel like even that is an insane way of dealing with it.
"Varane is struggling with an issue. We're still working out how best to deal with it and as a precaution to keep him well/safe we're not in a position to start him (every game)."
I think that sort of vague statement would be worse in terms of speculation.
You think "Varane isn't fully fit and is unable to start games. We're helping him get back to full fitness" is worse than "Varane can't play that position, oh wait, no he can"?
If pressed on what the issue was, they could have just lied and said muscular. As far as I'm aware, there's no obligation for clubs to share the full details of injuries.
ETH has had many faults but I don't really think this is of any significance.
I think, at best, it was certainly one of the poorer options to handle Varane's issues, and worst, another indication of Ten Hag not actually being able to identify what he needs for his system to work.
And when he was honest and said Sancho wasn't picked because of how he trained. We see how people reacted to that.
It's of no significance what he says in public, 90% of what managers say to the press is probably bullshit anyway. You can guarantee they discussed it in the background, Varane didn't sulk or mope, he's played quite well when he's been in the team playing on the right or the left.
What he actually said.
I still don't get how he was able to have that great CL run with Ajax.
Right now he looks like he couldn't even challenge for the title if he had City's squad.
Also I've noticed that our fanbase is very split on him.
Some say he needs to go today, because he doesn't get the best out of players, his tactics are shite and he's falling out with too many players.
The other half of our fanbase say it's the players and he should stay.
I'm actually sure that it's both. ETH is not the right manager to get us back to the top, DoF in place or not. Additionally half the squad is not good enough either and has to go.
Right now he looks like he couldn't even challenge for the title if he had City's squad.
Also I've noticed that our fanbase is very split on him.
Some say he needs to go today, because he doesn't get the best out of players, his tactics are shite and he's falling out with too many players.
The other half of our fanbase say it's the players and he should stay.
I'm actually sure that it's both. ETH is not the right manager to get us back to the top, DoF in place or not. Additionally half the squad is not good enough either and has to go.
People are splitting hairs and being a bit petty about him and his actions now IMO
Had an argument the other day on this. He was backing ETH and saying the players had to go. I didn’t disagree on the players. But his argument on ETH staying was solely on the players had to go. For me it’s both.
The great CL run is a bit overstated.
Ajax beat Real Madrid in the R16. That was the worst Real Madrid season in over a decade. The club had three separate managers and was out of all competitions by early March. It's also worth noting that, while beating RM at the Bernabeu 1-4 is a great achievement, Ajax did lose at home (1-2).
Next they went past Juventus. This was a better achievement (draw/win against league champions). But we know with hindsight that Juventus was entering a period of decay. They struggled to make it to QFs that season (having to turn around a 2-0 against Atletico) and the next three seasons they were out in the R16 against unremarkable opposition like Lyon, Porto, and Villareal.
Then they were beaten in the SFs by a Spurs which were poor domestically.
I do not think it is 50/50 maybe a fresh poll would be useful, and certainly fans on other media, reddit, talk sport etc... is heavily against ETH continuing
Ultimately it is a darn sight cheaper to replace a manager than 1 player
I don't think this supports the point you're trying to make. I've also not commented on Varane's reaction. He's a professional.
Ten Hag was honest and essentially said Sancho wasn't good enough to play compared to other players, and some people reacted badly to that. You are suggesting that he was being dishonest when he essentially said that Varane wasn't good enough to play compared to other players, but because he was dishonest in this case, it was somehow the right choice?
Maguire was playing well, and was commanding a place in the team on the right-side. That's fair enough. Evans had stepped in alongside him as Varane and Martinez were both injured, and we were playing Lindelof at left-back. Varane was back available, and Ten Hag explained his prolonged benching afterwards as a tactical decision (i.e. that Varane was not as good as Evans). Those videos prove this.
Varane has since revealed that he's been struggling with (for lack of a better term) a fitness/well-being issue. I fail to see how hiding this (if this was the reason he wasn't starting over this period) and instead making out that Varane was simply unable to do what Evans could do on the left side but then changing his mind on that, by playing Varane on the left and Evans on the right when Maguire got injured, was the best option. Nor do I see how masking a fitness/well-being issue behind a false excuse of tactical suitability/ability is comparable to simply saying "other players have trained better" and the player in question spitting his dummy out.
I mentioned the Varane thing as a third example of a wider point. If you think that's "splitting hairs and being a bit petty" then fair enough.
That Ajax CL run wasnt a team he built.
The trouble is, can we have it all this summer and not be in a mess? I kind of feel we need some sort of anchor.
We are going into the summer with football structure changes above EtH and most of them not in place yet. We clearly need to get rid of a load of players too. If we got rid of EtH as well it feels like it would be a pretty chaotic summer.
All I'm saying is, Varane had an unknown issue.
He may have just said those things to avoid unnecessary speculation about him and any potential issues he had.
Not having a go at you personally but I think a lot of people just dislike him now and he's a bit of an easy target to blame for everything. Just don't consider the Varane thing a big deal to be honest.
You can offer people jobs with the understanding that the employment will only begin in line with their current contract or an arrangement being made which is lawful. You can't ask people to start doing the work for you whilst they are still under contract elsewhere.
Why isn't Xavi linked with the United Job, isn't he free in the summer?
Yeah he's leaving. Not sure he's any good really.
And all I'm saying is, if he's going to lie, it would have made far more sense to say "Varane has a niggling injury" than "Jonny Evans is a better tactical fit in that role because Varane is better on the right" only to end up playing Evans on the right and Varane on the left a few games later.
Thought he won the league in his first full season, don't they play tiki taka?
If does I'll like to see us play some more composed brand of football for a change.
Totally forgot about that to be honest.
Could be an interesting option, I don't think he'd want to come here though for some reason. Can't see it.
I don't think he speaks English and he's a manager that likes to stay in his comfort zone. He's also extremely whiny and a large part of his status as a Barca manager is due to his standing as a legend of the club. I don't think Xavi would be interested in United (or any English team to be honest) and I don't think United would be interested in Xavi.
Sounds like a bold strategy Cotton. Let's see if it pays off
God but I hated watching Barca play tiki taka, I want success at Utd but it is so boooooring, I would go as far to say anti-football, LVG got us to 80%+ possession and it was awful! even Pep changed from tiki taka when he left Spain, not sure it would be effective in the prem and I really do not want to find out
We honestly should, if in two seasons he's had them competing and winning, we should be all over him.
English shouldn't be an issue, take classes or something, at this point I'll prefer him to Potter or Southgates.
Thought he's mate with Scholes and has always wanted to play in England or so?
If we can keep the ball more often than not, our quick players up to should score goals no?
And I think we need someone which this generation of players idolize, Xavi with the bill, we also need someone with ideas United and the Premier League isn't used to.
Unlikely, unless have a massive change in players that could keep possession that well, in addition our quick players are most effective with space to run into, we have been useless for several seasons at breaking down teams that sit deep, if we have high possession the other team will sit deep
And i come back to it is sooooo boooooring, I watch football for entertainment and tiki taka makes me snore
So you prefer this ETH style of no actual style?
We weren’t even fighting for 4th that season.
No but it isn't an either/or choice!
As much as I want to see the back of ETH a return to LVG style possession (or prime Barca tiki taka) is one of the things that would probably having my switch to the ETH remain camp, besides one of the current problems for ETH is that our players are poor at retaining possession, that would continue to be an issue for Xavi,
If you believe anything about this season was usual or normal then you may suffer from significant memory loss issues.
Yeah, I'm not saying he's a bad manager or that he would do a bad job here, but I just don't think Xavi would be bothered to learn a new language and adapt to new, even more challenging circumstances. I think the time in Qatar made him a bit complacent and less ambitious. He was complaining restlessly about the pressure he faced as Barca manager, at United it wouldn't be any different and the task of getting us back to glory is even more difficult that winning a league with terribly organised but still way ahead of the rest of the pack (bar Madrid) Barcelona. Xavi doesn't strike me as a manager with the same level of ambition and willingness to prove the world he's the GOAT, unlike other highly competitive Spaniards like Pep or Arteta. After he leaves Barca I'm expecting him to take a much less stressful job - maybe some national team with little pressure, maybe come back to the Gulf and make easy money, maybe focus on family and pundit work.
No I prefer a fast attacking style that suits our players. Pep football doesn‘t suit us at all: we have five/six players in the squad that could do it.
Besides, it is boring to watch; Cheaty looks dull. It won‘t fly here. We were top of the league with this football and the negativity was immense.
Based on those couple of minutes it's fair to say he speaks English well. When we played Barcelona in the Europa League last season he spoke quite positively about the club also so I think it's a job he'd be interested in.
It’s fecking embarrassing is what that is pal. FML.
Xavi does speak English, videos all over YouTube. He’s also been highly complimentary about United and PL football both as a player and a manager. Whether he’d be interested is guesswork but I’d wager having fellow Spaniards in Pep, Arteta, Emery in the League would be encouraging for him.
Only question is whether he wants a sabbatical after the pressures of managing Barca. Pep left for the same reasons in 2012 and took a year out. Xavi has been my no.1 choice since announcing he’s leaving.
Only question is whether he wants a sabbatical after the pressures of managing Barca. Pep left for the same reasons in 2012 and took a year out. Xavi has been my no.1 choice since announcing he’s leaving.
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