Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24

Status
Not open for further replies.
Beachryan said:
Does anyone here believe with this squad we could win the league? That's the question ETH was asked.

Why is his answer controversial? Our squad is threadbare. That's just a fact. We have 1 CF. No LBs. 1 actual CMF. Of course we'd struggle to win the league next year with the squad as it is.

Now, if we finally start adding a good number of players to make up for the huge number that have left, great.
Click to expand...
United ambition should always be to compete to win the league. Our current squad is not good enough but many teams have turned things around with 2-3 good signings. You also don’t know what type of season the others will have, there have been seasons over the years where not that much was needed to compete.

Bottom line is this type of defeatism is not something you should expect from a United manager.
 
NLunited said:
This last press conference is a good assessment of this season’s underperformance, next season’s expectations and insight in individual performances of certain players (Rashy).

I’m not sure what the fuss is about: he didn’t say anything that is incorrect and didn’t try to cover up anything. I appreciate he doesn’t throw players under the bus.

What are we all so upset about?
Click to expand...
Nobody likes to hear that the manager expects us not to challenge, not the fans and I expect the players won’t like it either. It’s very negative and smells like getting the excuses in early. It’s the type of thing you say to your boss “the squad is not strong enough to sustain a title challenge” but not in public. Next season is going to be one of change for Liverpool, we don’t know what’s going to happen with city. We should be preparing to tackle the void not put the white flags up already.
 
UnofficialDevil said:
Sack the bloody idiot and his stupid process he keeps mumbling about. Can’t challenge.. manager should never ever say that. He should say if Leicester did it we can do it, or something
Click to expand...
That's a very daft approach. Just be frank.
 
Sarni said:
United ambition should always be to compete to win the league. Our current squad is not good enough but many teams have turned things around with 2-3 good signings. You also don’t know what type of season the others will have, there have been seasons over the years where not that much was needed to compete.

Bottom line is this type of defeatism is not something you should expect from a United manager.
Click to expand...
It’s not defeatism don’t be ridiculous.

our new owner himself has stated multiple times that it will take 2-3 seasons to bring the club to where it needs to be (competing for trophies). You’d have to be daft to think this team is 1 transfer season away from winning the league over City and Arsenal
 
Shark said:
This is not going to get anyone on his side, including the new owners I'd imagine. Very stupid comment to make after the season he's already endured.
Click to expand...
The new owners themselves have said that it will be a 2-3 year process. I’m ETH out but everyone is being upset over nothing
 
FrantikChicken said:
It’s not defeatism don’t be ridiculous.

our new owner himself has stated multiple times that it will take 2-3 seasons to bring the club to where it needs to be (competing for trophies). You’d have to be daft to think this team is 1 transfer season away from winning the league over City and Arsenal
Click to expand...

You simply don't state this at clubs of this magnitude. Can you imagine a manager coming out with this at Bayern, Madrid or even Chelsea even in their current state. It's just plain wrong and disrespectful given the obscene amount of money we've spent over the past two seasons especially.
 
The fans want to hear hope, ambition and determination. It doesn't matter what the facts are, football is our passion. We need a leader who shares that passion.
 
I knew those quotes would be jumped on...truth is no manager is coming into United and winning the league in the near future.

Throwing money at the problem isn't the solution...just ask Chelsea fans.

Plus the managers who have been praised this year like Ange, has only got Spurs to 5th, previous years Spurs have finished 8th>4th>7th. So basically no different!

It will take years for United to get back to the top. Anytime a United manager makes this observation we get the same old "United should be winning leagues blah blah blah..." when its been 10 years since the last one.

Reality sucks, but this squad is 3rd-6th in the league.
 
Thats the type of comment you make in the first 6-12 months of the job. He's been here 24 months, it'll be his 3rd season if he lasts through the Summer. It's a pretty damning statement of his own work that despite spending £400m and having 2 full seasons to train and shape the squad to his requirement we're still not (in his mind) ready to challenge for the title. He's not wrong either.
 
Chumpsbechumps said:
If INEOs, with far more information/data and context behind the scenes, believe ETH has done a poor job , he’s gone. I’ve no issue with that. But if they feel the clubs and teams issues are mostly not his fault and he may work well with whatever they have planned, then it makes sense to work with him.
Click to expand...

It's really a damning indictment on so many posters on here that this perfectly logical and obvious statement is beyond their comprehension.
 
SAF is the GOAT said:




Click to expand...


He is right but maybe he is a bit too honest there. Fans dont want to hear that.

The argument that Manchester United should always compete for the title might sound 'strong' but our squad clearly isnt a Manchester United squad when you compare it to previous winning Manchester United squads. It isnt a Premier League winning squad either. ETH did spend quite a bit of money on the squad but so did all the other teams. Just a shame that his most expensive signing turned out to be the worst one out of the bunch.

One to three great signings also isnt going to turn this team into a title winning team. Arsenal and Manchester City are just too good to bridge that gap with a few good transfers. For the future Mainoo, Garnacho and Hojlund will hopefully become part of a Premier League winning team but currently they need more time to become players that are of Premier League winning quality. I think we need to add players around them so when Mainoo, Garnacho and Hojlund are hopefully developed into Premier League quality winning players, they have the help they will need.
 
Shark said:
This is not going to get anyone on his side, including the new owners I'd imagine. Very stupid comment to make after the season he's already endured.
Click to expand...
I think it is the opposite. The owners are doing a thorough assessment of the club and know the things Ten Hag just said are spot on.

We need to close the gap. It doesn’t look like it this season, but we have put key pieces in place to do that: Onana, Højlund and Mount.

Next are Casemiro and Varane replacements, a striker and a full back, at the minimum.

We have good players coming up from the youth teams. Maybe we don’t challenge for the title next season, but the future looks good.
 
Why would we not be challenging? I know we have a mediocre squad and problems on the pitch, but ffs it is his 3rd season and he is responsible for results and improvements
 
Bilbo said:
It's really a damning indictment on so many posters on here that this perfectly logical and obvious statement is beyond their comprehension.
Click to expand...

There's absolutely nothing logical about that statement. This manager has spent 400m across two seasons, and if he survives will have the fresh backing of new owners wanting to make a statement in the summer.
 
The glazers dont want to try to win the league, never have, and they've finally got a manager who's happy to just come out and say it.

And gaslight the media and fans for daring to point out his lack of ability/lack of ambition.
 
Shark said:
There's absolutely nothing logical about that statement. This manager has spent 400m across two seasons, and if he survives will have the fresh backing of new owners wanting to make a statement.
Click to expand...

Who could possibly be in a better position to decide whether he deserves another season than INEOS? Think about it
 
RedSky said:
Thats the type of comment you make in the first 6-12 months of the job. He's been here 24 months, it'll be his 3rd season if he lasts through the Summer. It's a pretty damning statement of his own work that despite spending £400m and having 2 full seasons to train and shape the squad to his requirement we're still not (in his mind) ready to challenge for the title. He's not wrong either.
Click to expand...
Exactly my thoughts, he’s not wrong, we aren’t good enough to challenge but he’s a huge factor in why we aren’t.
 
NLunited said:
Amad has had opportunities to show something and hasn‘t except for Pool game in FA cup. He just needs to take his chances when they come.

To start him over Rashford is a bit bonkers imo. Even out of form, Rashford is still better right now.
Click to expand...

I never said he should start in place of Rashford but he wouldn't be any worse anyway. I was talking about Anthony and Forson and I think there was someone else too.

The opportunities he's been given have been ridiculously low especially after he scored that goal. He's basically frozen him out or put him on for a few minutes to waste time.
I said if he had played as many minutes as Anthony has I'm positive he would have proved that he is good enough and more productive than Anthony or anyone else who's been given minutes instead of him.
 
Bilbo said:
Who could possibly be in a better position to decide whether he deserves another season than INEOS? Think about it
Click to expand...

Probably literally any of the fans, who have been watching United and following the club for a lot longer than Brailsford or anyone else at Ineos have. Have they forensically followed the trials and tribulations of Erik ten Hag? Have they even watched every game this season. I seriously doubt it.
 
I'm as frustrated as anyone about our season and the way he has gone about managing the perennial under-performers, but I still think it could turn out a calamitous decision getting rid of him without first addressing the playing squad, in a football wise manner for once. The people in charge of football have a lot of problems to address, and getting rid of a manager who incidentally has only one year left on his contract is unnecessarily adding to the complexity of their problems.

I would first address the issue of players in line with the agreed upon play style, using input from the manager as he knows all the current player limitations. Then let him have his final contract year, at which point you are also able to assess potential manager replacements in case performances don't improve as had been agreed, in a relatively calm period compared to the player recruitment circus of the summer window.
 
hobbers said:
Probably literally any of the fans, who have been watching United and following the club for a lot longer than Brailsford or anyone else at Ineos have. Have they forensically followed the trials and tribulations of Erik ten Hag? Have they even watched every game this season. I seriously doubt it.
Click to expand...

Correct. The idea that we require all of this supposed data that INEOS are collecting to make a definitive decision on ETH is complete nonsense. We can also use our eyes, and anyone with a pair of them can see the manager is deeply struggling with English football and the way we went out of the CL, in that group, should also be a damning indicator.
 
OldTrevil said:
I'm as frustrated as anyone about our season and the way he has gone about managing the perennial under-performers, but I still think it could turn out a calamitous decision getting rid of him without first addressing the playing squad, in a football wise manner for once. The people in charge of football have a lot of problems to address, and getting rid of a manager who incidentally has only one year left on his contract is unnecessarily adding to the complexity of their problems.

I would first address the issue of players in line with the agreed upon play style, using input from the manager as he knows all the current player limitations. Then let him have his final contract year, at which point you are also able to assess potential manager replacements in case performances don't improve as had been agreed, in a relatively calm period compared to the player recruitment circus of the summer window.
Click to expand...

No, the exact opposite. Keeping a manager who only has a year left is unnecessarily adding to the complexity of the problems.

He only has a year left because no one above him rates the job he's done here. So why keep a proven loser who publicly isn't being backed by his own paymasters? Senseless.

How do you sign the right players to come and rescue the failed football project of a guy who is, rightly, getting no backing? :lol:
 
hobbers said:
Probably literally any of the fans, who have been watching United and following the club for a lot longer than Brailsford or anyone else at Ineos have. Have they forensically followed the trials and tribulations of Erik ten Hag? Have they even watched every game this season. I seriously doubt it.
Click to expand...

I’ve been watching United alot longer and I’m a fan and I don’t agree with you. My summary is ETH would be sacked under any normal circumstances, but there’s been anything but that at United since Ragnick was let go so I don’t know how much of what we see is a failing manager or a manager at a failing club. I’d confidently say you have no more information to make an informed appraisal on this then me.

All I see in your post is “if somebody doesn’t agree with me, I will presume all objectively reasonable people do and anybody who thinks differently is wrong by default because I can’t be wrong”. I’d say, the fact that you may very well be wrong has never crossed your mind. :lol:
 
Chumpsbechumps said:
All I see in your post is “if somebody doesn’t agree with me, I will presume all objectively reasonable people do and anybody who thinks differently is wrong by default because I can’t be wrong”. :lol:
Click to expand...

I'm not wrong about how ETH's United tenure will end up.

The only questions left are whether he will leave us with 1 cup to his name or 2. And whether he'll be allowed to drag us backwards for another season or not.
 
Fans tend to exaggerate the amount of players needed to challenge for the title. They think we need to sell ten and bring ten in. But, quite often, just one or two can make a huge difference. By their ability or leadership, or a combination of both, they can make others around them much better. Bruno did that for us. Cantona did. Suárez did for Liverpool. Maradona carried club and country on his back virtually his whole career. That's why he shouldn't be as honest as he has been. You never know what can happen in a season. To concede the title before a ball's been kicked is the wrong thing to do, in my opinion.
 
SAF is the GOAT said:
He can't win either way

Click to expand...


Just a false dichotomy.

The squad isn't good enough partly because he's blown £440m to not tangibly improve it at all. And partly because his brand of football makes it perform worse than the sum of its parts.

So he's the last one who gets to point to a lack of competitiveness as if it isn't entirely down to him. We should be much closer to the top after 2 seasons and massive spending, but we're not, because he is a failure.
 
hobbers said:
I'm not wrong about how ETH's United tenure will end up.

The only questions left are whether he will leave us with 1 cup to his name or 2. And whether he'll be allowed to drag us backwards for another season or not.
Click to expand...

You are absolutely 100% wrong that you will have more experience then INEOs in deciding whether ETH should be sacked or kept. You don’t have a clue what INEOs restructuring involves.

You have no clue how much the clubs dramas, ownership and injuries have played on this season.

You can say “I don’t think these issues explain how bad things have been” , that’s fair. But you cannot objectively say absolutely that “none of these explain where we are at”. That’s an uninformed , subjective feeling based on what would be relatively reasonable expectation at a club that’s got pedigree at consistently doing well or bouncing back quickly from a bad managerial appointment.

I can’t tell you how delusional and wrong you and many other posters are on this. I’m betting some reading this will think “look at him defending ETH”, it’s because they don’t understand what I’m saying and they can’t comprehend that “I’m not sure on ETH, given all the stuff going on” is a perfectly reasonable position to have on this.

I think “I don’t think ETH is good enough” is equally reasonable, but the difference is those of us who can see both sides versus posters like you who are incapable of understanding the topic beyond “XG, points , possession , Anthony , 400 million spent, worst record since time began, ETH interview annoys me”…

How United got here and keep making the same mistakes over and over again is a more important issue to resolve then “sacking the manager”. It doesn’t mean the manager won’t be or shouldn’t be sacked , it’s just I think posters like you don’t see the bigger picture which is why you are so sure about yourself.
 
SAF is the GOAT said:
He can't win either way

Click to expand...


Eric Ten Hag: I want direct control over which players we sign a £440 million warchest and 2 years to build the squad I want.
Eric Ten Hag 2 years later: Our squad isn't good enough to win the league, nothing I can do.

See? I can do it too. I should become a football pundit.
 
Chumpsbechumps said:
You are absolutely 100% wrong that you will have more experience then INEOs in deciding whether ETH should be sacked or kept. You don’t have a clue what INEOs restructuring involves.

You have no clue how much the clubs dramas, ownership and injuries have played on this season.
Click to expand...

I have just as much/as little of a clue about how club dramas and injuries have affected us as Brailsford and Wilcox do :lol:

That's why they're going to ignore all this frivolous bollocks and evaluate ETH based on simple metrics that dont lie. Like, how much time has he had (lots). How much has been spent (lots). How much progress has been made (none).
 
He's right, but it also means he's completely failed at making an impact in the time he's been here.

We were nowhere near challenging 2 years ago, and we are not any nearer now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.