Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24

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Oranges038 said:
Only DDG and Fred were really nailed on first team starters for the most part, the rest were either on the bench, injured or out on loan.
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De Gea, Henderson, Telles, Matić, Fred, Pogba, Elanga, Ronaldo and Cavani all featured regularly under Ole/Rangnick across the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons.

They've been moved on and replaced by Onana, Bayindir, Malacia Mainoo/Amrabat, Eriksen, Casemiro, Garnacho, Weghorst and Højlund.

A backup ST should have been signed due to Martial's unreliableness. But other than that, those players were replaced.

This is ten Hag's squad now.
 
We have some serious talent in this squad which was evident when we bought them, just look back at the excitement generated by fans when the signings were announced. What we don't have is a defined style of play, which has nothing to do with the injuries we have. After 2 seasons that is unacceptable and is down to EtH. I personally think the job is too big for him and he'd be better off going back to Ajax with our good wishes.
 
Fallon d'Floor said:
De Gea, Henderson, Telles, Matić, Fred, Pogba, Elanga, Ronaldo and Cavani all featured regularly under Ole/Rangnick across the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons.

They've been moved on and replaced by Onana, Bayindir, Malacia Mainoo/Amrabat, Eriksen, Casemiro, Garnacho, Weghorst and Højlund.

A backup ST should have been signed due to Martial's unreliableness. But other than that, those players were replaced.

This is ten Hag's squad now.
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Ten Hag‘s signings long term are Antony, Onana, Martinez, Malacia, Mount, Højlund and Bayindir as backup goalie.

Every other signing has been a temporary one. As in, needs replacing in near future.

It is a stretch to call it Ten Hag‘s squad. Cheaty is Pep‘s squad and Arsenal is Lego Pep‘s squad, we aren‘t there yet.
 
Fallon d'Floor said:
De Gea, Henderson, Telles, Matić, Fred, Pogba, Elanga, Ronaldo and Cavani all featured regularly under Ole/Rangnick across the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons.

They've been moved on and replaced by Onana, Bayindir, Malacia Mainoo/Amrabat, Eriksen, Casemiro, Garnacho, Weghorst and Højlund.

A backup ST should have been signed due to Martial's unreliableness. But other than that, those players were replaced.

This is ten Hag's squad now.
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It's not really, several of those players were already earmarked to leave before he cameand most of them weren't regular first team starters.


Whether he's spent that money well or not is questionable, but this idea that this squad is his is just nonsense, he's brought in half a team of starters combined with frees and loans to make up the numbers in the rest of the squad.
 
Oranges038 said:
It's not really, several of those players were already earmarked to leave before he cameand most of them weren't regular first team starters.


Whether he's spent that money well or not is questionable, but this idea that this squad is his is just nonsense, he's brought in half a team of starters combined with frees and loans to make up the numbers in the rest of the squad.
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It's clearly not nonsense, all fit he can field 9 of his players if you include Garnacho and Mainoo as his promotions. Not many of our managers have had that privilege.

Onana, Malacia, Martinez, CB, RB, Casemiro, Mainoo, Eriksen/Mount, Garnacho, Anthony, Hojlund.

Dalot has been one of our better players and Varane is suitable enough for his style. The idea that he needs 11 of his own players and a full bench of his own players before it's his team is nonsense though.
 
cpresc said:
Jesus.. this place.

Bruno out.. Martinez over-rated.


Do these supporters really deserve better results?
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Its the fans fault managers don’t get sacked sooner (if we just waved scarfs at matches in protest the glazers would act faster), our most productive/fit/consistent player is whiny therefore awful as per social media and a player who was brilliant last season but injured this season is over rated cause it feels like he was.

Put that in your pipe…
 
NLunited said:
Ten Hag‘s signings long term are Antony, Onana, Martinez, Malacia, Mount, Højlund and Bayindir as backup goalie.

Every other signing has been a temporary one. As in, needs replacing in near future.

It is a stretch to call it Ten Hag‘s squad. Cheaty is Pep‘s squad and Arsenal is Lego Pep‘s squad, we aren‘t there yet.
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But it’s also clearly not a squad of players who have been there for years like some fans seem to think. It’s mostly new ears receptive to instructions whether it’s new signings, youth promotions or loan signings. Its not the same bunch old worked with
 
Smores said:
It's clearly not nonsense, all fit he can field 9 of his players if you include Garnacho and Mainoo as his promotions. Not many of our managers have had that privilege.

Onana, Malacia, Martinez, CB, RB, Casemiro, Mainoo, Eriksen/Mount, Garnacho, Anthony, Hojlund.

Dalot has been one of our better players and Varane is suitable enough for his style. The idea that he needs 11 of his own players and a full bench of his own players before it's his team is nonsense though.
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Garnacho was not his promotion and Malacia was clearly just a backup for Shaw. So this is it, it's his squad, so when all of his squad choices are fit, he's brought in 7/8 potential starters out of the 25+ squad members.

The problem isn't that he needs a squad of all his own players, the problem is that this squad is a total patchwork quilt of shite and needs a total overhaul. 2 years in and it's looking like the next guy could be in an even bigger hole than ETH when he started.
 
NLunited said:
Ten Hag‘s signings long term are Antony, Onana, Martinez, Malacia, Mount, Højlund and Bayindir as backup goalie.

Every other signing has been a temporary one. As in, needs replacing in near future.

It is a stretch to call it Ten Hag‘s squad. Cheaty is Pep‘s squad and Arsenal is Lego Pep‘s squad, we aren‘t there yet.
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Agreed.

This squad is far from ETH's squad.

And I might be slaughtered for me view, but I think even Antony can come good if he has a quick attacking right back behind him, and some zippy midfielders.
 
Seen something this morning that Rasmus Hojlund has received more passes from Onana then any other player on team.

Sums up really how badly coached we are.

Shit with and without the ball.
 
VP89 said:
What shameless Indian restaurant sells curry with peanut sauce? You sure its not Thai?
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Nah the sauce was a mustard based curry on the way in, it only resembles peanut sauce in appearance thankfully.
 
Xaviboy said:
Seen something this morning that Rasmus Hojlund has received more passes from Onana then any other player on team.

Sums up really how badly coached we are.

Shit with and without the ball.
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We have one striker and have had 20 or so different backlines. That sums it up for me.
 
golden_blunder said:
But it’s also clearly not a squad of players who have been there for years like some fans seem to think. It’s mostly new ears receptive to instructions whether it’s new signings, youth promotions or loan signings. Its not the same bunch old worked with
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True. This season has shown though that this squad isn‘t good enough athletically.

I‘m starting to think 10Hag played the way he wanted whether the squad could do it or not and let the chips fall.

A new manager will run into the same problems.

INEOS verdict on the squad is in: sell most players.
 
Oranges038 said:
Garnacho was not his promotion and Malacia was clearly just a backup for Shaw. So this is it, it's his squad, so when all of his squad choices are fit, he's brought in 7/8 potential starters out of the 25+ squad members.

The problem isn't that he needs a squad of all his own players, the problem is that this squad is a total patchwork quilt of shite and needs a total overhaul. 2 years in and it's looking like the next guy could be in an even bigger hole than ETH when he started.
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Just ridiculous excuses, the fact you have to discount one his signings and a clearly favoured player to make it sound worse says it all. That's not even factoring in the players not mentioned Bruno, Rashford have bailed him out and he's chosen them over other options countless times.

No manager of a top club gets what you expect. Go look at the Spurs or Villa squad for a comparison, managers are expected to make use of an inherited squad and not use it as an excuse. Ten Hag has been given a lot of backing given it's his second season, he's signed a couple shy of a full team, he's just monumentally fecking it up with a stupid system.

I've no time for internet fans who think a manager should get to sell and replace 15 players before he's judged.
 
NLunited said:
True. This season has shown though that this squad isn‘t good enough athletically.

I‘m starting to think 10Hag played the way he wanted whether the squad could do it or not and let the chips fall.

A new manager will run into the same problems.

INEOS verdict on the squad is in: sell most players.
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The squad has been badly assembled, some with his influence over transfers. He should still be getting a tune out of them in a better way than this season.
I think you’re right Ten Hag thinks if they keep playing the same way he will eventually get the round pieces to fit in the round holes. But it’s this stubbornness that’s going to get him fired
 
golden_blunder said:
The squad has been badly assembled, some with his influence over transfers. He should still be getting a tune out of them in a better way than this season.
I think you’re right Ten Hag thinks if they keep playing the same way he will eventually get the round pieces to fit in the round holes. But it’s this stubbornness that’s going to get him fired
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There is a disparity between what is needed in the squad and what we got. We needed a dm and got Amrabat on a loan. We needed a new modern cb and got Evans on a one year contract. We needed a striker to replace Martial and got no one.

Could 10Hag have been pragmatic with the squad for another year? Yes, sure. That is NOT what he was brought in for though.
 
Oranges038 said:
It's not really, several of those players were already earmarked to leave before he cameand most of them weren't regular first team starters.


Whether he's spent that money well or not is questionable, but this idea that this squad is his is just nonsense, he's brought in half a team of starters combined with frees and loans to make up the numbers in the rest of the squad.
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The decks were cleared for him when he arrived. "Bad eggs" such as Pogba and Lingard were moved on and mercenaries on big money were also moved on i.e. Cavani. That summer clear out is was what many fans wanted. It's almost 2 years later and fans are still ranting and raving despite the manager being backed in the transfer market.

Free transfers and loans are a part of football. Some clubs utilise both. It's normal.
  • Real Madrid signed Alaba and Rüdiger on free transfers. They'll likely sign Mbappé for free also.
  • Barcelona have signed Christensen and Gündoğan for free + have loaned in Cancelo and João Félix
  • Juventus signed the likes di María and Rabiot for free over the past few years + structured multiple loans with buy options (Locatelli)

You can throw around words like nonsense all you like. I think you're delusional. Not every player at a club had to be signed by a manager for a fee in order for it to be his squad. It takes 4+ years to have a complete squad overhaul from one manager to the next. ten Hag has brought in multiple players and we still have lots of gaping holes due to poor talent ID from him, poor negotiating skills from the club, and also a failure to get the best out of his signings + some of the talented players he inherited. Dalot is the only player who has improved and remained consistent under his management.

Klopp mainly worked with players from the Rodgers era during his first 2 seasons at the club, but still implemented an effective style of play and made the top four during his 1st full season. Liverpool signed/loaned in 8 first team players across Klopp's first 2 seasons. There were multiple players from the previous regime in his starting XI most games.

Arteta was similar. Arsenal signed/loaned in 8 first team players across his first two seasons. Only 4 of them were signed for a fee. Half were free transfers and loans.

ten Hag has already brought in 16 players across his 2 seasons. A combination of fees, frees and loans. That's not even including promotions like Kambwala and Mainoo.
 
Smores said:
Just ridiculous excuses, the fact you have to discount one his signings and a clearly favoured player to make it sound worse says it all. That's not even factoring in the players not mentioned Bruno, Rashford have bailed him out and he's chosen them over other options countless times.

No manager of a top club gets what you expect. Go look at the Spurs or Villa squad for a comparison, managers are expected to make use of an inherited squad and not use it as an excuse. Ten Hag has been given a lot of backing given it's his second season, he's signed a couple shy of a full team, he's just monumentally fecking it up with a stupid system.

I've no time for internet fans who think a manager should get to sell and replace 15 players before he's judged.
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Spurs and Villa play a much more simplistic style of fast direct football, those 2 guys will be found out with tougher European games next season. Will their teams will drop off, once teams stop going to toe to toe with them and start coming up with ways to stop them? It's almost guaranteed.

The job of overhauling this Utd squad was a 3 year process minimum. That is to build a team that will grow together to achieve a sustainable levels of consistency and competitiveness over 3/4/5 years. This squad is miles off that.

I don't think ETH has anyone to blame but himself, he could have spread the money he spent more wisely on different areas of the team. For me, the lack of athleticism in his signings has been a major factor. It's why this team gets hit on the break so easily, there is no recovery pace. He was trying to up the technical levels, but the offshoot was to ignore the physicality required to play in the PL.

When you want to commit bodies forward but your front players don't look after the ball well and you don't have recovery pace in your rest defence or midfield to get back. You'll get cut open every single game, this is what is happening every single week, it's the total lack of pace and athleticism that gets exposed over and over again.
 
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NLunited said:
There is a disparity between what is needed in the squad and what we got. We needed a dm and got Amrabat on a loan. We needed a new modern cb and got Evans on a one year contract. We needed a striker to replace Martial and got no one.

Could 10Hag have been pragmatic with the squad for another year? Yes, sure. That is NOT what he was brought in for though.
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Or...

He got rid of De Gea because he was deemed not good enough on the ball, yet he has Onana pumping long balls up the pitch and hoping we win 2nd balls. Percentage football. It made no sense to bring in a ball playing GK and utilise him this way.

Amrabat would have been praised as genius loan for a good overall fee of £29-30 million had we signed him permanently. Now he's been relegated to just a loan signing due to ten Hag giving up on him early. It's an expensive loan at £8.5 million. You don't loan in a player for that fee if you're not planning on signing him.

Maybe ten Hag should have prioritised a CB over Mount. Trying to make a midfield three work with both Mount and Bruno in it was a crazy idea. You'd need prime Fernandinho or a tireless midfielder like Kanté to make that work. If he genuinely thought that Casemiro was capable of covering enough ground on his own, he miscalculated that badly.

Martial was a good backup ST last season. The best goals to minutes ratio in the squad out of all the attackers last season. Another ST should have been brought in, yes. But that doesn't excuse how bad we've been in attacks for almost 2 full seasons under ten Hag. It's been a real issue in the league.

I have zero sympathy for ten Hag. He hasn't gotten enough value out of the players he brought in.
 
NLunited said:
There is a disparity between what is needed in the squad and what we got. We needed a dm and got Amrabat on a loan. We needed a new modern cb and got Evans on a one year contract. We needed a striker to replace Martial and got no one.

Could 10Hag have been pragmatic with the squad for another year? Yes, sure. That is NOT what he was brought in for though.
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But why did we get Amrabat on loan? because we fannied about and overspent on Mount, Onana and Hoijlund, (I am not against any of these three players but we over paid and took too long, especially with Mount) then Amrabat a former ETH player gets targeted, Evans just happened to be here training when some injuries hit and in fairness has been bloody good, we missed out on Kim again because we fannied about, but ETH is in this, he is not outside of this and having things thrust onto him

in regards to replacing Martial, he started with Martial, his plan was to use Martial he even said as much! pushing the previous season's much maligned 30 goal man out of position onto the right wing, where it has already been established by Mou and Ole he is next to useless, so demoralising him, not saying Rashford should not shoulder the responsibility for his form this season, but I know if I had just bagged 30 goals and then effectively got demoted to play in my worst position in preference of Martial, when it has subsequently been established that Garnacho thrives on the right wing..... I got to say if I was Rashford it would have knocked me back.... I mean how did ETH not know that A Garnacho was super effective on the right and Rashford is only really effective on the left?? how does he not know that after a whole season training them?????

Massively weak scouting, planning, back up options, and a weak coach who doesn't even know how to evaluate his own squad or players he has previously managed

People need to stop making excuses for ETH, there is a bad season riddled with injuries, which I can appreciate and forgive, and then there is the train wreck we have been served up by ETH, nothing that has been out of ETH's control has forced him to play a stupid system which the players available to him cannot adapt to, 100% on him and 100% why our season has been much worse that it could have been
 
Oranges038 said:
Spurs and Villa play a much more simplistic style of fast direct football, those 2 guys will be found out with tougher European games next season. Will their teams will drop off, once teams stop going to toe to toe with them and start coming up with ways to stop them? It's almost guaranteed.

The job of overhauling this Utd squad was a 3 year process minimum. That is to build a team that will grow together to achieve a sustainable levels of consistency and competitiveness over 3/4/5 years. This squad is miles off that.

I don't think ETH has anyone to blame but himself, he could have spread the money he spent more wisely on different areas of the team. For me, the lack of athleticism in his signings has been a major factor. It's why this team gets hit on the break so easily, there is no recovery pace. He was trying to up the technical levels, but the offshoot was to ignore the physicality required to play in the PL.

When you want to commit bodies forward but your front players don't look after the ball well and you don't have recovery pace in your rest defence or midfield to get back. You'll get cut open every single game, this is what is happening every single week, it's the total lack of pace and athleticism that gets exposed over and over again.
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Spurs play with both full-backs inverted and high up the pitch. It leaves a lot of space for Romero and van de Ven to cover. Spurs like to control possession. 3rd best at 61.5%.

Villa play with one of the highest defensive lines in world football. They get it right a lot more than they get it wrong. It's far from simplistic to pull that off.

Both systems care quite complex and both teams will need to add more squad depth in order to push on next season.

Spurs need an upgrade on Bissouma and a Son alternative. Villa need to add new full-backs and buy a reliable backup ST to rotate with Watkins.
 
Fallon d'Floor said:
Or...

He got rid of De Gea because he was deemed not good enough on the ball, yet he has Onana pumping long balls up the pitch and hoping we win 2nd balls. Percentage football. It made no sense to bring in a ball playing GK and utilise him this way.

Amrabat would have been praised as genius loan for a good overall fee of £29-30 million had we signed him permanently. Now he's been relegated to just a loan signing due to ten Hag giving up on him early. It's an expensive loan at £8.5 million. You don't loan in a player for that fee if you're not planning on signing him.

Maybe ten Hag should have prioritised a CB over Mount. Trying to make a midfield three work with both Mount and Bruno in it was a crazy idea. You'd need prime Fernandinho or a tireless midfielder like Kanté to make that work. If he genuinely thought that Casemiro was capable of covering enough ground on his own, he miscalculated that badly.

Martial was a good backup ST last season. The best goals to minutes ratio in the squad out of all the attackers last season. Another ST should have been brought in, yes. But that doesn't excuse how bad we've been in attacks for almost 2 full seasons under ten Hag. It's been a real issue in the league.

I have zero sympathy for ten Hag. He hasn't gotten enough value out of the players he brought in.
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Absolutely agree
 
It's only at United that we're having these "not manager's squad" discussions over and over again. It's only us who think manager should have "his own players". If Ten Hag was really to have what some people classify as "his squad", he would be the most backed manager in the sport. Thank god we're moving away from manager to more of a head coach role. No excuses going forward.
 
Anyone saying this isn't Ten hag's team being the reason we've been so shite this year is basically admitting what a limited manager he really is, with zero flexibility. Even worse than de Zerbi.
 
Zed 101 said:
But why did we get Amrabat on loan? because we fannied about and overspent on Mount, Onana and Hoijlund, (I am not against any of these three players but we over paid and took too long, especially with Mount) then Amrabat a former ETH player gets targeted, Evans just happened to be here training when some injuries hit and in fairness has been bloody good, we missed out on Kim again because we fannied about, but ETH is in this, he is not outside of this and having things thrust onto him

in regards to replacing Martial, he started with Martial, his plan was to use Martial he even said as much! pushing the previous season's much maligned 30 goal man out of position onto the right wing, where it has already been established by Mou and Ole he is next to useless, so demoralising him, not saying Rashford should not shoulder the responsibility for his form this season, but I know if I had just bagged 30 goals and then effectively got demoted to play in my worst position in preference of Martial, when it has subsequently been established that Garnacho thrives on the right wing..... I got to say if I was Rashford it would have knocked me back.... I mean how did ETH not know that A Garnacho was super effective on the right and Rashford is only really effective on the left?? how does he not know that after a whole season training them?????

Massively weak scouting, planning, back up options, and a weak coach who doesn't even know how to evaluate his own squad or players he has previously managed

People need to stop making excuses for ETH, there is a bad season riddled with injuries, which I can appreciate and forgive, and then there is the train wreck we have been served up by ETH, nothing that has been out of ETH's control has forced him to play a stupid system which the players available to him cannot adapt to, 100% on him and 100% why our season has been much worse that it could have been
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Our negotiating skills have been woeful. Hopefully we now have people in place that can drive a hard bargain.
 
Fallon d'Floor said:
Spurs play with both full-backs inverted and high up the pitch. It leaves a lot of space for Romero and van de Ven to cover. Spurs like to control possession. 3rd best at 61.5%.

Villa play with one of the highest defensive lines in world football. They get it right a lot more than they get it wrong. It's far from simplistic to pull that off.

Both systems care quite complex and both teams will need to add more squad depth in order to push on next season.

Spurs need an upgrade on Bissouma and a Son alternative. Villa need to add new full-backs and buy a reliable backup ST to rotate with Watkins.
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They aren't really if you watch how both teams play, they play high, press high and are very quick and direct at times. But, let's see how they fair if they manage to get those upgrades in the summer.

The other big difference between those teams and Utd is the level of technical abiltiy, physicality and athleticism in midfield and defence. They have the recovery pace that allows them to play higher, Utd don't have that in midfield or defence.

Utd's situation is a consequence of bad squad planning and a poor transfer strategy over 10 years. It's not just ETH or his choice of players, the squad just doesn't have the technical and physical qualities in key areas to be a team that will compete for trophies. Yes, he can be blamed for the signings and how he chooses to set the team up, but a lot of the problems with how he sets the team up come from not having the right types of players in attack to keep the ball and drag teams around and in midfield and defence to be able to recover the ball quickly when it lost.

Perhaps he should compromise and play it safer, but then he'd be slated for chopping and changing and not sticking to a game plan.

To be honest. It really doesn't matter if ETH stays or who else comes in, most of these players just are not good enough. When he came in, it was a 2-3 year job, given how it's gone, it's another 2-3 year job and even Jim Ratcliffe has pointed at that. I've said it before, Utd fans just need to be prepared for it to get worse before it gets better.
 
Fallon d'Floor said:
Or...

He got rid of De Gea because he was deemed not good enough on the ball, yet he has Onana pumping long balls up the pitch and hoping we win 2nd balls. Percentage football. It made no sense to bring in a ball playing GK and utilise him this way.

Amrabat would have been praised as genius loan for a good overall fee of £29-30 million had we signed him permanently. Now he's been relegated to just a loan signing due to ten Hag giving up on him early. It's an expensive loan at £8.5 million. You don't loan in a player for that fee if you're not planning on signing him.

Maybe ten Hag should have prioritised a CB over Mount. Trying to make a midfield three work with both Mount and Bruno in it was a crazy idea. You'd need prime Fernandinho or a tireless midfielder like Kanté to make that work. If he genuinely thought that Casemiro was capable of covering enough ground on his own, he miscalculated that badly.

Martial was a good backup ST last season. The best goals to minutes ratio in the squad out of all the attackers last season. Another ST should have been brought in, yes. But that doesn't excuse how bad we've been in attacks for almost 2 full seasons under ten Hag. It's been a real issue in the league.

I have zero sympathy for ten Hag. He hasn't gotten enough value out of the players he brought in.
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That is circumstance, not how he tries to play. When we have Martinez there, we attempt to play out from the back and set pressing traps. Dalot regularly takes the ball on the turn, in the centre of the pitch when we try to tranisition. Even Wan Bissaka does it. It's disingenuous to say he's utilising Onana that way, he clearly isn't.

Amrabaat was a shit signing, but all we could afford or come up with. Deserves criticism for, but in the grand scheme of things will be a cheap mistake.

How could he prioritise a CB? He had Martinez, Varane, Maguire and Lindelof in the squad and none of them were leaving. I don't believe that would have worked either, but Mount hasn't played all season, but he may have found a way to fit Mount into this side.

I blame everyone for Martial still being here, he should have been gone a while ago.

I don't have sympathy, because he's made his own mistakes causing the issues, but it's been compounded by errors above him and injuries (lots of debate where that stems from though, so he could have his part to blame in it).
 
Ineos keeping ten hag. Next season is over before it starts.

We are not elite anymore.
 
Lash said:
That is circumstance, not how he tries to play. When we have Martinez there, we attempt to play out from the back and set pressing traps. Dalot regularly takes the ball on the turn, in the centre of the pitch when we try to tranisition. Even Wan Bissaka does it. It's disingenuous to say he's utilising Onana that way, he clearly isn't.

Amrabaat was a shit signing, but all we could afford or come up with. Deserves criticism for, but in the grand scheme of things will be a cheap mistake.

How could he prioritise a CB? He had Martinez, Varane, Maguire and Lindelof in the squad and none of them were leaving. I don't believe that would have worked either, but Mount hasn't played all season, but he may have found a way to fit Mount into this side.

I blame everyone for Martial still being here, he should have been gone a while ago.

I don't have sympathy, because he's made his own mistakes causing the issues, but it's been compounded by errors above him and injuries (lots of debate where that stems from though, so he could have his part to blame in it).
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We also did the same thing for parts of last season. Their passing stats are almost identical. Onana is better at dealing with crosses and is quicker off his line. ten Hag has never tried to turn United into a proper possession oriented team. Playing for 2nd balls is what ten Hag has settled on. A waste of a signing for the system he has put in place. He wants United to be a counter pressing team and one that is good in transition. Back to front quickly and capitalise on opposition mistakes high up.

£8.5 million fee + his salary for the year. It affects FFP.

Mount and Bruno together with Casemiro was his plan. It didn't work. We saw it vs Wolves on the opening night. A CB or DM would have been better choices than Mount. I don't think Mount is a bad player, but there was no need to sign him. We could have gotten him on a free transfer this summer had we waited. Also, both Maguire and Lindelöf didn't need to be kept. Maguire didn't want to leave, which is fair enough. But he could have bought an athletic CB for less than what Mount cost. Or signed a midfielder like Onana. Not that I rate Onana highly.

I believe that the likes of Howe, De Zerbri and ten Hag will have to take a fair amount of blame for the amount of injuries they've experienced this season. It's a combination of a lack of rotation last season, not getting the pre-season preparation right, and overtraining during the season. Pressing teams will suffer muscles injuries more frequently.
 
Cost of firing shouldn't make a difference to whether the manager stays or not, whoever that is. If they're not performing to the acceptable level then they're costing the club more through lack of European football, prize money for league position.

Same goes for hiring a new one. In a squad where you've spent the best part of a billion, paying say £10m to get someone who makes better use of those players is nothing. If that means for FFP reasons or whatever that you have to go without signing a back-up LB then so be it.
 
No one knows anything, but you can't have a clear out but keep the guy who has been the most clueless in the job and has played a part in our shit season still here next year.
 
It's not news, just an opinion piece based on recent information. Ineos stance hasn't changed.
 
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