Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24

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Fair point actually, though in his time at United he won't have filled many with the idea that his man management is great at all.

He's in full throw everyone but himself under the bus mode.
That's his only mode.
 
Fair point actually, though in his time at United he won't have filled many with the idea that his man management is great at all.

He's in full throw everyone but himself under the bus mode.
And it seems to be working on a large portion of the fanbase, and possibly on the new hierarchy as well
 
That should have been a bit of red flag right from the off really, I always thought the payoff for having Rangnick as the manager would have been the knowledge he could have passed on to Ten Hag, yet he seemed to dismiss it out of hand.

Everyone knows Rangnick was hired in the wrong post at United, yet knew exactly what he was talking about when it came to what the club needed.

This gets exaggerated though. Rangnick had a long handover with ETH by phone I think. The problem was that Rangnick was hired on a consultancy whereas it was John Murtoughs job he should have got.

I think in the end John Murtough didn’t want to dilute his power and ETH also seemed to suggest in his interviews with the club that he didn’t need the huge overhaul Rangnick suggested we did. Which to some extent he proved last year.

He has been here a while now though and it’s quite possible that his view on some players has changed or that he recognises that the Murtough etc team wasn’t delivering as well. Things do change.
 
I checked the respective thread at a big Bayern forum and most posters are positive about him. Not the preferred choice but from the ones available at this point in time the best option.
 
Diogo Costa was a scouted choice, Onana was his top choice, therefore he got his top target. Antony was his top target too, and Timber rejected us so Martinez then became his first choice and we bought him. The criteria here is players that Ten Hag wanted, which he's claiming he didn't get, it's pure delusion.

I don’t see how you can argue Antony was a top choice when that signing was not prioritised. And by definition, Timber being first choice and then moving onto Martinez makes Martinez 2nd choice.

Costa and Onana I have no way of knowing what ETH preferred. I can understand that the familiarly of Onana vs the risk of a new player could make him a preferred option. However, budget seems to have played a fairly large role in that choice because we had clear limitations last summer while trying to find a new striker and midfielder.
 
I actually only think one of that list was a top target.

Mount - Top target

Onana - Opportunistic buy because we were heavily linked to Diogo Costa but his release clause was something like €65-70m. We heard Onana could be gotten for €50m and ETH had worked with him before so they went for it probably so they could use those funds saved elsewhere.

Amrabat - clearly wasn’t a top target. He was prioritised until late in the window when we had created funds from selling fringe players. Therefore, was clearly intended as a squad utility player.

Antony - Was suggested earlier at a lower price point and only brought in late in the window after a bad start.

Malacia - Always a squad player signing.

Martinez - we actually pursued Timber first.

Eriksen - A free agent brought in as a backup option as FDJ seemed unlikely and we needed a more culture midfielder.

Weghorst - an emergency January loan signing.
If we take a look at the big two that we missed out on.

De Jong didn't even want to come to United, top target or not, what is the club meant to do? They agreed the deal with Barca, but FdJ wasn't interested.

Then you have Kane last summer. Spurs wouldn't have wanted to sell to us and I'd argue that Kane probably would have opted for Bayern instead of United anyway. I'm sure Kane would rather win the PL than the Bundesliga but he would have been thinking that the odds of winning the league or CL were a lot higher at Bayern than at United.

It's a similar delusion to LVG wanting Muller at United, simply unrealistic.

There are longer term questions marks but Jose targeted more realistic signings like Maguire, Dier, Boateng, Perisic and Willian. I don't think we would have been better off but he wasn't point out extremely difficult targets to buy.
 
I don’t see how you can argue Antony was a top choice when that signing was not prioritised. And by definition, Timber being first choice and then moving onto Martinez makes Martinez 2nd choice.

Costa and Onana I have no way of knowing what ETH preferred. I can understand that the familiarly of Onana vs the risk of a new player could make him a preferred option. However, budget seems to have played a fairly large role in that choice because we had clear limitations last summer while trying to find a new striker and midfielder.
We had the option to sign Timber this summer also but Ten Hag decided against it because we had a player of similar profile in Martinez, so surely if he was first choice, like actually first choice, he would have pushed for that instead of chasing Mount all summer. We’ll find out exactly what Ten Hag said once Murtough leaves the club and throws some shit back his way.
 
I don’t see how you can argue Antony was a top choice when that signing was not prioritised. And by definition, Timber being first choice and then moving onto Martinez makes Martinez 2nd choice.

Costa and Onana I have no way of knowing what ETH preferred. I can understand that the familiarly of Onana vs the risk of a new player could make him a preferred option. However, budget seems to have played a fairly large role in that choice because we had clear limitations last summer while trying to find a new striker and midfielder.
Ten Hag wanted Antony, the scouts thought the asking price was too high, Ten Hag has an awful start to the season, the pressure’s on and the club give in to Ajax’s demands. Ten Hag gets his target. I don’t understand how anyone can argue Antony wasn’t a priority Ten Hag signing.

Timber’s rejection is completely out of the club’s control, we then move onto Ten Hag’s second choice, Martinez, who remains a top target. We bought who Ten Hag wanted, the club didn’t go for someone he didn’t want, so his argument doesn’t hold up.
 
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If you think he’ll be sacked next season anyway, why would you want for him to get the new season?

Seriously, there must be something wrong with lots of United fans. It is like reading a new version of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Because I accept I don’t know everything. Give him a go and see. Could turn out that I’m wrong and sacking the manager would be a mistake.
 
I’ve noticed anytime we get a full week or more between games the level of support ETH receives grows. It’s honestly crazy how easy it is for some United fans to fall in love with a failing manager.

Poch has been ripped apart all season on here and will probably end up finishing higher than us despite having all of the same excuses as EtH with more validity. James, Fofana, Nkunku and Chilwell have missed most of the season, then you have other pieces like Chukwuemeka, Colwill and Lavia too. His first season too with a mental decision making at board level.

Same with Newcastle. They have a smaller squad than us and have dealt with major injuries too and had their marquee signing out for the year for betting.

If EtH held his own in either points/ table position or performance levels I would understand some of the support but I think he’s failing at everything.
 
Because I accept I don’t know everything. Give him a go and see. Could turn out that I’m wrong and sacking the manager would be a mistake.
By that logic we should also give him a go the following season, and the season after that.

In fact that's what I expect most of his defenders to say next season if he does stay on. "Just give him another year, he'll turn things around!"
 
I’ve noticed anytime we get a full week or more between games the level of support ETH receives grows. It’s honestly crazy how easy it is for some United fans to fall in love with a failing manager.

Poch has been ripped apart all season on here and will probably end up finishing higher than us despite having all of the same excuses as EtH with more validity. James, Fofana, Nkunku and Chilwell have missed most of the season, then you have other pieces like Chukwuemeka, Colwill and Lavia too. His first season too with a mental decision making at board level.

Same with Newcastle. They have a smaller squad than us and have dealt with major injuries too and had their marquee signing out for the year for betting.

If EtH held his own in either points/ table position or performance levels I would understand some of the support but I think he’s failing at everything.
A week is generous. 48 hours tops. Lot of fans with the memories of goldfish.
 
There is no way that he is not aware of the costs of players. And even if he is just 1% intelligent as Caf thinks, he would have known that spending 80m in Antony would have consequences next season. Or spending over 100m in Onana and Mount (two players we didn’t need at all) will have consequences on the rest of the transfer window.

He is either too dumb or he was full aware of consequences but actually thought signing those players for that amount of money was a good idea and was fine with that.

No one was forcing EtH to sign players for those massive prices, especially players that they probably didn’t know they exist until EtH asked to sign them.

I already said that post was only by giving him a benefit of doubt. The transfer process seems to a bit opaque to me.

When the manager asks for a player, is the manager (ETH or anyone else) asked about how high the club should pay for a player he wants?

During the negotiation, does the club keep reporting back to the manager how much the selling club is holding off for and ask him if he still thinks it is worth it.

Or

Once the players are identified, does the club decide how much they wanna pay, what kind of salary they would offer, taking a call based on how it will affect the FFP and other things and not ask any feedback from the manager on such stuff. And tell the manager its not gonna happen when they see that it is a very costly process.
 
Half of that list are top targets
I would say that Onana and Antony were, Mount clearly wasn't given he wanted De Jong. Most of the players you mentioned were insignificant signings based on a given situation, saying you'll take player x over nothing is not the same thing as naming your ideal player for a position.
 
Speaking of signings, I think he really wanted Frenkie to play his Ajax style of football here, but it’s not the club’s fault that the player himself didn’t want to move, isn’t it? United would have paid up if Frenkie wanted to come

Yeah but if your style of play relies so heavily on one particular player and you don't have an alternative, then it can't be that great of a style of play to begin with.

Do Barca play his Ajax style? Did Ajax still play the same style under Ten Hag after FDJ left in 2019?
 
I would say that Onana and Antony were, Mount clearly wasn't given he wanted De Jong. Most of the players you mentioned were insignificant signings based on a given situation, saying you'll take player x over nothing is not the same thing as naming your ideal player for a position.
If his top targets were Pele, Maradona, and Messi, does he get absolved of his failings when the club fails to deliver them?

Because those three were about as gettable as De Jong.
 
I would say that Onana and Antony were, Mount clearly wasn't given he wanted De Jong. Most of the players you mentioned were insignificant signings based on a given situation, saying you'll take player x over nothing is not the same thing as naming your ideal player for a position.
Mount was a Ten Hag signing, he sung it from the rooftops when we unveiled him. FDJ wasn’t even the same summer, that was the previous year. Half were priority signings, amounting to £250 million, the other half are squad players that Ten Hag still wanted, adding to the contradiction of his claim.
 
I’ve noticed anytime we get a full week or more between games the level of support ETH receives grows. It’s honestly crazy how easy it is for some United fans to fall in love with a failing manager.

Poch has been ripped apart all season on here and will probably end up finishing higher than us despite having all of the same excuses as EtH with more validity. James, Fofana, Nkunku and Chilwell have missed most of the season, then you have other pieces like Chukwuemeka, Colwill and Lavia too. His first season too with a mental decision making at board level.

Same with Newcastle. They have a smaller squad than us and have dealt with major injuries too and had their marquee signing out for the year for betting.

If EtH held his own in either points/ table position or performance levels I would understand some of the support but I think he’s failing at everything.

Then match day comes and you watch the team play for the first time in 9 days today and realise that absolutely nothing has changed at all
 

Of course. At United, he could do a bad job and have only the fans and media talking about it. At Bayern, the president would call him out in public.
Which also seems to be the reason multiple managers are rejecting the Bayern job.
 
Speaking of signings, I think he really wanted Frenkie to play his Ajax style of football here, but it’s not the club’s fault that the player himself didn’t want to move, isn’t it? United would have paid up if Frenkie wanted to come
I find it baffling that so many people think having Frenkie here would have automatically made us a possession heavy side.
 
I think it's that unfortunate speech by Sir Alex. It got recommended to me recently and the top comment with +10k likes says "he told us to stand by the manager, so sad to see our fans still haven't learned". People still think managers should have unconditional support over everyone at the club.

For some even above the club, everyone and anyone at the club is at fault if a manager fails. Everyone is against him and actively trying to make them fail. They are a noble hero fighitng against a tide of incompetence, lazyness and malicious intent, they alone are tyring to drag us back to former glories through sheer will power. And they'll get us there like some prophesied religious figure, but only if we keep the faith through 5-6 years of shiteness first while he sorts the club and everyone at it out first. Just like Fergie did back in the 80's.
 
I don't think Ten Hag survives this season, I am somewhat in the don't want him to camp. But there are so many bad takes on here based on assumptions.

Ten Hag didn't say "I want Kane" or "I want de jong" he gave the club a player archetype for each role and Murtough said that these roles would be filled by the time Ten Hag got his foot in the door. This didn't happen, because the club having poor infrastructure had nobody who was in charge of saying we have identified x,y,z and we are going to bid for them. What happened was Murtough met with Ten Hag and said here are players x,y,z who do you recommend. Ten Hag did not demand control, he had a veto and was given his pick of targets.

We know that last Summer we needed a defender, a dm, a right winger, and a striker at the very least. We signed the defender Martinez and were offered Antony in that deal as a package. The Glazers would not sign off on the extra cost.

We then spent all summer targeting De Jong. We don't know if De Jong gave any private input to Ten Hag or Murtough but we know that Ten Hag needed a player of that profile. When that transfer was failing who did the club identify as player y,z as alternatives? We didn't, we overspent on Casemiro (he had a good season granted, but the signs were there of decline) and then overspent on Antony after being offered him a lot cheaper earlier in the window which led to no money in the winter and we had to sign Weghorst. Weghorsts arrival coincided in Rashford scoring a good amount of goals against weakened opposition and being praised as the second coming so we gave him an even bigger contract and he reverted to type.

With Casemiro and Eriksen in decline, and injury prone at left back, centre back and the wings, the club went for Mason Mount and Hojlund at premium prices. We have had our first team defence on the pitch for all of 5 games all season with a new goalkeeper and no first team left back for over half our games. We face another window needing a centre back, midfielder, left back, right winger and striker. And the reason is not because Ten Hag only wanted players he knew but because the club didn't offer him alternatives at the level required, plus mismanagement of funds and inappropriate prioritisation of squad roles. The rebuild by Murtough was not the level that any manager coming in would get success from, and its important wether Ten Hag stays or goes that we don't scapegoat him entirely for the mess we are now facing.
 
Are Bayern seeing something in him that we aren’t or are they running out of options? I’m not 100% wanting him out like almost the entire Caf are but i personally don’t mind seeing him given a third and final season to prove himself, that’s just me though
 
I would say that Onana and Antony were, Mount clearly wasn't given he wanted De Jong. Most of the players you mentioned were insignificant signings based on a given situation, saying you'll take player x over nothing is not the same thing as naming your ideal player for a position.
He was provided with equivalents that he himself approved. They aren't 'over nothing' signings.

De Jong - Mount
Kane - Hojlund
Timber - Martinez

Mount became his top target last summer after Frenkie won the title with barca and was obviously staying.
 
I checked the respective thread at a big Bayern forum and most posters are positive about him. Not the preferred choice but from the ones available at this point in time the best option.

Fair play to them, just because he hasn't worked out here doesn't mean he can't be the right fit somewhere else.
 
I don’t see how you can argue Antony was a top choice when that signing was not prioritised. And by definition, Timber being first choice and then moving onto Martinez makes Martinez 2nd choice.

Costa and Onana I have no way of knowing what ETH preferred. I can understand that the familiarly of Onana vs the risk of a new player could make him a preferred option. However, budget seems to have played a fairly large role in that choice because we had clear limitations last summer while trying to find a new striker and midfielder.

Given Dutch coaches penchant for left footed centre backs. Had we signed Timber first, we then wouldn't have signed Martinez yes?

Who then do you think Ten Hag had in mind to play LCB?
 
Very funny that he feels he’s received less backing than Mourinho.
 
We had the option to sign Timber this summer also but Ten Hag decided against it because we had a player of similar profile in Martinez, so surely if he was first choice, like actually first choice, he would have pushed for that instead of chasing Mount all summer. We’ll find out exactly what Ten Hag said once Murtough leaves the club and throws some shit back his way.

Why would you go back though? If you move onto your 2nd choice you don't then buy the 1st choice again at the next opportunity. We do know we looked at CB's last summer with Pavard linked if Maguire left. It's likely though that Timber and Martinez together would have been too small so I don't think TImber stayed on the list.
 
He was provided with equivalents that he himself approved. They aren't 'over nothing' signings.

De Jong - Mount
Kane - Hojlund
Timber - Martinez

Mount became his top target last summer after Frenkie won the title with barca and was obviously staying.
I haven't really argued otherwise, I'm simply saying there is no way people can actually believe all of the players he's signed were his top targets, which is what the poster essentially originally said. He doesn't seem to be great at signing players, and moving forward we should be doing most of the heavy lifting in that dept, and giving him a final list of players who all suit that position in the team, in line with the overall goals of the club(if he's still here beyond May).

I'm sure we were already attempting to do that but failing miserably, as we have proven to be atrocious at signing players. Hopefully that is going to change.
 
Injuries & quite a few bad refereeing/VAR decisions have played their part this season, but Ten Hag’s selections and in game substitutions have cost us as much.
Personally, I’d prefer to see a new manager take over right now but I think he’s going to get another season under the Ratcliffe regime to see if he can put things back on track.
None of the names we’ve been linked with excite me anyway.

Yeah seems to me that INEOS aren't excited by the names either hence why I see him staying
 
I don't think Ten Hag survives this season, I am somewhat in the don't want him to camp. But there are so many bad takes on here based on assumptions.

Ten Hag didn't say "I want Kane" or "I want de jong" he gave the club a player archetype for each role and Murtough said that these roles would be filled by the time Ten Hag got his foot in the door. This didn't happen, because the club having poor infrastructure had nobody who was in charge of saying we have identified x,y,z and we are going to bid for them. What happened was Murtough met with Ten Hag and said here are players x,y,z who do you recommend. Ten Hag did not demand control, he had a veto and was given his pick of targets.

We know that last Summer we needed a defender, a dm, a right winger, and a striker at the very least. We signed the defender Martinez and were offered Antony in that deal as a package. The Glazers would not sign off on the extra cost.

We then spent all summer targeting De Jong. We don't know if De Jong gave any private input to Ten Hag or Murtough but we know that Ten Hag needed a player of that profile. When that transfer was failing who did the club identify as player y,z as alternatives? We didn't, we overspent on Casemiro (he had a good season granted, but the signs were there of decline) and then overspent on Antony after being offered him a lot cheaper earlier in the window which led to no money in the winter and we had to sign Weghorst. Weghorsts arrival coincided in Rashford scoring a good amount of goals against weakened opposition and being praised as the second coming so we gave him an even bigger contract and he reverted to type.

With Casemiro and Eriksen in decline, and injury prone at left back, centre back and the wings, the club went for Mason Mount and Hojlund at premium prices. We have had our first team defence on the pitch for all of 5 games all season with a new goalkeeper and no first team left back for over half our games. We face another window needing a centre back, midfielder, left back, right winger and striker. And the reason is not because Ten Hag only wanted players he knew but because the club didn't offer him alternatives at the level required, plus mismanagement of funds and inappropriate prioritisation of squad roles. The rebuild by Murtough was not the level that any manager coming in would get success from, and its important wether Ten Hag stays or goes that we don't scapegoat him entirely for the mess we are now facing.

You seem to have a deep inner knowledge of how United's transfer strategy and the intercations/conversations that took place between Ten Hag and Murtagh.
 
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