Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24

[romufc]

can’t believe you’re rolling out the word “agenda” when someone states an opinion. Would you take it easy.

ETH is the man that has ultimate responsibility over who plays and who doesn’t, over who trains and who doesn’t, over his own relationship with the players and the staff - getting to know each one and developing trust to know when to take someone’s opinion and when to show caution.

notwithstanding any of that, ETH also has 100% responsibility for how he reacted to injuries. He could have chosen to give minutes to certain younger players, could have adapted his style, could have realised the longer term importance of some players who were integral to his preferred style of play and showed caution as was the case with shaw, Martinez, Casemiro at different points in the season. He didn’t.

so-the argument is not the simple one you are suggesting ie. That I’m saying Ten Hag controls whether or not the players are injured. It’s the conversation around how he dealt with the fitness of the squad and the fall out of that generally - which was, imo, not good.

hardly an extreme assessment and certainly not an agenda.

Oh right.. so he has no LB but one left back is 50/50 so he should say no Luke go back get 100% fit and come back. When you are dealing with a player that is never 100% fit.

So how did he not adapt without a LB? United were also the team that gave most mins U21 but you wanted him to play more kids?

So basically you think that he handled injuries badly and would have preffered Dalot, Kambwala, Evans, Amas as our defence against City ? Because we all know Varane and Licha were not 100% fit.

 

[tjb]

The Ashworth situation is a complete mess in terms of how they went about it, and the uncertainty on when he can actually start. Is it worth getting Dan Ashworth if you need to wait 1,5 years for him for example? Not sure.
The whole mess about the manager this summer, is just amateur level. Not being able to make up their mind whether they want to sack or commit to their current manager. It seems no different than the rubbish under the Glazers and Woodward.

I don't agree. They stated the process they were going to use. Used the process, not letting the FA cup euphoria get to them and made a decision. The media made it out to be a debacle when it was a logical process really. If INEOS had been in place throughout the course of last season, he would have definitely been sacked. The truth is, not everyone in leadership or the fanbase believes that he's the person to drive us forward. So a long review was necessary to come to a clear path forward for the immediate future, which would have needed to take time. This is clearly not Abramovich with Chelsea or Levy with Spurs where solitary figures can make quick decisive decisions. Some of which can be good, but a lot of which can be impulsive. With this group and even with the process they used, they cannot be accused of being impulsive.

The situation with Ashworth can happen and has happened with many other clubs. Newcastle decided to be petty over it. As a club, we're trying to change how we deal with situations with other clubs who try to fleece us. We also can't renege on our commitment to Ashworth, now that would be amateur. So, in the long run, this is just a small step in the process that fans and media are overblowing because their too impatient for the structure they asked for.

Structure includes having a process of assessment that might take time. This structure includes having a laser eye focus on the manager and not letting them run free.

Ten Haag and the squad are the ones that had a poor campaign last year, not INEOS. If he had a better campaign, there won't have been an evaluation period needed, but like any employee who has been underperforming, a review should have been expected. We didn't treat him unfairly as the process was spelled out to him and his performances justified such a process. His job from preseason onward is to prove that he actually does have the tactical and man management capacity to drive us forward.

 

[romufc]

ot something he's shown any capability of so far in England.

I mean he has managed 2 seasons.

 

[Andy_Cole]

I’m yet to see this mythical meltdown people are repeatedly referring to.

Conversation in this thread is pretty tame.

If anything it’s caused the opposite. I myself is liking his arrogance and snipes at rival managers (Tuchel and Southgate). Snipes at INEOS is good too until they pull their finger out. It’s a big summer and if we allow them to dither around we will fall further.

 

[leontas]

That looks more like his reaction when Tadic was speaking glowingly about him in his post-match interview.

 

[Leftback99]

I’m yet to see this mythical meltdown people are repeatedly referring to.

Conversation in this thread is pretty tame.

Sounds like you're having a MELTDOWN with that comment.

 

[AbusementPark]

Don't think Ineos will be too pleased. As soon as we have a bad run of form and there's a decent replacement out there he's gone.

They’re giving him a new contract so would need to build something into that contract to get rid for a smaller fee. Lack of champions league football should be an automatic escape clause. Also depends if he signs the new contract or not with any additional clauses in it.

 

[stefan92]

I don't agree. They stated the process they were going to use. Used the process, not letting the FA cup euphoria get to them and made a decision. The media made it out to be a debacle when it was a logical process really. If INEOS had been in place throughout the course of last season, he would have definitely been sacked. The truth is, not everyone in leadership or the fanbase believes that he's the person to drive us forward. So a long review was necessary to come to a clear path forward for the immediate future, which would have needed to take time. This is clearly not Abramovich with Chelsea or Levy with Spurs where solitary figures can make quick decisive decisions. Some of which can be good, but a lot of which can be impulsive. With this group and even with the process they used, they cannot be accused of being impulsive.

The situation with Ashworth can happen and has happened with many other clubs. Newcastle decided to be petty over it. As a club, we're trying to change how we deal with situations with other clubs who try to fleece us. We also can't renege on our commitment to Ashworth, now that would be amateur. So, in the long run, this is just a small step in the process that fans and media are overblowing because their too impatient for the structure they asked for.

Structure includes having a process of assessment that might take time. This structure includes having a laser eye focus on the manager and not letting them run free.

Ten Haag and the squad are the ones that had a poor campaign last year, not INEOS. If he had a better campaign, there won't have been an evaluation period needed, but like any employee who has been underperforming, a review should have been expected. We didn't treat him unfairly as the process was spelled out to him and his performances justified such a process. His job from preseason onward is to prove that he actually does have the tactical and man management capacity to drive us forward.

Committing to someone you can't be sure to get - that is amateur level.
Performing a season review without involving the two most important people in the structure (manager on holiday, DoF not signed) - that is amateur level.

It's true that EtH and the team had a poor campaign last year, but INEOS do their best to ensure that things will not improve next season. If they really do get all their stuff right in this slow way they seem to have to set up their proper "structure" they might have a shot next summer. Which would mean completely wasting next season.

 

[duffer]

Why is he even doing TV punditry in the off-season? Weird.

Because money is nice.

 

[Insanity]

Well, if that's how he's thinking, he's extraordinarily shortsighted. Because the power lies with INEOS, whether he trusts them or not. They can fire him any time they want. He won't dictate the club strategy (and thank heavens for that). He can just decide if he wants to be a part of it or if he wants to be an obstacle. The latter choice rarely ends well. Including for the club.

I don't think he cares. He is extremely confident in himself (or at least pretends to be). In the post match interview after the FA cup he said, "If they don't want me, I'll go and win trophies elsewhere". Yesterday he called them novices. He doesn't give a hoot about getting sacked as he knows he'll walk out with a huge payout and after having won two trophies in two seasons at a club in decline. While INEOS will be seen as amateurs who have completely botched their first big decision in charge of the football side of the club. Rightly or wrongly, Ten Hag as all the power in this situation.

On the second part, why would he want to be part of something that he thinks INEOS are not equipped for, at least not yet. He has a contract with the veto power and is sceptical on a new one. He wants to keep his power.

 

[Red00012]

Well that’s probably Bollox seeing as the guy behind him is smiling. It’s probably the Tadic moment

 

[Insanity]

I’m fully behind him on this. The club has shown to be incompetent in how we dealt with him so far and he has every reason to not trust them to get him the players he wants and needs. He’s not going to sign a new deal and then be accountable for being unable to deliver results with a team that doesn’t fit his ideas.

Yeah, he is not signing a new deal with reduced powers when he is not confident in INEOS. Any deal now will have to be a favorable one to him.

 

[Fortitude]

He is finally entering the Walter White act proper.

 

[frostbite]

Committing to someone you can't be sure to get - that is amateur level.
Performing a season review without involving the two most important people in the structure (manager on holiday, DoF not signed) - that is amateur level.

It's true that EtH and the team had a poor campaign last year, but INEOS do their best to ensure that things will not improve next season. If they really do get all their stuff right in this slow way they seem to have to set up their proper "structure" they might have a shot next summer. Which would mean completely wasting next season.

I am afraid INEOS wrote off next season already. That's why they are keeping ETH. We read they want him to sign a new contract, perhaps adding that if we don't get CL football next year, then he can be sacked with little compensation. If ETH does not agree to this, then his contract will expire next summer anyway.

Either way, the new people ("the structure") will have time to evaluate the whole thing, and get ready for the next summer. Right now, they haven't even taken their positions yet - not properly, not all of them.

It makes sense. Usually, it is not a good idea to make decisions about a business before having time to get to know what you are dealing with. For us, the fans, this whole thing is too slow. But for them, it is not prudent to make decisions that can cost millions during their first day on the job.

 

[TsuWave]

Winning titles anywhere doesn't mean that much in the PL because there's a million different things that have to be taken to account when taking another team in another league. Frankly I don't even think Guardiola can go to any team int he world and make them world beaters unless he has the right structure and the right players to achieve his philosophy. I don't think we'd be that good even if Guardiola took us now. But CV is important. I had no faith in Ole as a manager because his CV was solely lacking, I have trust in Ten Hag because his isn't. And I would have no trust in Tuchel as a manager because his history as such speaks for itself. That's the difference.

CV is always a factor. The value of Eredivisie titles, all due respect, is not great to me. It isn't a particularly competitive or great competition - and we've now had two examples of multi eredivisie title winners come to the Prem and get found out.

But this is the problem. You expect instant glory. No, this team isn't challenging for the league even if you get Guardiola or Klopp. Huge revamp needs to be done. Hell, the only manager I can think capable of winning the league with this bunch is SAF and I think even he might struggle. The reason why I mentioned the 2 trophies is because we haven't won a trophy in ages. And a team needs to win trophies consistently in order to form a belief and a winning mentality. Yes, they might not be the best of trophies but it's a start. The reason why Tuchel is unimpressive to me is because he failed miserably at Bayern, he achieved nothing at Chelsea (except the CL he took the team from midseason), he never reached the heights Klopp did at Dortmund with much more resources at his disposal and he did win 2 leagues with PSG. But hey... It's PSG, I can win a title with that team in that league. And most of all Tuchel has a knack of leaving every job he's had with fireworks & explosions. Is that the kind of manager we want? A Mourinho 2.0 with none of his resume when we took him?

Your premise is flawed, which means the rest of your post will be nonsensical, respectfully. At no point did I give you any indication that I want instant glory or that I expect this team to challenge for the league. You just needed that crutch as a segue and volunteered it, even if without any basis for it. There's a lot of space between "instant glory" and "worst prem campaign ever".

Again, if one of the pillars of your criticisms for Tuchel is "the only noteworthy thing to his name is the CL he won with Chelsea... something any manager can do since it's a cup competition." You can't then turn around and say "2 trophies" for Ten Hag, as if we're not aware of what those trophies were. It's comical. Even more so when you compound it by holding Ten Hag in great esteem for his CV (presumably titles with Ajax) and then turn around and are dismissive of Tuchel's titles with PSG.

The math doesn't add up. You'd be better off just saying you like Ten Hag because of his hairstyle.

I would argue Ten Hag is at the position Klopp was when he left Dortmund.

You'd be wrong.

'Our worst prem campaign' is a ridiculous thing to say.

Yet true:

• This is the most defeats United have suffered in a Premier League season (13)
• United have never finished below seventh in Premier League
• United have conceded 81 goals in all competitions this season, their most in a campaign since 1976-77 (also 81)
• They have not finished a season on a minus goal difference since 1989-90 in Division One.

Now go look up when the premier league started.

 

[NLunited]

I am afraid INEOS wrote off next season already. That's why they are keeping ETH. We read they want him to sign a new contract, perhaps adding that if we don't get CL football next year, then he can be sacked with little compensation. If ETH does not agree to this, then his contract will expire next summer anyway.

Either way, the new people ("the structure") will have time to evaluate the whole thing, and get ready for the next summer. Right now, they haven't even taken their positions yet - not properly, not all of them.

It makes sense. Usually, it is not a good idea to make decisions about a business before having time to get to know what you are dealing with. For us, the fans, this whole thing is too slow. But for them, it is not prudent to make decisions that can cost millions during their first day on the job.

It looks like we won’t be able to correct enough issues this summer to put us in top four with almost dead certainty. There still will be overpaid players on the books who don’t fit here and structural issues with staff.

All that matters is that we keep moving in the right direction. No more overpaying for transfers, no more insane wages, no more older players who are declining, better recruitment according to a long term vision.

Fix the medical team issues whatever they are.

Unfortunately knives will be out again for Ten Hag, especially from the media and the ETH out cultists who are having a meltdown.

It is good to see Erik has such a strong bond with many of his former players, like Tadic, who called him the best manager he worked with.

We need to get rid of bad influences in the dressing room and go for more young players who are willing to follow instructions and learn new things.

 

[Leftback99]

It looks like we won’t be able to correct enough issues this summer to put us in top four with almost dead certainty. There still will be overpaid players on the books who don’t fit here and structural issues with staff.

All that matters is that we keep moving in the right direction. No more overpaying for transfers, no more insane wages, no more older players who are declining, better recruitment according to a long term vision.

Fix the medical team issues whatever they are.

Unfortunately knives will be out again for Ten Hag, especially from the media and the ETH out cultists who are having a meltdown.

It is good to see Erik has such a strong bond with many of his former players, like Tadic, who called him the best manager he worked with.

We need to get rid of bad influences in the dressing room and go for more young players who are willing to follow instructions and learn new things.

Get the excuses in early.

 

[Withnail]

Interview was pretty ordinary. He just responded honestly. Meltdown over absolutely nothing.

Some of you need to come to terms that he is staying.

It's a nothing burger. I've no idea why it generated so many pages and all this talk of embarrassment and INEOS have made a show of themselves etc.

Fairly straightforward. They talked to other people then decided to stay with me, came over to Ibiza and we decided we'd all continue working together and we'll have further talks and discuss a contract extension at a later date.

 

[NLunited]

Get the excuses in early.

Facts, not excuses. Still having your meltdown I see.

 

[red_de_pologne]

I think it's all a bit overstated. It's translated and probably not as blunt as reported.

He's had a bump in popularity with fans after the FA Cup Final, because fans are incredibly stupid, but there isn't much credit in the bank. If he is being deliberately antagonistic, it won't help his contract negotiations.

Slagging off Gareth Southgate and being called touted as a better manager than Ronald Koeman is all very good, but he has to start managing league games again in a few weeks. Not something he's shown any capability of so far in England.

Did you watch the season he finished 3rd?

 

[hobbers]

Facts, not excuses. Still having your meltdown I see.

Ah that beautiful forum trick favoured by the intellectually downtrodden, presenting anyone with a dissenting opinion as having a meltdown, or triggered.

 

[captaincantona]

Oh right.. so he has no LB but one left back is 50/50 so he should say no Luke go back get 100% fit and come back. When you are dealing with a player that is never 100% fit.

So how did he not adapt without a LB? United were also the team that gave most mins U21 but you wanted him to play more kids?

So basically you think that he handled injuries badly and would have preffered Dalot, Kambwala, Evans, Amas as our defence against City ? Because we all know Varane and Licha were not 100% fit.

No mate. Just think, when you see the damn right mind boggling approach to some of our games last season, and you hear him blaming injuries as the primary reason for those performances, you have to consider what his role was in relation to the primary reason for our poor performances. It ain’t rocket science.

in short, in my view he didn’t handle it very well and made mistakes. Therefore, I don’t just buy his excuses as to why we were so bad…and while I think sticking with him was the correct decision, considering the current crop of viable replacements and versus the rinse repeat cycle of just simply starting again, I still think he has a lot to prove.

Similarly, I find INEOS to not have been great so far - not by any stretch.

so in a summer where we had a huge opportunity for a positive restart - off the back of a trophy - with a structure in place, manager backed, head start on transfers etc. we seem to be at sea with uncertainty surrounding senior appointments, the managers long term future and future sales/recruitment. Maybe this summer was too soon for INEOS considering everything that needed to change but it’s fine to be unhappy about it.

 

[Leftback99]

Facts, not excuses. Still having your meltdown I see.

MELTDOWN!

 

[Ahmer Baig]

He was not wrong about Southgate.

 

[Leftback99]

Ah that beautiful forum trick favoured by the intellectually downtrodden, presenting anyone with a dissenting opinion as having a meltdown, or triggered.

Calm down. Stop foaming at the mouth.

 

[romufc]

No mate. Just think, when you see the damn right mind boggling approach to some of our games last season, and you hear him blaming injuries as the primary reason for those performances, you have to consider what his role was in relation to the primary reason for our poor performances. It ain’t rocket science.

in short, in my view he didn’t handle it very well and made mistakes. Therefore, I don’t just buy his excuses as to why we were so bad…and while I think sticking with him was the correct decision, considering the current crop of viable replacements and versus the rinse repeat cycle of just simply starting again, I still think he has a lot to prove.

Similarly, I find INEOS to not have been great so far - not by any stretch.

so in a summer where we had a huge opportunity for a positive restart - off the back of a trophy - with a structure in place, manager backed, head start on transfers etc. we seem to be at sea with uncertainty surrounding senior appointments, the managers long term future and future sales/recruitment. Maybe this summer was too soon for INEOS considering everything that needed to change but it’s fine to be unhappy about it.

I mean, you make it sound like rocket science. It is also a fact that players generally play on injuries, its rare when a player is 100% fit. I mean now we are blaming the manager for injuries when in fact almost every manager plays players through injury. There is no way he would go against the medical staff either.

Yes, he has alot to prove, you cant just blame everything on him

We clearly didnt have a doctor early enough.

I would say fine blame Ten Hag but players like Shaw, Martial are always injured, its not just under Ten Hag this has happened.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Calm down. Stop foaming at the mouth.

Sounds like somebody here is MOANING!

 

[hobbers]

Calm down. Stop foaming at the mouth.

Now you've done it.

I'm off to hide in the mains thread and have a good whinge about posters who dare to have opinions I disagree with.

 

[Grizzly B]

True... but I bet there are other quality people available that could sort out their stuff much faster than the Ashworth saga. Especially considering that I really have to question what exactly makes Ashworth "the best" option ahead of a bunch of other people who are doing good jobs in similar positions? To just throw a random name in here: Markus Krösche. He saw Frankfurt winning the Europa League, before that he was at Leipzig and as his first DoF job in Paderborn. He signed for them in the third division and he demanded a bonus payment clause in case Paderborn would get promoted to the first league under his leadership. He got that clause, and he got that bonus.

Not saying United/INEOS should go for him, but I think that's a CV easily on par with Ashworth in regard to club success and I'm sure there are other like him who all work for clubs which are easier to deal with than Newcastle.

Ashworth being the right man for the job remains to be seen, but he has a good track record and his appointment has been well received for the most part.

I think what a lot of fans are missing is that we are trying to recruit a CEO, Sporting Director and Technical Director all at the same time. If our Technical Director leaves and we have the CEO and Sporting Director in place the task of replacing him not only runs much smoother but there are two people that can either pick up that persons tasks or assign them to other members of staff in the meantime. When you have all three it becomes pretty challenging. I think INEOS are not being given the credit they deserve for getting Wilcox in place, and having Berrada due to start imminently. They might not have foreseen Newcastle playing hardball on Ashworth, and yes I think there should be some criticism levelled at INEOS for not being able to get this one over the line, but some of the terms being used to describe INEOS make them sound like idiots when I think so far they have shown they aren't.

If we get two years down the line and the club are still making the same mistakes then I think the criticism would be justified, but the entitlement and keyboard warrior rage of some posters on this forum is a bit over the top for my liking.

 

[captaincantona]

I mean, you make it sound like rocket science. It is also a fact that players generally play on injuries, its rare when a player is 100% fit. I mean now we are blaming the manager for injuries when in fact almost every manager plays players through injury. There is no way he would go against the medical staff either.

Yes, he has alot to prove, you cant just blame everything on him

We clearly didnt have a doctor early enough.

I would say fine blame Ten Hag but players like Shaw, Martial are always injured, its not just under Ten Hag this has happened.

I never blamed him solely on the injuries…I said I don’t think he dealt with the whole injury situation well.

 

[justsomebloke]

That's a fair assessment. But playing devil's advocate here, what can EtH obstruct by clinging to his current rights? A bad structure to do even more damage. And that's not necessarily worse than executing a bad strategy.

And to me it feels like this is where EtH stands at the moment: Thinking INEOS are a bunch of inexperienced clowns who don't do stuff the right way he likes it to be done. And after all that happened (and didn't happen) in the last weeks you can't blame him for that. This is entirely on INEOS not being able to get a competent structure in place before trying to make bold moves (like replacing the manager). It doesn't make much sense how this saga went.

I don't think that's a bad structure, I think it's very probably exactly the right sort of structure.

If he's got no confidence in the ownership and structure, there's only one rational thing he can do: Go work someplace else. He's not going to fix this club by fighting them.

 

[MoskvaRed]

The available alternatives were not thrilling but the club has to treat August to October as a probation period and continue to sound out alternatives. Without marked improvement in both performances and results by then, ETH should be replaced.

 

[justsomebloke]

I don't think he cares. He is extremely confident in himself (or at least pretends to be). In the post match interview after the FA cup he said, "If they don't want me, I'll go and win trophies elsewhere". Yesterday he called them novices. He doesn't give a hoot about getting sacked as he knows he'll walk out with a huge payout and after having won two trophies in two seasons at a club in decline. While INEOS will be seen as amateurs who have completely botched their first big decision in charge of the football side of the club. Rightly or wrongly, Ten Hag as all the power in this situation.

On the second part, why would he want to be part of something that he thinks INEOS are not equipped for, at least not yet. He has a contract with the veto power and is sceptical on a new one. He wants to keep his power.

If that's the case we're screwed, and whatever respect I still had for him is gone.

 

[romufc]

That's a fair assessment. But playing devil's advocate here, what can EtH obstruct by clinging to his current rights? A bad structure to do even more damage. And that's not necessarily worse than executing a bad strategy.

And to me it feels like this is where EtH stands at the moment: Thinking INEOS are a bunch of inexperienced clowns who don't do stuff the right way he likes it to be done. And after all that happened (and didn't happen) in the last weeks you can't blame him for that. This is entirely on INEOS not being able to get a competent structure in place before trying to make bold moves (like replacing the manager). It doesn't make much sense how this saga went.

It is clear in the last few days what went on.

Well, firstly they are not completely inexperienced are they? As they own Nice.

Secondly, they are making a bold move by hiring their manager. Once a contract is given to the manager, it means they are appointing him, he is their appointment.

 

[stefan92]

I don't think that's a bad structure, I think it's very probably exactly the right sort of structure.

If he's got no confidence in the ownership and structure, there's only one rational thing he can do: Go work someplace else. He's not going to fix this club by fighting them.

Now tell me: What is the structure right now, and what is the structure you expect to be existing during the transfer window? Is THAT structure a good one?

I do get all the points about INEOS wanting to get it right, get best in class guys for every position etc, but it takes time. More time than anybody likes I think. It might come good at some point, but it's not unlikely that at that point EtH will be sacked anyway because he doesn't believe in the structure being able to get him the support he needs to get better results again.

So why should he care about that? A manager always is rated (and eventually sacked) on the base of relatively short term results and expectations. That's how the business works, that's exactly why INEOS want a structure that makes the manager/head coach easier replaceable. EtH has no reason to believe that his live will get easier in the short term if he agrees to give some of his responsibilities to an empty desk.

 

[stefan92]

It is clear in the last few days what went on.

Well, firstly they are not completely inexperienced are they? As they own Nice.

Secondly, they are making a bold move by hiring their manager. Once a contract is given to the manager, it means they are appointing him, he is their appointment.

But he himself said they are new to football, didn't he?

 

[iato89]

I think he's genuinely confused and frustrated, as he should be. I know I wouldn't want to be in his shoes, working for a company that has openly undermined me, are trying to restrict my power and don't seem to know what they are doing.

It doesn't even matter that we struggled last year. Either we accept that, let it go, keep him and respect him, or we continue with a different coach. We've chosen to do the former and we should behave like we mean it.

Doesnt mean he has to keep his power as is! The DOF and TD will have the final veto on everything, if ETH does like it he can go (no more anthonys)

 

[romufc]

But he himself said they are new to football, didn't he?

Yeah he did but it is clearly not the case.

So he also said he is the best manager.. do you believe that too?

 

[stefan92]

Yeah he did but it is clearly not the case.

So he also said he is the best manager.. do you believe that too?

Of course not, you know I often argued that he should be replaced

But I do expect a manager of a top club to back himself to be the best (or at least be able to become the best), it's just the kind of self confidence you should have in that job. So I don't mind him making such statements, I do appreciate it.

And yes they own Nice, but for how long? It's still relatively new and I wouldn't be surprised if it feels for him that they are even newer to the whole football stuff looking at how everything about his position went down recently. If he feels like "that's not the usual football way to do things" I could fully understand it.

 

[Woziak]

From the outside he's on rocky ground with both INEOS and the players. Hard to see it ending well.

The obvious theory is exactly this however he’s such a stubborn, arrogant coach, if he gets a good start I think he’s going to have a surprisingly good season, he can’t afford any mistakes next season and his own reputation is on the line, 28-1 to win the premier League sounds absolutely ridiculous and it is but City 115 are getting deducted Points, Arsenal will implode and Arnie Slott, Dare I say it ; “ A poor man’s ETH!”

Now I’m not saying we will win the PL but a surprise with any team in the top 7 or 8 might happen and I think if he gets past first 10 pl games then he will maybe win another cup and get top 4/5 and qualify for the CL.