The problem with giving managers such as Jose & Ole more time than required is that it places unrealistic expectations on the manager who succeeds them & is probably the best shout to be the right man for the job.
Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24
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Considering the context of how the season has started for both those teams I'd say we have a pretty good chance. I'm sure last season the teams that saw our bad start to the season also thought they should finish top 4 too.
This place sometimes.
Eddie Howe
Eddie Howe
This place sometimes.
Eddie Howe
When he was in his last season at Bournemouth people were basically shitting on him.
tbf Howe had them in top 4 form from about 8 games into his career there and they’ve managed to keep up good results despite a lot of injuries this season.
No, I’m convinced that he’s the right one to take us forward.
It’s depressing his knee jerk modern fans can get
This is just one example of Dalot missing in action when it comes to pressing from the front. It left Antony in no mans land on several occasions where he did his job, but Dalot didn't occupy the space which gave City an easy out and hence disrupted our defensive structure.
SAF was actually a massive attacking idealist for the vast majority of his time here. He didn't embrace pragmatism till his final years where he just became generally conservative from the pitch to the transfer market. The notion that SAF was a pragmatic manager is genuinely saddening when it comes from United fans because it means they genuinely don't remember a lot of his best years.
Infuriating honestly to see SAF labelled as the most pragmatic manager ever.
They can't have watched us in the early 2000s or nineties.
So true. Very saddening. 1992-1994,1999-2001 and 2007-2009 were great attacking teams.
1999-2001 was an absolute joy to watch. Euphoric swashbuckling football
Most of the people who were alive when Ferguson was manager have either passed on or are in their 90s now.
It's been so long (and I guess it takes a while until kids really get into tactics on top of that time) that many probably don't actually remember. If you're under 25 or so you won't have seen that much of SAF first hand unless you had an insane memory as a teenager.
I remember there were an alarming number who didn't even know about his Aberdeen experience when someone made a thread/post on that a while back.
Sympathise but we just don't have the personnel to go full possession. The right balance is what we're currently seeing, that is to play it in spurts. I can't see the future but I'm certain the squad as presently constituted will never be a possession type till more phaseouts come. We've now conceded 10 times in 2 games we didn't park the bus. The squad absolutely sucks ass at playing without a deep line or battling for possession. The mistakes of his predecessors in building it are evident. It's so clear they didn't know how to have the ball or even want it.
He has to play this way because that is the most reasonable course. Asking De Gea to always pass out of the back, asking our midfield to be press resistant, this is like asking them to be better players. Sustaining possession is simply not going to happen with so much anti-possession talents.
I agree with you regarding Guardiola and feel he's found himself in such privileged positions at Barcelona, Bayern and now with Abu Dhabi backing that he on most occasions doesn't need to stray too far from his ideals after being promoted from Barca B. He's still a great coach and it was his ideals and ability to execute a proactive attacking approach which was rewarded after his stint with Barcelona reserves.
But ten Hag on the other hand has shown he can adapt and manage games by adapting to the opponent. The Champions league run in 2019, is a clear example of him adapting to the opponent in big games and even ceding territory on occasions against the bigger teams like Real Madrid and controlling the defensive transition instead.
But his Ajax team could also transition into a more imposing team by taking the initiative and attempting to dominate the game in possession which is a trait all the successful clubs have, including Real Madrid.
Is this the SAF appreciation thread 
That's a fair point, I just don't think player for player will mean it happening, and that should be taken into consideration when assessing ETH and his job security imo.
Still anything can happen and I'll hold my hands up at the end of the season if things turn out differently.
Too early to tell. I think he has that Dutch coach "arrogance" which will prevent him from being flexible with tactics and playing style. Could go either way but I am fairly confident that united are not spending 200m net next year. I still can't believe he played a 2-man midfield with Eriksen against City and did not even have Bruno drop deep to help out in defense.
We were in a rebuilding period with a lot of turmoil internally. Even Club Brugge could beat us then.
No.
I don't think we'll fire ETH without top 4 either. As long as it doesn't get too bad.
My point was considering the competition, the signings we've made and how the season has started I think it would be a failure not to finish top 4 and I'm sure ETH would agree.
The worrying factor is his team selection. Is DVB so bad now he can't even get into the squad?
Every single time DVB has played for us he's been disappointing, I don't get the fan confidence in him.
I think making a hard and fast rule that no top 4 = instant sacking is counterproductive. Obviously if results are poor enough and it's clear things are not going to work you move on. But if team is making strides and implementing the new style and the problem is simply a lack of quality at a few positions, then firing the manager and starting over with a new one with a different tactical philosophy is going to create the same bedding in problems we're seeing right now.
At some point it needs to be recognized that ETH didn't walk into the typical "top club" situation, unless someone would like to make the argument that the squad was actually of sufficient quality last year and the sole problem was poor management. The situation isn't like the one at Real Madrid or Bayern, where the squad is chock full of world class players at 8+ positions, iy was genuinely not good enough and had no confidence whatsoever.
At some point it needs to be recognized that ETH didn't walk into the typical "top club" situation, unless someone would like to make the argument that the squad was actually of sufficient quality last year and the sole problem was poor management. The situation isn't like the one at Real Madrid or Bayern, where the squad is chock full of world class players at 8+ positions, iy was genuinely not good enough and had no confidence whatsoever.
The glazers were the reason for the no value in the market. They only started spending big after he left and they realised the other managers couldnt manage with the drop off in quality
Surely Erik would rather work with a Mitchell or Campos than Murtough but club won't give it to him, gotta say @pocco is clearly lacking patience if he's asking fellow fans about Ten Hag already.
Of all the decisions ETH has made to point to, not playing DvB is the least worrying and the most predictable.
It's strange, up until Sunday he was sound defensively, dont know what happened vs City, he was in no man's land and Graelish was having him on toast constantly.
You’re laughing but it’s literally a fact.
It was because Antony abandoned him and McTominay to deal with Bernardo Silva, Grealish and Cancelo. Nobody was managing that.
Well Antony did the press so didnt abandon him, it was the other way around.
So that one clip negates the entire first half? I know what I watched, Antony standing on the half way line while 3 City players swarmed us right in front of the away fans.
That’s abandoning your defence whatever way you look at it
In any case we weren't coordinated and were too soft.
The problem that arose with him not closing down the space was that Antony was caught in no mans land in the advanced half space. Antony was taking up the same position for Ajax off the ball but the difference was that Mazraoui and Alvarez would actually back up the press.
But it's something that Dalot shouldn't find difficult to grasp.
If Dalot didn't spend 90 minutes running away from Grealish and giving him 10 yards of space everywhere he went, maybe that flank wouldn't have been so much of a threat.
You have to wonder why he hasn't looked great against other opposition, why he suddenly looked class against us? that silly 2 minute yellow card meant he played on eggshells all game.
Because there were 3 City players for 2 of ours every time whil Antony was stood on his own at the halfway line.
I’ve just said it twice and you’re ignoring it so here’s a third.
Its a fact. I'm laughing at the fact he gone back 2 seasons after the debacle last season. He could have said we were the best team in the league a decade ago and its a fact, but its in the present we need to be.
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