Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24

Status
Not open for further replies.
romufc said:
Right, so you want to re-write the narrative? I saw alot of people want Conte as first choice. So I decided to have a look.

When asked would you swallow last season if we end up with Ten Hag.

"Three problems with that:
1. Ten Hag might turn out to be a massive failure
2. He might not even want to come here
3. This season is wasted, might even miss out on top 4 as it stands. In fact, there is a very big chance of that.

We're not playing Football Manager. We're at a very high risk to be sent even further behind than we currently even are."


25th October 2021.

"Conte can transform this squad into a title winning one, i'm pretty sure of that. I've already given up on this season, he can come in, bring his trusted coaches as well, establish pattern of play, organize this shambles of a defence and then we wreck the bin clubs next year. If he has a meltdown with the Glazers after that, just sack him, I don't care. But at this point we need success and we won't find that sticking with Ole, that's for sure."

17th Oct 2021
"It's absurd to me some people are arguing they do not want Conte because he'd leave in 2-3 season. Well, if he wins us the PL and a couple of other trophies on the side, it doesn't really matter then, does it? We can replace him with a good manager afterwards. In opposite, if we remain with Ole, we'll have a couple of years wasted. We'd need to have another rebuild and we'd need another manager regardless. So what's the point of this argument? You can wait for some miraculous sign to come out of nowhere or you can just make the obvious choice and appoint a world class winner with a proven track record. The choice is obvious.

But I don't see the Glazers appointing either Zidane or Conte. They're not "Yes men" who'd keep quiet about the management and just be happy to be here, the type Glazers want. But it'd be the only good decision these idiots would make in the past decade, if they do it."

27th Oct 2021

"Meh, I prefer Conte over Hag, but Hag is nothing like Moyes. Hag is an attacking manager that has won trophies. Moyes sat 10 years at Everton, doing the same dour tactics which ultimately resulted in nothing. Just stability. He's got West Ham doing the same thing, but ultimately - that is his level"
Click to expand...

I’d say the majority of fans preferred ETH over Conte, myself included. Cherry picking some quotes is hardly reflective of the general opinion.

ETH was seen as the man to build a new culture and dynasty whereas Conte was the short-term option to get to best out of the squad before he inevitably walks a couple years later.
 
Zen86 said:
I’d say the majority of fans preferred ETH over Conte, myself included. Cherry picking some quotes is hardly reflective of the general opinion.

ETH was seen as the man to build a new culture and dynasty whereas Conte was the short-term option to get to best out of the squad before he inevitably walks a couple years later.
Click to expand...

I agree but there was alot of fans who wanted Conte and were one bit not happy when Spurs got him and we didnt sack Ole.

Also, that is not cherry picking someone's quote to give general opinion, I was quoting the posters quotes, whos first choice was Conte.

People tend to forget how bad it was and people saying why not hire a permanent manager etc..
 
romufc said:
I agree but there was alot of fans who wanted Conte and were one bit not happy when Spurs got him and we didnt sack Ole.

Also, that is not cherry picking someone's quote to give general opinion, I was quoting the posters quotes, whos first choice was Conte.

People tend to forget how bad it was and people saying why not hire a permanent manager etc..
Click to expand...

Fair play, I only caught half the conversation.

Some posters wanted us to go with the apparently “proven” Chelsea approach of cycling through managers every other year and sacking them at the drop of a hat. A win at all costs or else type of method. A lot of those posters had Conte as first choice.
 
Zen86 said:
Fair play, I only caught half the conversation.

Some posters wanted us to go with the apparently “proven” Chelsea approach of cycling through managers every other year and sacking them at the drop of a hat. A win at all costs or else type of method. A lot of those posters had Conte as first choice.
Click to expand...

Yep, but we had already been through that. This club needed Ten Hag. Conte would have been the same as appointing Jose, a few years too late. The brand of football they play doesn't work anymore, fans want to see entertaining football. The Jose / Conte brand only works if you win big trophies, otherwise it turns sour.

Alot of fans also thought we can't get Ten Hag and he was lined up for the City job.

I am glad the club made the right decision, stuck by Ole, got Rangnick and then Ten Hag. short term pain for long term gain for once.
 
romufc said:
Yep, but we had already been through that. This club needed Ten Hag. Conte would have been the same as appointing Jose, a few years too late. The brand of football they play doesn't work anymore, fans want to see entertaining football. The Jose / Conte brand only works if you win big trophies, otherwise it turns sour.

Alot of fans also thought we can't get Ten Hag and he was lined up for the City job.

I am glad the club made the right decision, stuck by Ole, got Rangnick and then Ten Hag. short term pain for long term gain for once.
Click to expand...

To be fair, I wanted ETH over all others but I didn’t think we’d actually get him. I thought we were going to end up with Poch, which would’ve been very underwhelming.
 
Zen86 said:
To be fair, I wanted ETH over all others but I didn’t think we’d actually get him. I thought we were going to end up with Poch, which would’ve been very underwhelming.
Click to expand...

Yep, was a tricky one that considering Poch was about to get sacked and was the easier choice.

Not to mention all the ex United players wanted poch as well.

Well, lets be glad we have a manager for once that we wouldn't swap for any other.
 
Imagine this team under him if Greenwood wasn't such a wanker? What a complete waste
 


Plenty are now changing their opinion about the Manchester United boss and Borst is one of them, having questioned the move back in August.

He wrote in an article that Ten Hag’s move was ‘the dumbest move a top Dutch coach ever made’ but has now put his hands up and admitted that was a mistake.

“Saturday’s defeat of great rival Manchester City marked the ninth win in a row,” he wrote in Algemeen Dagblad.

“No manager at this complicated club before him achieved 20 wins so quickly: Ten Hag thus beat both Louis van Gaal and Alex Ferguson.

“The way Ten Hag’s team kept Manchester City in check was impressive. That Erik ten Hag demands this of his players, we know of course. He worked wonders at Ajax.

“Only, that was in the Netherlands. That he achieves this in the league where the best football in the world is played is so clever.

“Manchester United’s transformation is impressive, but it is merely a prelude to what Ten Hag hopes to achieve. The championship will probably come too soon, but the club is on the right track.

“Confession: it was me who lectured Ten Hag back in August, more pedantic than cocky. Feel free to say it was reckless. Shameful. Laughable.”
Click to expand...
 
romufc said:
Yep, was a tricky one that considering Poch was about to get sacked and was the easier choice.

Not to mention all the ex United players wanted poch as well.

Well, lets be glad we have a manager for once that we wouldn't swap for any other.
Click to expand...

These ex players still aren't giving Erik the credit that he fully deserves for helping turn around fortunes which annoys me
 
Stig said:
So what hapned after that Brentford match. He shouted at them and went for a run with them, and they all said "OK we'll try harder" ?

Whatever it was he could write a business management or man management book on it, because something happened and it was revolutionary for us.

It has been the most extra-ordinary turn-a-round, and example of change management.
Click to expand...
It’s not very hard to explain what happened. Of course having new players who are all fighters helps. All credit to him for identifying that. Generally speaking, ETH is perceptive. He saw that trying to play out from the back and constant pressing of the opposition doesn’t work. Not for now anyway. We decided to play somewhat pragmatic and winning games by single goal margins. As confidence increases, players are starting to express themselves more now.

I remember him thanking Pep for a lesson after the last defeat. I believed at the time that in the return fixture, we will have a tactical plan to neutralize them. Again showing that he’s perceptive.
 
MDFC Manager said:
Think I saw somewhere yesterday, Rio has come around finally.
Click to expand...

England is weird. Ten Hag's record at Ajax was good and they played good football with different setups. He was the #2 at Bayern Munich and has moved up the chain steadily.

It does often feel like players don't think a bad spell at a club or 2 should diminish the standing of a top tier manager, but hiring the sexiest 2nd tier manager is a common move in most sports for big teams.
 
Skills said:
Imagine this team under him if Greenwood wasn't such a wanker? What a complete waste
Click to expand...

The Greenwood situation is so sad to see. From a United point of view, he could have been a superstar. Eth would have made him into some player. Greenwood is the best talent that has come out of the club in 30 years. If only's.
 
NoPace said:
England is weird. Ten Hag's record at Ajax was good and they played good football with different setups. He was the #2 at Bayern Munich and has moved up the chain steadily.

It does often feel like players don't think a bad spell at a club or 2 should diminish the standing of a top tier manager, but hiring the sexiest 2nd tier manager is a common move in most sports for big teams.
Click to expand...
England is an island. Isolated and narrow minded heads over there :D:p
 
His reputation as a disciplinarian was established before he got here (we saw that clip with that Noah lad), but do any of our Ajax fans know anything of his man-management skills? The way he's talked about Rashford's smile, the best he's getting out of a lot of the player, and he current duty of care shown to Sancho would seem to indicate he has this side to him to?
 
I thought the United side which finished last season would not exist in 18 months under Ten Hag. I've not felt so much contempt for a bunch of United players ever and they clearly did not give a shit. Seemingly the remainders from last season getting the most game time are the ones Ten Hag has established are trustworthy (or essential, until he can bin them off).
 
croadyman said:
These ex players still aren't giving Erik the credit that he fully deserves for helping turn around fortunes which annoys me
Click to expand...

I don't really care that they are not giving them credit, what matters is the full fan base is behind Ten Hag and if he gets top 4 and a trophy for us, they will have egg on their faces.
 
Loon said:
His reputation as a disciplinarian was established before he got here (we saw that clip with that Noah lad), but do any of our Ajax fans know anything of his man-management skills? The way he's talked about Rashford's smile, the best he's getting out of a lot of the player, and he current duty of care shown to Sancho would seem to indicate he has this side to him to?
Click to expand...
ETH was actually off to a rough start at Ajax. Fans even waited for the players bus to arrive after a defeat against PSV. It was only after Erik sat down with Tadic and Blind to discuss what the team needed that things started to click. If you want to know anything about his man management look at the goodbye video Ajax made for him. Licha and Antony say they would follow him anywhere he would go and for the record: MArtinez was benched for a long period of time by him and never complained, only worked harder to get his spot back. Antony was famously schooled by Erik that if he only showed up for the big matches he would only be paid half in the future. He is a very good man manager but he learned quite a lot at Ajax where he first worked witg egos larger than at his previous clubs.

Edit: I can't post media yet but look up "The final interview with Erik ten Hag" on youtube. It's in Dutch but with english subtitles. It gives you a good impression on how the players thought of him."
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: oates
croadyman said:
These ex players still aren't giving Erik the credit that he fully deserves for helping turn around fortunes which annoys me
Click to expand...
I think Neville’s been praising him lately but ye the majority wouldn’t even give him a chance before he started. They all wanted poch. Just shows fans no better than ex players.
 
Doing a truly fantastic job at Utd.

Him, Arteta and Howe deserve tonnes of praise.

He came in to a shambles of a club on and off the pitch and now, we seem to handle everything better. The club PR is better, the way he handled Ronaldo was great, I like what he's doing with Sancho, Rashford discipline was handled very well, the world cup.

He's smashing it out of the park so far. Can't fault anything can we?
 
romufc said:
I agree but there was alot of fans who wanted Conte and were one bit not happy when Spurs got him and we didnt sack Ole.

Also, that is not cherry picking someone's quote to give general opinion, I was quoting the posters quotes, whos first choice was Conte.

People tend to forget how bad it was and people saying why not hire a permanent manager etc..
Click to expand...
Zen86 said:
Fair play, I only caught half the conversation.

Some posters wanted us to go with the apparently “proven” Chelsea approach of cycling through managers every other year and sacking them at the drop of a hat. A win at all costs or else type of method. A lot of those posters had Conte as first choice.
Click to expand...
I think I was slightly favoring Conte. Only reason being is that I didnt see any player in our team that could play Ten Haag football. If you looked at it at the time you could argue no one. I think Fred most were saying and we all knew Fred wasnt good enough. Also I geniunely think I was just depressed and wanted any sort of quick fix. Not even winning, just a functioning team that wasnt downing tools.

To be fair he is still a way off Ten Haag football but Ill hold my hands up and say I never envisioned him getting these players to press and work as hard as they are doing and the improvements they have made. I mean look at Wan B doing skills! I think Conte is still a better manager then he' being credit for and I think he would have won some trophy for us. But we would be nowhere near where Ten Haag can take us.

Glad to eat humble pie. I was wrong.
 
Rapsel said:
ETH was actually off to a rough start at Ajax. Fans even waited for the players bus to arrive after a defeat against PSV. It was only after Erik sat down with Tadic and Blind to discuss what the team needed that things started to click. If you want to know anything about his man management look at the goodbye video Ajax made for him. Licha and Antony say they would follow him anywhere he would go and for the record: MArtinez was benched for a long period of time by him and never complained, only worked harder to get his spot back. Antony was famously schooled by Erik that if he only showed up for the big matches he would only be paid half in the future. He is a very good man manager but he learned quite a lot at Ajax where he first worked witg egos larger than at his previous clubs.

Edit: I can't post media yet but look up "The final interview with Erik ten Hag" on youtube. It's in Dutch but with english subtitles. It gives you a good impression on how the players thought of him."
Click to expand...
One of these you mean?


 
@Cheimoon Yes. Thank you. I know I can't post media but not being able to reply to a post containing media strikes me as a bit daft but here we are. ;)
 
UpWithRivers said:
I think I was slightly favoring Conte. Only reason being is that I didnt see any player in our team that could play Ten Haag football. If you looked at it at the time you could argue no one. I think Fred most were saying and we all knew Fred wasnt good enough. Also I geniunely think I was just depressed and wanted any sort of quick fix. Not even winning, just a functioning team that wasnt downing tools.

To be fair he is still a way off Ten Haag football but Ill hold my hands up and say I never envisioned him getting these players to press and work as hard as they are doing and the improvements they have made. I mean look at Wan B doing skills! I think Conte is still a better manager then he' being credit for and I think he would have won some trophy for us. But we would be nowhere near where Ten Haag can take us.

Glad to eat humble pie. I was wrong.
Click to expand...

Yep, I dont think anyone can say they have 100% accuracy in footballing opinions or predictions.

The reason I was against Conte was footballing brand, I was sick and tired of watching us play defensive reactive football. For me it was Jose 2.0 and I did not want that again, it was so toxic.

Have a look at how toxic Spurs are right now.

Obviously, Ten Hag was not guaranteed and there were alot of question marks? Can he do it anywhere else? can he adapt? can he handle the big egos?

I wont lie, he has surprised me, to be the disciplinarian that he has turned out to be, is very good to see.

When was the last time we had a coach who improved players? We have always complained that players become worse at United.
 
calodo2003 said:
Love this cat’s videos…

Click to expand...

This fella deserves credit - proper production skill in that, building the climax of story alongside that of the song. The mix of volumes and transitions between scenes as well ... :drool:
 
Glorio said:
This fella deserves credit - proper production skill in that, building the climax of story alongside that of the song. The mix of volumes and transitions between scenes as well ... :drool:
Click to expand...
Go take a look at his YT channel, it's worth it. Here is a little gem (sorry for the slight derail)...

 
Glorio said:
This fella deserves credit - proper production skill in that, building the climax of story alongside that of the song. The mix of volumes and transitions between scenes as well ... :drool:
Click to expand...
calodo2003 said:
Go take a look at his YT channel, it's worth it. Here is a little gem (sorry for the slight derail)...
Click to expand...
Used to be a newbie poster on Redcafe. @TheBiggestUnitedFan, if I recall correctly.
 
Rapsel said:
ETH was actually off to a rough start at Ajax. Fans even waited for the players bus to arrive after a defeat against PSV. It was only after Erik sat down with Tadic and Blind to discuss what the team needed that things started to click. If you want to know anything about his man management look at the goodbye video Ajax made for him. Licha and Antony say they would follow him anywhere he would go and for the record: MArtinez was benched for a long period of time by him and never complained, only worked harder to get his spot back. Antony was famously schooled by Erik that if he only showed up for the big matches he would only be paid half in the future. He is a very good man manager but he learned quite a lot at Ajax where he first worked witg egos larger than at his previous clubs.

Edit: I can't post media yet but look up "The final interview with Erik ten Hag" on youtube. It's in Dutch but with english subtitles. It gives you a good impression on how the players thought of him."
Click to expand...

The rough start was also partly because of the media narrative against him. He came from Utrecht but he was still seen as ''that farmer from the east with that accent'' who wouldnt be able to do it in the big scary city that is Amsterdam. He proved the Dutch media wrong and now he is doing the same thing to the English media/pundits who were against him or in favour of Poch
 
Status
Not open for further replies.