We are easily 4/5 short from competing for that
Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24
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We are easily 4/5 short from competing for that
EtH is currently one of the best managers in the world (not just based on his time at United but also at Ajax). United is one of the biggest clubs in the world. We finally have some players that would start at any team in the world (Casemiro, Licha, Varane, Rashford, maybe Bruno) and at least a competitive starting 11 overall. These are ingredients that if properly supported by proper ownership, in several years can fight for any trophy including EPL and UCL. In comparison, a team managed by Ole could only win these two trophies in his dreams.
So, yes.
Yes we need depth, but buying a great striker and 4 squad players is very doable with proper money and by smart ownership/recruitement.
Honestly, if we had a good striker, and good backups for Casemiro, Bruno, and Varane, we could fight for EPL even this year. Not because we are necessarily great, but because City, Liverpool and Chelsea are all having a bad season and Arsenal is only leaders in that context but they are nothing truly special, in the sense that City was special in past seasons. They will be so lucky if they win
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ETH needs to be supported so we can perform even without Casemiro who is already well into in his prime. Having a championship level duo to stand in for him will not cut it.
Yeah we saw last Sunday how crucial he is
Just for the record, my ‘Erik ten Halfwit’ post wasn’t serious. I think he’s doing a fantastic job and far exceeded what I expected at this stage.
His use of subs (or lack of) is a bit concerning at times but that’s the only real criticism. Aside from that he’s been a breath of fresh air.
His use of subs (or lack of) is a bit concerning at times but that’s the only real criticism. Aside from that he’s been a breath of fresh air.
His lack of subs is a cry to those above that he doesnt believe the bench is good enough. A problem which has faced the previous managers to be fair.
I noticed that too. Also, it’s bizarre to see a manager of Man Utd go so defensive against Arsenal to the point of play acting and timewasting.
Growing up in the Fergie era, if Man Utd were drawing 2-2 with Arsenal it would have been United pushing for the last minute winner not Arsenal.
He was criticised a bit for that while he was at Ajax as well. It's not about the United squad, it's his style of in-game management to trust his team and his plan.
Many things have changed since then. The simple truth is that Arsenal are as good as they have been in nearly 20 years and we are still recovering slowly but surely from a complete shitshow. We have a threadbare squad and were missing probably our most important player. I don't think it would have ended any differently if he had thrown the kitchen sink at the game from the subs bench.
Are we becoming a possession team though? Because most times I watch we seen to press and counter attack. It is early days though and I don't watch as much as I used to.
Does the data support a better press/possession style? I know we're high with counter press
From my eye test and not checking stats, it feels like we've played a possession based system with quick ball retention against most teams, whereas in the big/difficult games we've reverted to a counter attacking style because we're not good enough in possession and retention compared to the others yet (ex: City, Arsenal, etc.).
Ten Hag definitely wants to evolve us to a possession based team. The word possession is deceiving though, he wants us to be more controlling in games, not have possession for the sake of it.
Possession based teams generally are the best counter pressing teams too, you cant be one without the other.
There are many reasons why we are not looking like a proper possession team yet.
1. We have a game every few days, Ten Hag cannot work much on the training ground
2. We dont have the players in all positions, AWB, McTominay, Wout cannot play that, we need better players in those positions.
3. Our misfiring attack, we are struggling for goals so when we get a goal we seem to then stop playing and protect.
I feel over time, it will come.
We have a lower possession % than last season so far. Still very much a counter attacking team for me.
You're dealing with football fans. Most of them can't even spell Eriksen correctly.
I don't think being a possession based team is only about the % of possession, it's more about the style when you do have the ball. Even against Arsenal, where we had less possession than them, in the first half when we did have the ball there were real attempts to pass it around, build patiently, and wait for holes to open up. That would never happened under previous management.
Not sure if serious.
Thank you for that. Very good explanation.
That first half showed us how far we've come. We went toe to toe. Played around their press and in fact they didn't press as much as usual, gave us too much respect tbh.
Think he's trying to get a nibble.
There's no better manager available in the market. No sane new owner would consider replacing ETH. Not only is he doing great on the pitch, but also he's someone who clearly works well with those above him. I'm not worried at all in that regard.
I put a lot of that down to the Palace fixture. Said to my Arsenal mates before the game that we'll live with you for an hour and then fade because of fatigue. We'd have needed to be 2 up after an hour to be confident of winning that game. The time-wasting you refer to is simply game management to handle a much fresher opponent, and it almost worked
There were plenty of games during the SAF era that we went into hang in for the draw mode. In fact Sir Alex tended to have the mentality of win your home games, draw big away games, bear the bottom half away. We would often go quite defensive away. Rewriting history to claim otherwise.
What a man.
Thank God we went for Ten Hag and not Poch. This fella is turning this tanker around.
Yes it was 'only' Forest. However, we've had semi's where we've played the occasion not the opponent. Ten Hag didn't let that happen.
You can tell, just from the way he approaches games, that he's a coach who's used to winning trophies. A coach accustomed to having to set up his team and motivate them to do it when it matters. A coach who is used to be involved in what happens in April and May.
Such a shame that he did not inherit a better squad and set up. You think about some of our bad results this season. How much different things could be if we'd have sent him into the year with, at least half, the tools needed for the job.
Yes it was 'only' Forest. However, we've had semi's where we've played the occasion not the opponent. Ten Hag didn't let that happen.
You can tell, just from the way he approaches games, that he's a coach who's used to winning trophies. A coach accustomed to having to set up his team and motivate them to do it when it matters. A coach who is used to be involved in what happens in April and May.
Such a shame that he did not inherit a better squad and set up. You think about some of our bad results this season. How much different things could be if we'd have sent him into the year with, at least half, the tools needed for the job.
Wow, I have just seen our fixtures in February. We play Barcelona on the 16th followed by leicester on the 19th (2 o clock kick off) then Barca again on the 23rd followed by (potentially) the final on the 26th. That’s ridiculous and the lack of signings made this transfer window could really harm our chances. I trust in ETH but that is ridiculous and an unfair advantage to newcastle in the final. They will be fresh and we’ll be exhausted.
I remember feeling gutted last year that we hadn’t got Conte. Feck me, I’m so relieved now.
I think someone has told him about the whole saying “please” instead of thank you thing at the end of interviews 
he says “you’re welcome” now.
he says “you’re welcome” now.I've noticed that. Maybe he saw that montage that was doing the roundsI think someone has told him about the whole saying “please” instead of thank you thing at the end of interviews
.Also this system demands a level of intensity that is in a different stratosphere from what the players have been used to over the last few years. We've seen what it looks like when it comes together, but it's still going to take a little more time for them to be able keep those levels up more consistently throughout a game.
He looked frustrated at some of our plays which is good to see. It was clear he was upset the way we played against Arsenal and even Palace. I feel more than fatigue our performance in both the games seemed very lethargic. I seriously wish we made some signings. The time we really needed more the owners have fecked us once again.
HEH!!!
He has pretty much delivered top four and a Wembley final in his first year which is an excellent return. Fixture pile up could be an issue but I have faith in him to manage it. Expect a bit of rotation in the four home games coming up.
I’m impressed with him tbh. Suddenly Man Utd look the real deal. Gonna put a few quid on them winning league next season.
Mostly Depends on our transfers in the summer
Keep in mind we play every 2-3 days with not enough depth compared to other big teams. Exceeding my expectations.
I hope he keeps on dressing like Captain Haddock, bringing us luck.
Very professional performance but still he wasn't all that happy about it.
He can appear on Who Wants to be a Millionaire at the last question, answering it correctly without a second guess and the only reaction you will get is "Heh."
He has done very well bar the first two games and this last week but no Casa hurt us badly against Arsenal. Like I said the other day feel confident he will learn from these experiences. We also are lacking bench options as well at the moment.
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