Even if he doesn't want us to be a pure possesion side, it's extremely unlikely that he doesn't want us to have more possession (as a side like Liverpool did at their peak, being second only to City for average possession across multiple seasons despite not being known as a possession side). Or that he wants us to continue having one of the deepest defensive lines in the PL. And both of those require a better goalkeeper.
Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24
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Even if he doesn't want us to be a pure possesion side, it's extremely unlikely that he doesn't want us to have more possession (as a side like Liverpool did at their peak, being second only to City for average possession across multiple seasons despite not being known as a possession side). Or that he wants us to continue having one of the deepest defensive lines in the PL. And both of those require a better goalkeeper.
You seem to be projecting your own ideas onto Ten Hag a bit.
Next season, transitions will be just as important as this season. Ten Hag wants to win and will play the style best suited.
Our build up play needs to improve regardless of what style we play. A new gk who is comfortable on the ball will make that easier for sure. That doesn‘t mean we will play differently overall.
"In his first interview in May 2022 after being appointed from Ajax, Ten Hag discussed how he wanted his United team to play and he used two words - attacking football - more than any others throughout that conversation."
"There is a similarity with opponents being highly motivated but also attacking football. We are playing in the Theatre of Dreams and have to entertain the opponent," Ten Hag said. "We are playing in the opponent’s half and we have to do attacking football.
"We have to do the pressing, the total high-pressing – that is a similarity also – and the adventurous football. Also Ajax has that history of bringing young talents into the first team. We don’t have to go over my football."
https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...anchester-united-26539885#amp-readmore-target
Playing the game in the opponent's half by playing out of a press and creating a compact high block enables a total high press. It's very easy to understand what Ten Hag is saying and what he implemented at Ajax. That doesn't mean transitions are not part of the plan, they're. But the transitions are the exceptions in a approach which is centred around proactivity in possession and not reactivity in transitions.
You must've watched the UCL final and seen how both Ederson and Onana performed? That is the level a GK should be expected to perform in a team that wants to play the game in the opponent's half.
Don‘t make the mistake of equating entertaining attacking football with possession style football.
We have played a style heavy on fast transitions and generally it has been entertaining.
Um yes I did watch the final. Both gk made a fair number of misplaced passes. Not a good performance ball playing wise, but Onana had some good saves. End of season performances are often subpar.
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Where did I mention possession football? I've consistently mentioned positional play and the new breed of manager implements that in a vertical axis.
You don't seem to understand what Erik ten Hag means when he's talking about attacking football and playing the game in the opponent's half imo. Because if you did, then you'd know about the teams who look to implement the play style in question and how the goalkeepers can both distribute in possession and sweep up behind the CBs to make things tick.
You're just being silly. Maignan will definitely make Rashford actually run and press, Sancho fight for the ball and Antony grow a right foot (a usable one this time).
I think you can just google Positional play vertical, then you can find a lot info, many of them actually use ETH’s Ajax as examples. It will help.
We are not playing like Ajax. Neither was Utrecht.
There's not a chance he has moved on from it, it's a core principle in his and every single big teams philosophy and he has mentioned it repeatedly that to improve as a team, you have to improve at playing out from the back. When asked about why we got hammered sometimes or struggled away, he said it was because we didn't play out from the back well as one of the main reasons.
We weren't playing out from the back often because our goalkeeper was incapable of it - that's the only reason. He wants to. That's why it's imperative to improve the goalkeeper.
A keeper is our first priority, I hope Ten Hag has one in mind for a while.
Playing out the back doesn‘t mean possession style football. What we have actually seen on the pitch this season, is Ten Hag wants our gk and defenders to pass through the lines bypassing the press. It is not possession style football.
Ten Hag wants to get into the attacking phase quickly, while Guardiola‘s approach is to create numerical overloads by patient build up play, with minimal risk.
I'm not saying we'll have a possession focused style football, I think ten hag is much more Klopp like than Pep like in what he wants. But a ball playing goalkeeper who can play out from the back properly is imperative to that none the less. You have to play through a press, not just lump it and bypass a press. Whether you are a possession team or counter pressing focused, to be a big and successful team today it's a requirement. A goalkeeper would without a doubt be a transformative signing for us because of that. Inter today didn't play a possession style of play, but their system only worked because they had a goalkeeper who was comfortable on the ball, and it made City's press entirely pointless. They didn't go long constantly despite having some of the best forwards at dealing with long balls too. It's the option to do both that was so beneficial to them.
Again, we are not going to play possession based football, but vertical positional play.
Yes, I am aware. We have done so all season. So nothing new.
People just tried to make you aware of what philosophy ETH has. You will see it next season and really understand what the others are talking about when we play a new GK. At the moment, of course, I can only hope the Glazers don’t mess up this summer transfer window.
Yeah that's what he might have to do this summer
For any posters who were unsure of Ten Hag when he signed on the dotted line, would you have still wanted him if someone told you this regarding our fiercest rivals during his debut season at Manchester United:
To offset that, United will finish 3rd and win the League Cup.
Would you still have wanted him as our manager knowing that?
- Man City will beat us in the FA Cup Final on their way to winning The Treble
- In a league match Liverpool will record their highest ever win against us
To offset that, United will finish 3rd and win the League Cup.
Would you still have wanted him as our manager knowing that?
It’s a horrible question that lacks a whole lot of other contextual information.
Misses the adjunct that if we had a different manager, would City still have won the treble?
At the end of the day, we can only focus on our own progress. Where we were at when he took over, we’ve improved. He’s the right man for the job.
Let’s see how far he can take us.
The answer is simple, sort both this summer.
Are you on crack? ETH has nothing to do with City winning the treble? No matter who we had hired that wouldn’t have stopped Arsenal choking the league and City winning the CL. And its highly debatable if anyone else could have stopped them from winning FA either
Yeah wasn't our fault that Arsenal let injury to Saliba completely derail their challenge
What does ETH have to do with all this?
Along with Inter we actually gave City a tougher game in a crunch game than Bayern, Madrid or Arsenal (the title decider).
Unless we could have got a different manager instead who magically would have won us the league this season or would 100% have won the FA Cup final.
Can't imagine how fecked off he must be
ETH is the first manager since SAF in '09- '10 to win all our home matches in the league against City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
The 7-0 was such a fecking fluke anomaly. We were the better team for much of the 1st half and then they had a magic horseshoe up their ass in the 2nd half. 8 shots on target and 7 go in? Just another De Blunder diasterclass. Just like the FA Cup. Nothing much ETH could do about that. It's why the guy is trying to move on from De Blunder.
Of course, because our overall achievement and progression is the only thing that matters. Making decisions over what other teams do or one off flukey, outlier outcomes is a horrible thought process.
We won a trophy and got 3rd despite having championship level strikers and a bottom half goalkeeper. Thats the plus.
I would rather than wasn't Pickford when the likes of Costa,Maignan and if they can sort issues Onana on the market
Obviously yes?
Worst post in this specific thread is quite an accomplishment given there’s lots of competition. Congrats!
The thing is if you arent blind to reality and the state of our team before he joined (under Ralf), those two bullet points seemed like it could happen with or without Ten Hag. So yes, Id still take a highly rated "young" manager knowing that if the gamble pays off he can build a dynasty at United. Also nobody else was available and if they were, theyre either unproven or shite. I was unsure as you can never be certain but its worth the risk.
If only there was some way to manipulate them and work around it so they mean nothing.
I wonder how can we play this WM tactic when both of our wide players in Rashford and Anthony prefer to cut inside? Who provide width, when both FBs don't go wide?
WM tactic waz that?
Based on how we played last season, we don‘t prioritize keeping the pitch big. We play a lot with minimum width up front.
Ten Hag brought it up in a press conference a while ago.
There's a talk that EtH will change his formation to WM
« WM » is basicaly a 3-2-2-3 formation, where the position of players form the letters W and M.
Nowadays it would be more akin to a 3-4-3 with a double pivot in midfield.
To reply to @Isotope, you can play a WM formation with inside forwards on the wings, it just means the two players supporting in midfield occupy the wings while fullbacks cut inside, which is a bit what City and Arsenal do with Stones and Zinchenko. I think Dalot and Shaw especially can play that role, but I’m not sure we have midfielders that are tactically disciplined enough to be able to switch between the center of the pitch and the wings
Interesting. Makes some sense if we are getting Mason Mount.
Where does this rumour come from?
Is this because Cheaty play with a back three? Some on the CAF are projecting their insecurities onto MU.Well, it's all over the Caf, man. I don't exactly remember where they are from.
Probably because Ajax also played that way under him?
Did they? I can‘t remember.
I do know we already often line up in a 3223/325 formation when attacking. For example:
Varane Martinez Eriksen
Dalot Casemiro
Bruno Shaw
Antony Martial Rashford
The players switch position often. In defense, we are usually in a 4141 shape.
I don‘t think we are going to start games with three cb‘s anytime soon.
I don't think Shaw / AWB can play that role, Dalot has been asked to but remains to be seen if he's as successful as naturals like Cancelo or Zinchenko.
We don't have a John Stones to step up from midfield and don't have any good inverted fullbacks, so let's see.
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