(Photo by Sky Sports News)
Well, Manchester United have gotten their man. Erik ten Hag will take the hot seat at Old Trafford, being the 5th man to take over the permanent position since Alex Ferguson ended his historic reign at the Theatre of Dreams. The job seems to have been cursed over this time, with the managers and squad not being able to achieve the lofty heights set by Ferguson during his time. The current squad is the most distanced that I or most fans have ever felt from a United squad, with lazy players that have way too much power in the dressing room and have seem to have lost that passion for wearing such an iconic shirt. Entering this new era seems to be a move away from this long fabled ‘United Way’ of playing football, instead entrusting the style of play to a man renowned for playing his own distinctive style that he will choose his squad around their ability to perform to that style.
The rebuild that is set to take place under ten Hag is going to be a drastic one, with the next few transfer windows being the setting of many new arrivals and a lot of overdue departures. If given the time and resources this could be the rebuild that United have needed for many years and the key tool in order to get us fighting for silverware again. Today we are going to look at ten Hag as a coach, what he is going to bring to Manchester United, as well as looking at some key departures and arrivals that we might be seeing in the near future.
Understanding ten Hag’s Philosophy and What He Brings
Erik ten Hag has developed a cult following over his time at Ajax, with many being impressed with his team and their high intensity style of play. This has allowed them to achieve domestic success in the Eredivisie, as well as some big upsets on the European stage with their 2019 Champions League run to the semi-finals, only to be beaten at the death by Lucas Moura’s late strike to send Tottenham to the final. He has developed some incredible talent during his time at Ajax, with players such as Frenkie De Jong, Matthias De Ligt, Ryan Gravenberch, David Neres, Antony, Jurrien Timber, and one that could be quite crucial for him, Donny Van De Beek. Donny left Ajax for Manchester United in 2020 and has found his chances limited since his arrival, currently being on loan at Everton. Upon rumours of ten Hag’s arrival, it was reported that some of the players had asked Donny what ten Hag was like as a coach and he warned them about the increase in intensity in training and philosophy. Something that some of the players are reportedly unhappy about, (what a bunch of wimps) but as a fan I relish the prospect of a complete reset in terms of tactics and philosophy with a revamped squad and backroom staff.
Erik ten Hag has been in charge of Ajax since 2017; coaching his football previously with Go Ahead Eagles and Utrecht with a spell at Bayern Munich II in between these positions, while Pep Guardiola was in charge. Erik ten Hag favours patent build-up and intensity in the press, something that Rangnick is currently trying (and failing due to lazy players) to implement now. He mostly plays with a 4-3-3 but has been known to use a no.10 in a 4-2-3-1: while at Utrecht, even utilising a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. Erik ten Hag’s teams come with a blend of experienced leaders and shining youth players, managing to get the best out of seemingly finished players such as Tadic and Haller, turning them into world beaters during his Ajax tenure. Whilst Ajax’s seemingly never-ending conveyer belt of generational talent has offered some depth and quality whenever it seems to get raided by one of Europe’s top teams. He has a reputation of incredible man management, and he might be able to get the best out of some of the more determined players currently at Old Trafford or those who are looking to break into the ranks. Erik ten Hag will hopefully have all the tools at his disposal to get United playing beautiful, pressing football at Old Trafford, finally moving into the 2020’s as opposed to a binding and sometimes confusing ‘United Way’ of playing football. With Rangnick moving into his consultancy role in the summer, hopefully his recruitment and experience in the board room will have a big and positive impact on ten Hag being able to assemble his perfect squad to get United challenging again.
Spring Cleaning
Now this squad is full to the brim with bad attitudes and a lack of ability, with only a few players from the top of my head being safe from a possible chop. I’m going to go through each position and say which players I think are needed or have a place at the club, and which ones I would be happy to see leave in the immediate future. Let’s start between the sticks. I have seen many suggesting that De Gea’s distribution and reluctance to claim crosses would give ten Hag little reason to keep him, however, I think this would be an incredible disservice to one of the best goalkeepers of the past decade, as well as one of United’s best players over this time. An incredible goalkeeper that should be absolutely one of the main players that this new team is built around. Dean Henderson on the other hand is one of those players that I think needs cashing in on in the summer. He clearly has ideas of being a first team keeper and I don’t blame him in the slightest if he wants to leave to secure that.
In terms of our defence, it has been an atrocious season. To put it simply most of the defenders we have at the club currently are not United standard and never will be. To make matters worse, the biggest disappointments have been the ones we have spent the most money on. Odds are you are going to know what I’m going to say here, but Harry Maguire must go. He simply isn’t good enough. £80 million is an absolutely disgusting amount of money on an average at best centre back who is somehow the captain of the club. He has been at fault for countless errors this season and the team looks more compact without him. My only concern is that no team is going to be stupid enough to want to sign him from us, so it won’t surprise me when he is here next season, but for the love of God take that captain’s armband away from him. Next on my chopping block in the defence is Wan-Bissaka, the fact we scouted allegedly 800 right backs and we’ve ended up with him is embarrassing and shows a huge problem with our scouting network that is currently being reshaped. The man has no positional awareness, is limited going forward (and that is me being nice), and the only thing he is good at is tackling when someone is running right at him. Get rid. I’m going to rapidly run through the rest of the defence before moving onto the midfield.
Bailly, too injury prone, sell.
Lindelof, fine, stay.
Jones, poor guy, sell.
Telles, woeful positioning, sell.
Shaw, keep. Not had an amazing season but still one of the best defenders we have at the club.
Williams, not good enough, sell or possibly loan for one more season.
Varane when he is fit is world class and absolutely a defender you can build the team around. Keep.
Dalot I would keep as a backup, but we need a better right back in the meantime.
Moving on swiftly to the midfield and this is where a lot of players have already either confirmed that they are leaving or have heavily suggested it, perhaps needing the biggest rebuild alongside the defence. The most high-profile player to discuss as to whether he will stay or go is Paul Pogba. On his day Pogba is one of the best midfielders to watch, but in there lies his biggest flaws, he rarely has those days in a Manchester United shirt. Now whether that is due to injuries, not being played in his favoured position, or simply not having good enough players around him, the fairy-tale return has not worked out and I would be happy to see him move on. There have been talks recently to extend his contract and matching the wage that he is on now, something that other clubs seem reluctant to do. I think it would be best for all parties if Pogba was to move on, the fans seem intent on him leaving due to the disrespect constantly put on the club by his agent Mino Raiola and I think Pogba would benefit in a team where he can play without much pressure such as in Paris or Madrid. I wish things would have worked out but hey, that’s football.
Matic has announced that he is leaving and I for one am perplexed as to how we never really saw this man with a solid run of games this season. Easily our best defensive midfielder we have at the club with a cool head, and he practically slots himself into the defence to try and strengthen it on the counter. If he was like 7 years younger, I would have definitely kept him, but his engine seems to be going and he has his sights set elsewhere so good luck to him.
Now onto the midfield partnership that has had United fans in tears all season. Fred and McTominay. Now I think I might be in the minority here but hear me out. I would keep them both. Now I know, I know. Put down the pitchforks and hear me out. I would keep them both as squad players. Both of them aren’t good enough to start, but I think both have their merits coming off the bench and have something to offer the team. I could live with one of them starting if they had someone quality next to them, but I couldn’t cope with another ‘McFred’ season. I find it weird that people seem to rate McTominay over Fred though, as I think that Fred is better with the ball at his feet and since Rangnick has come in he has been one of the few players that I can say I have been remotely happy with his progression as a player. He has gotten a lot more comfortable beating players on the dribble and his passing has gotten considerably better as the season has progressed. He has also chipped in with a few crucial goals and assists over the second half of the season. He was one of the biggest scapegoats at the beginning of the season, but I think he does still have a future at United, just not as a starter. McTominay on the other hand I find a tad overrated. I don’t think he’s an awful player but he’s not a starter and he isn’t as good as Fred in my opinion. I think the main point that comes to his defence whenever he is (rarely) criticised is the fact that he is a homegrown player. This seems to be a get out of jail free card for the lad and gives him less criticism than Fred. Now don’t get me wrong, I think that going forward McTominay does offer something to the team, a lot of power on the ball and he’s got a dangerous shot on him. But his passing range and positioning leave a lot to be desired. He is another player that is being put in a position that doesn’t suit his style of play, being seen as more of a defensive battler due to his height and physicality, but where he shines most is on the edge of the box driving forward and getting his shot off. Under ten Hag these two might have a role to play, especially in the coming season as he tries to assemble his perfect midfield.
Mata is another one that seems to have decided he is leaving, with the frustrating thing being that only over the last couple of games we have seen Mata in his natural position, that number 10 role behind the striker. And who would have guessed it? When played in his actual position and given time, he’s a good player. Wow. I just wish one of the managers we had would have seen that in the 8 years he has been at the club and not stuck him on the bloody right wing. Frustrating times. All the best to him, a class act that we really should have gotten more out of during his time at the club, he never really was seen by any manager as a certain name on the starting 11.
Before we speed run the rest of the midfield, one more player I would like to talk about more is Marcus Rashford. United’s golden boy since he burst onto the scene under Van Gaal, the Wythenshawe forward has had a torrid time this season, looking like a shell of the player he was a few years ago. His head seems to be constantly down, and he looks increasingly frustrated every time he comes on, having lost his starting place to some of the hungrier players like Elanga. I would love to see him return to form for us but in all honesty, I don’t know if I can see it happening. I think Rashford might benefit with a move away from the club and having less eyes on him. If we could get a fair bit for him, I think it would be best to see him leave but I would be more than happy to see him return to form.
Again, let’s run quickly through some of the more obvious keep and sells before moving onto the attack.
Jadon Sancho, finally finding his feet and still got a lot of time ahead of him, definitely keep.
Bruno Fernandes. One of only around 3 or 4 world class players we have at the club currently. Not having a great season this year, but the impact he has had at the club cannot be overstated. Keep and build around.
Anthony Elanga, one for the future, having a solid campaign and hoefully can build on that next season for us. Keep.
Hannibal, exciting prospect. Keep and maybe loan for some game time.
Donny Van De Beek. As mentioned before, will know more about ten Hag than anyone, keep and give him his chance.
Amad Diallo. Keep. We spent a stupid amount on him and have rarely played him, let him have a run on that right wing and see what happens.
Andreas Pereira. I don’t know why he is still at the club. Sell immediately.
Jesse Lingard. A player we should have sold after his brilliant spell for West Ham on loan last season, a player that was never going to feature regularly and now we are going to lose on a free. Baffling business. Gone.
And now the attack. No need for a rapid fire on this one as we only have a few to begin with, a problem that City and Liverpool do not even need to worry about with a plethora of attacking options for them. Whilst we need to seriously recruit, there still needs to be some dead wood taken care of.
Anthony Martial. This man will go down as one of football’s greatest ‘what if?’ players. This boy had the world at his feet upon his move to Old Trafford and you could see his ability on the ball was frightening. Incredible positioning, lightning pace, and the ability to get the ball in the back of the net on a frequent basis in his first season. And then it all went wrong. Injuries and scandals and then suddenly he didn’t look like that same player anymore. Incredibly lazy and he seemed to lose that killer finishing touch that he arrived with from Monaco, the magic fizzled out. This January he went on loan to Sevilla where many were certain he would show United what they were missing out on, when in reality Sevilla fans dislike him more than we do and want to send him home early. A nightmare for everyone involved and would be best to get him out of the club at the earliest possible chance.
Edinson Cavani. When he arrived, he showed us in a similar way as to when Ibrahimovic came to United, that class is permanent. His poaching play and finishing are some of the best that I have seen in a United shirt for a number of years, it was just a shame he was hardly ever available for us. Lengthy injury spells and for some reason longer leaves of absence whenever he was called up to play for Uruguay and he has only made a handful of appearances over the last couple of years. He has said he is moving in the summer with a move to La Liga being pretty much in the books. I wish we’d have gotten to see more of him during his time, but I wish him all the best and hopefully we can bring in some players to replace him.
And of course, we have to finish with Cristiano Ronaldo. The greatest player to ever lace up a pair of boots, and someone who bafflingly has been labelled as a problem in this United side. A man that has saved us in so many games this season and without a doubt we would be in a much worse position without him. Ronaldo’s return has exposed those lacklustre standards from the other United players and has simply show that the large majority of them are not up to scratch. I would love him to stay for another season, but it would pain me to see such an incredible player play in the Europa League or even worse, the European Conference League. I shudder as I write that. Ronaldo is a man that is not shy of a challenge but Mr. Champions League not being in the competition could force a move away.
Who United Need
After this colossal spring cleaning, we need a fair few transfer windows in order to compile a squad that ten Hag would be comfortable with in terms of executing the style of aggressive and pressing play that won him plaudits at Ajax. The main areas we need to look at urgently are essentially an entire new defence, holding midfielders, that cursed right winger spot, and a striker. There seems to be three contenders for a centre half signing, being between Jurrien Timber (20, Ajax), Pau Torres (25, Villarreal), and Jules Kounde (23, Sevilla). All three have their merits and would absolutely improve the state of our backline for years to come. Personally, I would like to go for Timber for a few reasons. He is currently working under ten Hag so will understand his drills and tactics more than anyone else in the squad, with him being a very highly rated part of the Ajax squad. He is blisteringly fast and is versatile with the ability to play right back as well which could come in handy with the current lack of quality in that position. He is incredibly comfortable with the ball at his feet and is able to play out of the back in order to start a quick counterattack, something we are trying to implement but we currently don’t have the players capable of pulling it off. He has the potential to become a leading centre back in the future and following ten Hag to Manchester could be the key to unlocking that potential. If we were to sign any of the other targets, I would be happy as well, but for me we should raid Ajax once again.
Next up is a difficult one, those midfield spots. As we can all see, ‘McFred’ isn’t cutting the mustard, and we don’t have any depth at all in these roles, needing at least 2/3 signings. The one that I am the most sceptical about is the possibility of signing Declan Rice. Now don’t get me wrong, very good player. What makes me worry is the hefty price tag that David Moyes has set on the lad, around £150 million being required to secure his services from West Ham. That is a ridiculous amount of money that can be used to strengthen multiple positions with clever market play (which we don’t tend to do but anyway). This unfortunately wouldn’t surprise me if we ended up signing him and him being the only signing of the window, as the board seem to disregard who the manager actually wants in order to get a marquee signing to shift some shirts. We need to look at some of the expiring contracts and current players that are itching to get away from their current clubs. Zakaria in January for £7 million would have made so much sense, but once again our incompetent board decided not to act as we are desperate for new players. Kamara from Marseille, Kessie from Milan (who seems to have been snapped up by Barcelona), Aurélien Tchouaméni from Monaco (my personal choice), Neves from Wolves, a possible reuniting between ten Hag and Frenkie De Jong, so many options that could cost a fraction of that Declan Rice price tag. On top of this, I really want to see James Garner have a run in the team next season after a very nice loan spell at Nottingham Forest in which he contributed 14 goals/assists in all competitions from that holding midfielder position. If we get a new midfielder and see Garner have some game time, I will be happy for the coming season, with a look to strengthen further in windows to come.
Something United have been lacking for what seems to have been since Beckham left is an electrifying right winger, with everyone we seemed to have signed for that position either flopping or ending up playing better in another position. We need someone who is direct and isn’t afraid to run at players and look for that killer ball or take a shot. One person that is being talked about is Antony, meaning another raid on Ajax and their players as well as their coach. An incredibly skilful and direct winger that is attracting a lot of attention. In a similar manner to Timber, he is currently working under ten Hag at Ajax and would be an ideal fit into his philosophy and training methods, ensuring an easy transition.
Realistically this transition of manager and styles isn’t going to be one that happens overnight; we should expect a lot of trial and error before seeing any slithers of success, but that is what we need right now. A major rebuild. It may take numerous windows to assemble a squad ten Hag is happy with and that can play with the aggression and ability he desires, but looking at what Klopp has achieved at Liverpool, if we give ten Hag the time and resources there is no reason as to why he couldn’t be a big hit at Old Trafford. The only people I can see being in the way are the board and the owners if they choose to ignore the manager’s requests in terms of transfers, team selection, and backroom staff. I am looking forward to a new era at Old Trafford, it feels like we have somewhat of a plan with an eye to the future for the first time in a very long time.
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