Manchester United tasted defeat again on Wednesday night against Newcastle in a game which has ramped up pressure on Erik ten Hag.
The performance was completely devoid of anything positive and raised the question ‘Where do we go from here?’
With no plan on the ball and unorganised out-of-possession, there isn’t an area of Manchester United’s team which isn’t causing concern right now.
It seems after back-to-back 3-0 thrashings at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag could be losing the faith of fans, as the players already look done.
So with that being said, why is it going wrong? Here are four reasons we think Ten Hag is getting it wrong…
No recruitment plan from the top down
Something which is half the fault of Ten Hag and half the club’s fault, but since his arrival recruitment has been extremely unhinged. Having structure in place is so important and Pep Guardiola even dedicates his Man City success to that reason.
Yes, we have signed good players, primarily Rasmus Hojlund and Lisandro Martinez, however even those make little sense.
Upon his arrival in the summer of 2022, we all assumed he would play possession-based Ajax-style football. This thinking was supported by signing players who are suited to that.
But after the first two games, that plan was abolished and Casemiro was signed which set the precedent along with David de Gea remaining in goal. But by this point, Antony, Christian Eriksen and Martinez who all suit a team dominating possession had been signed.
This left United with a right winger who can’t run past his man and relies heavily on linking up in tight areas, a midfielder who wants the ball and can’t cope in a transition side.
In the summer of 2023, after a season of playing on the counterattack, we signed players who suit transition football. So now we have a mismatched squad who don’t all suit the same style.
A director of football with pedigree and the ability to form a recruitment strategy, as opposed to just giving the manager whatever he wants is needed desperately.
Ten Hag is far too stubborn – it’ll cost him
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results. A phrase which rings true for Manchester United right now.
Gary Neville pointed out last night on commentary that Ten Hag hasn’t tried to change anything in this slump. He seems set on persisting with this man-to-man marking midfield which is exposed again and again, and insistent on playing fast-transition football which the players aren’t getting to grips with.
Even outside of tactically, little things like giving Victor Lindelof the captain armband against Newcastle opposed to the clear better option in Harry Maguire.
Back on the pitch though, anyone with eyes can see that United’s midfield needs to change and so does whatever is happening in training.
There are no patterns of play and yet Ten Hag seems insistent on playing this style, but if he doesn’t change, it is difficult to see a way out of this mess.
Ten Hag moved away from what made him so successful
Ten Hag at Ajax played some exquisite football, and he was hired and had fan backing for that reason. We all believed he would get United to play attractive football, but the further we go into his reign, the worse we look.
He has abandoned his principles and seems lost which is reflected in his players. We tried his style for as many as two games before he moved away, but now he has a goalkeeper capable why won’t he return to his original style, he couldn’t see performances much worse surely.
Hired for a set of ideas and tactics, to just move away and play football which isn’t working and fans don’t want to see, it does feel like Ten Hag is running out of ideas.
It genuinely would improve United to pick a team of players who can retain possession and play a patient passing game, just to build confidence and put in some dominant performances.
Has his favourites and there’s no punishment for a poor performance
It is no secret that Ten Hag has his favourite players and very rarely will he show them any punishment in the form of being dropped, despite consistent poor performances.
Marcus Rashford seems undroppable, despite every fan knowing he has been awful and doesn’t deserve to start. Antony is another who when fit, is likely to start every game regardless of performance.
Any other big team in the league will see competition for places, with players like Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri knowing they have a chance.
But those two will be aware that no matter how well they play, the two aforementioned will start. This was seen clearly after the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace which should’ve seen Garnacho retain his place.
Garnacho and Pellistri were so good in the win, but then Rashford came back in at the weekend for the Argentine despite him playing better than Rashford has all season. A serious issue which needs to be solved.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/z2JpOQB