Erik ten Hag | United trigger contract extension

He can't get a free pass on the Eriksen signing and playing him out of position though. It's £200k a week wasted on making us a poorer side. I'd have preferred we have the money to Mata. At least he gave a damn.

Get the Rabiot deal done and get Eriksen to the bench. He's not a CM.

It was criminal to play him in the work horse position in CM against Brentford. He's a player that should come on in the 60th minute at 0-0. He's one of the best passers of the ball in the final third in the world. Play him in the final third.

Come on man Mata was a waste of space his legs were gone.

I agree Eriksen was an odd signing I said it at the time but he can’t have been signed to be the holding midfielder he was a bench option in my opinion to play Europa/cup games.

Utd have simply taken to long in making other signings meaning we’ve started both games this season with major tactical problems. 1st game no fit striker and 2nd game using a guy out of position because new signings haven’t arrived.

He is also going to have a massive problem all season trying to play out from the back with De Gea he just can’t do it. Arsenal had this exact same issue when Emery took over with Cech in goal. He was a great keeper a legend of the PL era but he couldn’t adapt to playing from the back I think we face the exact same issue with De Gea.

Eriksen made a mistake yesterday but the pass it’s him was horrible no pace on the ball bobbling all over the place and you could see even before De Gea kicked it that Eriksen would be under pressure. Eriksen should have dealt with it but De Gea should have seen it coming he has to start fizzing these passes into the player to give them the time to play it first time round that corner.
 
I see no difference with your assessment of Mata and my assessment of Eriksen. A waste of space whose legs have gone and best years behind him. As I said yesterday through two weekends no one in the Premier League has given the ball away more than Eriksen.

ETH is third favourite to be first manager sacked now at 4/1.
 
He should absolutely walk. I know he's not going to but United are going to do him no favours in the long run. He's a good fairly young manager, united could ruin his reputation.
 
He should absolutely walk. I know he's not going to but United are going to do him no favours in the long run. He's a good fairly young manager, united could ruin his reputation.
Walking away when things are tough would damage his reputation more.
 
Our only hope is Jim Ratcliffe, come on mate, get yet wallet out

Eriksen was a free, I don't see why he is being picked out. If we had a better squad he'd be on the bench, like most of this 11 should be. Terrible team all over the pitch.

I'm going to revert to my end of season philosophy after promising to give them all a clean slate. None of these players should be at the club. Sell them all
 
I don't think so. In 12 months he's probably going to get the sack after a dismal season and that's going to hurt his reputation.
I don’t think he will be sacked even if it is an absolute train wreck of a season. I fully expect this season to be as rough as hell but if you sack ETH, you are lumbering the next manager with the same players. It’s an endless cycle and at some point we have to let a manager ring the changes and see where we go.
 
And I get that and that's the right approach. But this is United under the Glazers, I'm not sure what part of you thinks they are going to start doing things properly.
 
I expect change.
Try a team without Bruno and Eriksen, give a chance to Garner.
I just hope he doesn't give up like Ragnick
 
You can't slag Bruno on this forum. But I've seen him slaughtered in a few pieces today
 
Also, it is early days for ETH but I don't see anything new. It's the same as under the two managers last year. Where is his impact, where is his style? What has he been doing on the training ground. I don't see anything

Drop these players and play youth. We have the lowest running stats
 
I see no difference with your assessment of Mata and my assessment of Eriksen. A waste of space whose legs have gone and best years behind him. As I said yesterday through two weekends no one in the Premier League has given the ball away more than Eriksen.

ETH is third favourite to be first manager sacked now at 4/1.

in the last 5 years Eriksen has played regularly in a team that has got to the CL final, won Serie A and survived relegation whereas Mata has played a bit part role in a side that has largely been meh.

I get where you are going but the two are not compatible at this stage of their career. I get that Utd probably signed both when their best years where behind them but one cost nothing and one cost 38m.

in 2 games the guy has not played a single minute in his favoured position… now you mention it he is looking more and more like Mata.

We‘ve taken the Mata/Lingard replacement and used him to be the Greenwood/Cavani replacement then the Matic/Pogba replacement.
 
in the last 5 years Eriksen has played regularly in a team that has got to the CL final, won Serie A and survived relegation whereas Mata has played a bit part role in a side that has largely been meh.

I get where you are going but the two are not compatible at this stage of their career. I get that Utd probably signed both when their best years where behind them but one cost nothing and one cost 38m.

in 2 games the guy has not played a single minute in his favoured position… now you mention it he is looking more and more like Mata.

We‘ve taken the Mata/Lingard replacement and used him to be the Greenwood/Cavani replacement then the Matic/Pogba replacement.
Agree
Will you drop Bruno for him ?
 
Which ever one is playing better should play same for every player in every position in the squad.
As i'm sure the same will now happen with Shaw and Malacia, with the former not getting a look in on current form.
 

some good points for those who cant be bothered

"We looked at what Brighton did well against them," Thomas Frank said. "Normally, Brighton always build from the goalkeeper, but they went long every single time so, of course, we looked at that. We knew we had that weapon, so that's why we did it."

"I'm obviously up against a smaller centre-back. It was a good game plan."

Ralf Rangnick had analysed eroding the mental blocks of the squad was paramount to improving performances and brought in sports psychologist Sascha Lense.

The interim manager's spell was miserable, but multiple sources have indicated it was not to do with the changes he tried to make or his findings about United's wider structural state of play, but the absence of buy-in from players and empowerment from the club.

David de Gea even admitted the club's disastrous 2021/22 campaign is "still in our minds" as "when something goes wrong, people get panicky."

United walked into yet another season without curing their need for stability, a progressive figure and a destroyer at the base of their midfield.

This has seen the club unable to shift players that should no longer be at Old Trafford and persist with ones that have proven incompatible for the pressure, expectation and style of football demanded.

There is concern that further imbalance will come under the current recruitment strategy of giving Ten Hag every player he identifies rather than working off a long-term scouting and analytics practice like Manchester City, Liverpool and the teams that have beaten them this season - Brentford and Brighton - do.

Another huge difference between the pre-season tour and the current reality is the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo casting a shadow over everything.

A mismatched, psychologically shot squad has met an unsophisticated transfer policy with a club that have not gone for the best in the business in football operations.

Ten Hag will be the one under pressure and at threat of losing his job as the 'new Frank de Boer' if such damaging results and performances continue, but he is merely the latest fresh face to walk into a festering mess.
 
A few shocking numbers from an Athletic article

They have conceded four goals in 30 per cent of their away games since the start of the 2021-22 season. In the previous 29 seasons, that figure drops to 2.3 per cent.

In United’s seven consecutive away defeats, they have scored twice and conceded 21 times.

United have not suffered seven consecutive away league defeats since 1936.
 
I can't see a way out of this until the Glazers go.

I know you love Bruno, but his attitude stinks, same as Ronaldo, these types of players need shifting not getting new contracts. No matter how good they are. We've got the wrong type of payer at the club.

I can't see ETH turning this around because he doesn't have the tools. I don't see them winning any of the next 4 games. The City comes close after, Chelsea and Spurs.

At this rate, he won't make the WC. And it won't be his fault, he has my backing, it's what's around thats wrong. And what is McClaren doing. Surely he knew Brighton and Brentford would target a 5ft 9 CB
 
The snippet about how when things go wrong the team panics is so true. For example - and this is said in hindsight - if Bruno had taken that chance in the first few minutes against Brighton we may we have won that game. However, as soon as Brighton got one, you knew a goal was coming as this team now cannot seem to cope with falling behind. The same can be said against Brentford.

It’s funny that coming from behind was our trademark under Ole but the individual brilliance has waned and we’ve become so easy to beat when we go behind.

This team and club is so mentally fragile at the moment. We need leaders and a bit of nastiness. We are so easy to play against it’s unreal.
 
As soon as we concede we fall apart we had that great run of comebacks under Ole but the warning signs were there you can’t keep going behind in games.

Far to often we concede the first goal in a game and it currently feels like more often than not we then concede a second giving us a mountain to climb.

We very rarely start games on the front foot I’d love to see how many goals Utd have scored in the opening 15 minutes of games we never start fast and get the opponent on the back foot.
 
They Scored 4 goals from an Xg of 2.0 fair to say everything they hit went in but I don’t recall Utd creating a single chance in that first half either.
 
This is the same bunch of players who downed tools under Mourinho, got down to work until the whole Ole's At The Wheel thing jumped the shark and then took one look at Rangnick and returned said tools to the shop floor. Not a surprise that they aren't busting a gut under ETH. Their positions aren't under any threat because we won't sign anybody and are incapable of selling anyone under contract, so they'll ignore ETH until he's gone and then reevaluate their motivation under the newest manager.

ETH (or any other manager) cannot succeed until they hold all the power and can actually determine who plays/stays or gets sold. Until this happens, player power will do for whomever is foolish enough to take the managerial job.
 
This is the same bunch of players who downed tools under Mourinho, got down to work until the whole Ole's At The Wheel thing jumped the shark and then took one look at Rangnick and returned said tools to the shop floor. Not a surprise that they aren't busting a gut under ETH. Their positions aren't under any threat because we won't sign anybody and are incapable of selling anyone under contract, so they'll ignore ETH until he's gone and then reevaluate their motivation under the newest manager.

ETH (or any other manager) cannot succeed until they hold all the power and can actually determine who plays/stays or gets sold. Until this happens, player power will do for whomever is foolish enough to take the managerial job.

Any more crumbs of comfort CnV?
 
I think it's true

We need to sell all these players. I said this end of last season, said I'd give them a chance, I have, and they need selling.

And that's all of them. I don't care Bruno was excellent when he arrived, he's not now and his attitude stinks. Sell him, Ronaldo can go, Maguire, Shaw, Dalot, DDG, Fred I can go on.

Couple of players need a chance, Sancho, Varane, basically all the players signed since last summer deserve a chance in a proper functioning team.

All the rest need to go, and the club need to recognise this.
 
Think get Ronaldo out and see if that resets things a bit he’s clearly a problem he does what he wants and no one has got the power to tell him to stop it.

It’s easy to forget that just over 12 months ago most of these lads were considered hard working and pretty likeable some were just a bit short on talent.

Get him out and get 2 or 3 in and see how we get on.
 
the problems defintely stem from him joining. Probably anyone in his clique need to be cut out too. That's you Dalot
 
the problems defintely stem from him joining. Probably anyone in his clique need to be cut out too. That's you Dalot

I think it was slightly before him coming Ole changed the playing style during the shortest pre season ever where almost his entire squad was missing and he didn’t sign the necessary midfield players for it to work. Ronaldo was just adding petrol to a fire that was already burning.

There was absolutely no plan about how to play with Ronaldo but you can’t blame him for the absolute car crash that is our defence and midfield.
 
Our team is poor, but it;s not as poor as they continually show. There is something wrong mentally, and if Ronaldo is kicking up a load of fuss, then that might explain it. He thinks he's 28 and in his pomp. You can't keep dining out on history.
 
Our team is poor, but it;s not as poor as they continually show. There is something wrong mentally, and if Ronaldo is kicking up a load of fuss, then that might explain it. He thinks he's 28 and in his pomp. You can't keep dining out on history.

It is though they’ve proven it now they might have individual talent but they are an awful team.

You can’t get a consistent level of performance out of them and they are quick to down tools and let their heads drop.

I think he gets frustrated because he is feeding off scraps we just don’t get him in the game at all as we can’t get out of our own half when we get pressed by the opponent and when your team is chucking in goals you do get fed up quick.

If he was younger you maybe put up with it but given he’s only here 1 more year we just need to get him out the door.

Even with Ronaldo gone there’s still 5 or 6 positions where improvements have to be made.
 
Ronaldo reminds me of Roy Keane when we were floundering and watching Chelsea win everything. His body won't do what his mind demands, others around him can't meet the standards he used to maintain and the anger and frustration comes out sideways x 100 in Ronaldo's case. Fergie got rid awfully quickly.
 

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