by Manchester United are famous as TV legends. But when, under Alex Ferguson, the Sopranos – aggressive, full of attitude and extremely sensitive – were in the post-Fergie Wilderness years.TM they are a Casualty: disaster is inevitable, and so comes the fun and outlandish peculiarity of predicting it. Could André Onana befriend a murderous marmoset while trying to catch a cross, or will Harry Maguire collapse under the weight of his own property portfolio? It’s not! Wrong again! It’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, out of his wits to pass for fresh air and trip over Luke Shaw’s cough to score a goal with his tongue! Football as light entertainment on a Saturday night, bloody hell.
So despite giving some boost to Anfield moxie, Erik ten Hag is under pressure. But before we dismiss him as out of his depth – which he might be – it’s worth considering whether United are really at fault. Thanks to absentee owners who made bad decisions for the wrong reasons, Ten Hag inherited a squad that lacked quality and spirit but was rewarded as champions. The distraction of a takeover was added to that burden, although serious leadership would have absorbed the stress of the “Mason Greenwood situation”, and not added to the stress of the “Antony situation”.
Related: Erik ten Hag: from Ming the Merciless to circling the Old Trafford plug hole | Jonathan Wilson
Given that neither Pep Guardiola nor Jürgen Klopp were immediately successful in England and neither inherited a mixed bag, it is only fair that Ten Hag – director of football and chief scouting as well as manager – will be given time to to master a unique impossible job in which it is set. up to failure.
Although the Glazers have been told by their own adviser that the squad needs “open heart surgery”, the operation has been blocked by their constant clashing and facilitated by the bean counters’ football illiteracy. As a result, Maguire and Scott McTominay know that Ten Hag wanted to replace them, and Wout Weghorst, Sofyan Amrabat, Jonny Evans and even Christian Eriksen came to United not because they were good enough, but because that they were quite cheap.
Ten Hag also spent heavily on players he likes, which worked fairly well last season: Lisandro Martínez was great, Tyrell Malacia was useful and Casemiro is worth signing as a loss leader – the best player there is available knowing the right player, Kobbie Mainoo, will soon be ready to replace him. However, while Antony was always happy to take the ball and without good full-back support, he made an error – apparently Ten Hag’s, but a competent structure would surely protect the manager from himself.
It is too early to judge later action, but while Mason Mount is a good player United’s midfield needed a physical box to box to take possession under pressure, Bruno Fernandes not so good. On the other hand, Rasmus Højlund, exactly the type of player the team needs, is still not the player the team needs; Ten Hag has not approved an alternative.
He was, however, allowed to sign a keeper other than the “master” Onana, whose nervous start is understandably vague, but with errors showing an impetuous, scruffy style in which it is hard to believe. And as confidence has waned, so has his playmaking action – although this also reflects the rotating cast of inadequacies facing him thanks to United’s horrendous injury list. Which Ten Hag is responsible for that, who knows? But the proliferation of non-contact crackdowns raises questions, and while a ridiculous pre-season was pushed that was motivated by money rather than football, it exacerbated the situation by dividing game time around the squad, making his prime seasons less productive. suitable when the campaign started with. no new partnerships or brewing style.
United’s injuries came at a very sensitive point in the team’s development, halting any planned progress. Højlund has come off injured, so he’s coming up and settling in as his beleaguered teammates ponder this strange new breed of centre-forward; Mainoo, his most important role in the system, is getting used to injury; of his possible sitters, Casemiro, Eriksen and Mount are unfit, while Amrabat came off injured after leaving pre-season; Onana is trying to build from the back, but it is impossible due to the absence of Martinez, Mainoo and Shaw.
Recently, critics have argued that what Ten Hag wants from his team is unclear, but 17 months of performances, press conferences and interviews have said plenty. What is less clear is whether his players can do what he wants them to do, and whether he wants them to do what they should do. Ten Hag likes to dominate territory and the ball but McTominay chooses when he already has Fernandes; he wants to defend high on Raphaël Varane, the only suitable goalkeeper who can run and is good; and far too often, a midfield or a full-back who vacates possession vacates, leaving inverted forwards scrambling on the touchline and a striker running for his soul.
Therefore, the players have a lot of responsibility. Through their flexibility and inaccuracy they have brought upon themselves a deep collective PTSD, the name that is so sadly absent from the upper field when it comes to real life managers. The Guardian understands that one recent recruit was impressed by the attitude of some in the dressing room and it may be contagious, as when United met Real Madrid in pre-season, Carlo Ancelotti dropped the arch- Casemiro’s professional respect. he had a summer.
Just as it is easy to dismiss Ten Hag – his players are responsible for their own professionalism – so it must be questioned: it is his job to motivate them. Last season, an aggressive approach helped make up for a lack of charisma but by responding to adversity with reactivity, having previously told his team that they could, he is now implicitly advising them that they cannot .
So United kept themselves afloat through narrow wins that doubted players, achieved through inspiration and perspiration rather than sustained good play, could not rely on. And because the selections were safe, focused on achieving results without taking the team forward, there is little sense of building momentum or increasing identity.
Ten Hag’s conservatism created what philosophers now call the McTominay Paradox, where the person who helps the commons the most is the person who hinders it the most. Despite his excellent finishing, McTominay is not of the standard required and cannot control the midfield alongside Fernandes; as a result of his presence, Ten Hag’s “genius of the last pass” is too deep and too far from Højlund, who is suffering. Fernandes is not alone either, considering United’s unacceptable tally of 18 goals in 17 league games.
The fix is easy and inevitable as Mainoo can no longer be held back – it’s no coincidence that Fernandes’ suspension kept Liverpool out of another balance in midfield – and Casemiro is back soon. So Ten Hag must be brave, breaking from the failures of the past and not being satisfied with those who are responsible for them. He must consider whether what he is asking needs to be changed to better suit his situation, and then he must commit to whatever he decides. And since Varane has regained his place, the return of Martínez is imminent and the middle of the week is now free for training, things should get better – but then that boy on Casualties should they were able to play badminton without putting their necks on their rackets…
