27 Mar 2021 20:24:42
Ten Hag: "23 games unbeaten? It's a nice streak but it tells me nothing, it's about trophies. "

- But do you not enjoy it?

Ten Hag: "I allow 24 hours of joy after a game, not more. After that I want my team fully prepared for the next opponent. "

Interesting perspective. How do people view Ten Hag?

1.) 27 Mar 2021
27 Mar 2021 20:55:58
I like him red man. I like the way he sets Ajax up and how they play. Would prefer him to Ole, but question marks exist over his handling big egos. Time will tell I suppose.

2.) 27 Mar 2021
27 Mar 2021 21:43:52
I really like Ten Hag, I think his style would translate well to a top side that would expect to have the majority of possession.

Personally I prefer managers who play with a high press, quick transition style like Klopp, Rangnick, Rose and Marsch.

3.) 28 Mar 2021
27 Mar 2021 22:51:55
He is a very good manger and coach redman.
Ajax are of course the dominant team but he has to sell his best players every season or 2nd season but they just continue to improve.
He would be the coach i would like to see take over from ole and develop some of the young talent on our books. I would like to think he could have us challenging within a couple of seasons.

4.) 28 Mar 2021
27 Mar 2021 23:57:10
Personally the man I'd go for would be Erik Ten Hag. Clear style, great with young players, and has won things.
That was a post from you a couple of months ago shappy.
So you have changed your mind?

5.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 08:31:33
Not at all Ken, I still think Ten Hag might be the best long term option. My only slight concern would be do we have the players to suit his more possession based technical style.

There is a difference between my preferred style and type of football manager, to the style and type to which might be best suited to managing Manchester United.

I much prefer someone who is more of a head coach who focuses on tactics and improving the players. Then have a DoF who takes care of some of the higher up less pitch related management issues.

However, our club isn't set up that way, our manager has to be the key figurehead and be seen to be controlling everything. They need to be media savvy, be ace at mind games, quick witted, funny and clever. How the come across in the media is maybe more important than how they are in the dressing room.

Personally I think we have it the wrong way around.

6.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 08:47:06
Lol ken 😂 just covering all the bases haha.

7.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 09:52:02
Shappy

The players we have driving the playing style? Is that right?

We need to define the playing style then change the players but to do that we need direction.

Ten Hag seems to play good football and trophies, as it should be, are the sole aim. Good start to get me on board yet need to know more.

8.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 09:55:59
Honestly angel.

9.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:07:23
Red Man, ideally no. But the question is do our fan base have the patience to wait 3-4 years while a manager turns over the entire squad to suit their style?

You yourself have said previously that we have made some strange managerial appointments considering who the previous manager was and the recruitment under them. LvG to Jose I believe you questioned as their styles of play is opposing, and the players LvG signed didn't suit Jose's style.

I suppose it comes down the the same issue, not having a clear overriding vision. What is our modus operandi?

Are we a club that trust youth and creates a pathway into the team for them, or are we trying to be the new Galaticos buying high end commercially driven players?

What is our overall style of play? Are we passers or runners, are we offensive minded or defensive, proactive or reactive.

If we don't know what style of play we are looking at then we can't tailor our recruitment to fit that. Same thing when it comes to what targets we go for, are we looking at younger players who we can mould into the ideal player, or are we after a player who is already a big name and will sell shirts.

When I look at our current squad I don't see the sense in hiring a possession based based manager who looks to use technical players in tight spaces as we have very few who suit that style of play.

Bruno probably doesn't suit a possession based manager, he naturally plays the high risk passes instinctively. While he is so successful at it would you want to change his game which could be to his detriment?

Is Rashford a player for that pass and move style? Or does he suit a running at players or into spaces game?

Do we have any midfielders for a possession rotation style game? Donny maybe, but he has not really hit the ground running. Maybe because there are so few players in our squad on his wavelength.

Do we have the defenders for passing out from the back, players comfortable on the ball or being pressed?

To be a possession based side in the current climate you need to be press resistant. Players who can keep their nerve and find a passing lane when under pressure from two or three players. Do we have enough players like that?

Certainly I would say our best and key players don't suit that style. But if that is the route the club wants to go then it needs to commit to it. Bring in the manager to implement it. Ignore the fans if the style doesn't work within the first 2-3 years. Commit to selling our players, even our best ones, if they can't adapt to that style. Commit to spending what is necessary to build a title winning squad in that style. Commit to a rebuilding plan and structure.

But if we just bring in the manager without all the rest of it then we are just setting them up to fail.

That's why until we have that plan and are committed to that plan changing the manager could be more damaging than anything else.

As a club we are bumbling in the dark, we lurch in one direction then the next, no one is prepared to nail their colours to the mast.

10.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 11:51:23
A few years ago on here I wrote about a plan, about have a vision of what the club is and how it wants to play football from top down. It has been repeated many times in the years as people, including yourself latched on to it. My point came from my work experience advising people how to do that.

It is one reason why I supported LVG as I felt he would build a structure for Pep but the club don’t have vision.

11.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 12:36:06
Red Man, it's simple and you were right. The rot starts at the top and works it's way down.

Until we have that vision, that plan we will always fail.

12.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 13:35:35
His mentality is a huge difference than ole. Ole says trophies don’t matter, ten hag does. One is a pe teacher the other continues to stay at the top after selling his best players year in year out.

13.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 14:30:40
Rw. Don't be disrespectful.
To pe teachers.

14.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 15:04:02
I don't think it would take 3-4 years to change philosophy. We do have players good at possesion, Lindelof is good passer, Shaw is very good in possession, Donny too, Bruno can play that role on a proactive team too, he is smart and can change his game like he does with his national team. Greenwood can play the possession game. Then a couple of sighnings and mostly good coaching and even Rashford can change his game like Sterling did. He will learn to have more patience in his game and wait for a clear chance to come rather than shooting from everywhere.
We became a club used to mediocrity and excuses. For example i keep hearing that we need a center back to push our lines 10 metres forward since Mourinho. Ofcourse when you have the perfect squad its easier to play open football but a proactive manager doesn't change his philosophy because he misses a player. It was not a problem to play offensively with Company or Laporte who aren't pacey too, or for Klopp with Matip.
Its only us that it will take 3-4 years to change the philosophy and its only us that we must have the "perfect" squad to play play on the front foot. And its only us because we like excuses.

15.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 16:32:52
Herrera, changing the philosophy only takes a minute, coaching the players and bringing in the right players to make that philosophy a title winning one takes considerably longer.

It took Klopp 4 years to win the title with Liverpool, while the only players still at the club from when he took over were Henderson, TAA and Firmino. Of which TAA was an academy player and not a first teamer when Klopp moved to Anfield. The other 22 players of their 25 man squad have been brought in.

While the change in style was fairly quick, the results took much longer.

The idea that a new manager will come in make 1 or 2 signings and change this side into a team capable of getting 90+ points is borderline lunacy.

It will take years, especially if the new style of play doesn't suit our best players.

I'm fine either way, go with a manager whose style suits our best players would be a quicker way to success. But if the club have a clear plan and the fortitude to see that plan through then fine, I've sat through 8 years on not winning things, I'll gladly sit through another 3-4 years if it means a title and more importantly sustained success afterwards.

16.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 17:54:09
And there lies the problem. What style exactly does Ole play or has he implemented or tried to implement so the board can target the right set of players to fit his system. It's been almost three years now and there is no clear pattern/ style that he has tried to introduce. It's just sit deep and counter attack, sometimes even against so called weaker opposition where we should be imposing ourselves. We always complain that Ole isn't being backed and not given his first choice players. But the question is which so called world class player will come to United just to play counter attacking football. So which is it, does he play counter attacking football because he doesn't get his first choice players, or is counter attacking football all he knows.

17.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 18:17:16
Love United

As the manager of the underdogs previously he would likely be well versed in counter attack.

I was interested in what Ten Hag would structure us like and pattern of play set.

18.) 28 Mar 2021
28 Mar 2021 18:19:16
Liverpool were in a much worst position than we are now, with less money too. Yet you "forget" that Klopp played good football, much better than we do and more progressive from the first season. He went in two Champions League finals in a row winning one and hit 96 points in Premier before he won the Premier League the year after.
So it took 4 years to change the philosophy? This conversations is only for some posters to give the excuse that it takes "4 years" or something. I speak mainly for the philosophy and what we see because you can only change and improve your team. So you can be as good as you can and hit 96 points but finish second because there is another team like City to hit 97.
Every team mirroring its manager . In our case i am sure we would see a huge difference from the first year with Potter in charge even if we didn't brought a single player in. We would leave this miserable football and mediocrity and play on the front foot every week.

19.) 29 Mar 2021
29 Mar 2021 06:56:35
Herrera

I agree, a manager who knows what they are doing with a plan, like a Klopp or Pep type of manager would make a huge difference. Unfortunately sentiment and emotional ties to Ole remain, seen through those teary eyes as he scored that goal in 99, they still can’t see the issue.