30 Oct 2023 17:49:13
ETH said after the game "We will never play that football, Because those were different players. This is also not why I came here. We are playing different football than I showed at Ajax because I have to, because I can't play the same way. "

There are a number of points from this.
1) The players will hear that, he just told them they are never, note never, going to be as good as the Ajax players. That's those Ajax players who are now bottom of their league. That is the Moyes telling Vidic and Rio to watch films of Jagielka, in fact far worse.
2] It says he thinks he cannot implement his style, that's the style he was given the job on the basis of, the style he was brought in to implement.
3) What was he brought in to do? What did the United board set for him to do? Not replicate what made him successful at Ajax? Really.

Where does that leave us? Halfhearted approach, make do. The word never is absolutely damning, if he has told the players that before, it tells you why they down tooled, if he hadn't told them before, going out to the press to tell them was a worse idea.

Now, another question, ETH has been buying players on what basis? If it wasn't to model us like the team he was successful with, what was the basis of what he bought.

Utter shambles.

1.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 18:25:00
Yet he tried his best and managed to get the most expensive Ajax players, but was never his intention to play that way, why else would anyone buy them then!

Told you all along he is deluded….

Imagine how you feel in the dressing room to be told basically what I built at Ajax is too good for you to comprehend!

He is a past master at excuses always someone else’s fault, never ETH fault.

Zlaten was right Ronny was right Jesus Christ even Piers is right…. Once he leaves the dressing room stories will come out.

No wonder Cas as stopped trying too hard, forget all his medals ETH thinks Ajax is better.

2.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 18:45:37
Told us all along? You’re a new poster ?

Unless, oh wait, here we go again.

3.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 18:56:29
So many mountains being made from mole hills.

1. He never said the players aren't good enough to play that style, that is you reading what you want from it. He said they are different players. As in they have a different set of skills, not that they are more talented (although in some cases that will be true) .

2. No one from the club have ever said he was hired to implement Ajax's style of play. That has been insinuated by fans and pundits. All that quote says is that he understands the task at hand.

3. What was Sir Alex's style of play? Or did it change as he built and rebuilt the side. Did it adapt and change depending on the players he had available? He was brought in to replicate the success he had at Ajax, not necessarily to make a copy and paste team. To be completely honest if you watched the two sides he built at Ajax you'd see that each side was actually subtly different in style. So you can't even say EtH had one specific style at Ajax.

The reality is most clubs would struggle to implement what Ajax have as its as much a culture as a method for running a football club. They have a possession based style in the clubs DNA, its been there long before EtH and will remain for many years to come. The academy are brought up with that possession style as the cornerstone of how they play, along with positional rotations. Kids in the Ajax academy will play pretty much all outfield positions at some point during their development. As such the players coming through and available to the manager means a more distinct style is able to be implemented as long as it is possessional in nature.
That isn't the case at United and historically if we had any style attached to the club it is a transitional style. flying United wingers going from back to front at break neck speeds and scoring goals from lighting quick transitions. Certainly that is the style most closely associated with our successful periods at least.

What basis has he been using to buy players, probably the basis of them fitting how he wants this side to play. On building a team that makes the most of the players he has and adding to them to try and build a cohesive team that can compete for major honours.
he said earlier this season that he was hoping to build the best transitional side in the world. I'd imagine his signings are made with that in mind. Maybe something closer to Klopp's gagenpressing, although probably with more control of the ball. Transitional football doesn't have to mean sit deep and counter attack, just that you look to make the most of transitional moments. That can even be with controlled possession. Drawing a team out or manipulating them through controlled movement of the ball can open up opportunities to quickly transition from possession to attack. Being a transitional team is merely focusing on the change of phases within the game and using those moments between phases to take advantage of your opponent to create chances though quick thinking, movement and passing of the ball to set a player away before the opposition are set in their defensive shape.

That might explain why Rashford does minimal defensive work for the side. Maybe the manager want him to focus on being ready to attack and to work as that trigger player who is always ready to attack the opposition if there is an opportunity to transition. If that is the case it would also explain why the manager hasn't dropped Rashford, as simply he will be doing what the manager wants.

The hyperbole and overreaction is sadly typical of this fanbase.

4.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 19:01:05
He can't ok movement the artle of Ajax because are Academy doeant produce players with the qualities Ajax academy does.

He doesn't ha w Marc Overmars building a team and thebqcademy in a style of play he is schooled in (he has a bloke he had a job with Everton and England academy, hotbeds of Michels and Cryuff disciples.

He has a squad of players without any of the skills he meeds.

He doesn't have EvdS as CEO also schooled in that system and sympathetic to what is required, he has Arnold who lwarnt how to run a football club from Woodward.

What we know is ETH can coach thw right players someone else asssembled for him into a very effective unit, so we didn't provide him with any of that and expected him to deliver it, perhapa he said he could, right now it's hard to argue that he can.

5.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 19:19:19
It’s clear that Rashford is doing what he wants, it’s clear that ETH thinks we are progressing he said it enough times, it’s clear he thinks Antony is great, it’s clear he buying players he wants.

But was it also clear is the way he is trying to play is not suitable for the premier league, it’s also clear this is a coach who can’t demand respect he won nothing, oh sorry a tin pot league.

It’s also very very clear he is out of his league, virtually every football person who have much more experience then you is saying exactly the same.

Please don’t refer back to Klopp and Pep took time, even in there first years there was a style emerging….

6.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 19:19:23
Red Man - I’ve seen the interview and on the surface it looks damming but I think it’s being lost in translation.

This is only my opinion but I think EtH is saying that he never intended to play that style of football at Utd.

He said in the summer he wanted Utd to become the best transitional team in the world. I think he wants to press high, suffocate the opposition, win the ball high and then break quickly.

I think Onana was brought in to allow the defence to push higher, helping the team press higher and be more compact and I think the idea was also to invite the opposition to press then play vertically into midfield and transition quickly rather than keep possession of the football for long periods.

The problem is I’m not sure he has the runners in midfield to sustain the press and we’ve certainly struggled to play the ball vertically through midfield from defensive areas.

From an attacking perspective Rashford and Bruno have been awful, often wasting good opportunities and I think Rashford’s pressing and work rate has been a disgrace.

I actually think the fringe players have done a better job when given the chance. It will be interesting tomorrow if the likes of Hannibal, Garnacho, Mount, Pellestri etc are given a chance and if they are I think you’ll see the team play with a lot more energy and purpose.

To be fair to EtH with the public fall outs with Ronaldo then Sancho it would take some nerve to drop both Rashford and Bruno (who he’s just made captain) and from a goal scoring and creative perspective were his two most productive players last season. I think they’ve both let him down badly so far this season, with Rashford’s body language being particularly concerning.

I think EtH is just praying that they both return to form and with Newcastle being a high profile game he might pick them both again on Wednesday night which I think would be a mistake .

Finally I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a transitional team. It doesn’t mean defending deep or being passive and surrendering possession and it can be an exciting, aggressive and proactive style of play.

Ironically I’m not fully convinced EtH has the players to successfully implement this style of play either. It takes team work, co-operation, organisation, intelligence, hard work, effort, commitment, hunger, intensity and desire to press aggressively from the front then transition quickly committing people forward in support of the ball, not exactly qualities synonymous with Man Utd in recent years.

7.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 19:47:17
Shappy

When Guardiola went to City did he say he could never implement his style?
When Klopp went to Liverpool did he say he could never implement his style?
When Arteta went to Arsenal, when DeZerbi went to Brighton? How about Howe at Newcastle, Aston Villa?

Excuses and yes he has effectively said the players are not good enough. And we wonder why they down tools.

This is a big club, ETH must get a grip and quickly.

8.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 19:53:15
The players probably went to the board or murtok again and cried they had to run a bit.
Rangnick was told to ditch the style of play and focus on results. Ten Hag is probably being told the same thing.

9.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 19:59:23
Shappy every fan base is the same once the team is on a downward trajectory

Please don’t try and make out were worse than anybody else

In fact I’d say we have been very patient over the years

Look at most foreign clubs they riot if things are going badly.

10.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 20:14:51
That's the point DLIB. The players you mention are at his disposal and will give him a lot more of what he is looking for than the current muppets.

The question is why he doesn't pick them? Why does he persist with players who keep letting him down?

11.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 20:26:36
Red Man, you are again reading one thing and taking entirely what you want from it.

Show me the quote from EtH where he said he wanted to implement Ajax's style at United.

Or show me a quote from a senior person at the club involved in EtH's hiring who said they wanted United to play the Ajax way.

You can't as no one has ever said that. It's all in your head, things you imagined and think must have happened.

Look at the actual quote:

"We will never play that football, Because those were different players. " He is simply saying you can't compare apples and oranges. Ajax play a style that suits the players they have, and that style doesn't suit the players at United. That's all he's saying. To play that style would require different players.


"This is also not why I came here. " Right here he clearly states that playing the Ajax way was never his intention. There is absolutely no evidence to the contrary so we will just have to take his word on that.


"We are playing different football than I showed at Ajax because I have to, because I can't play the same way. " Here he is just reinforcing that the clubs are different and the players are different so you have to play a different way.

He isn't saying he can't play the way he wants, just that he can't implement playing the Ajax way with these players.

He has clearly stated he wants us to become the best transitional side in the world. Managers styles change, or they become outdated. Man City do not play the same way as Pep's Barcelona or Pep's Bayern side. So why demand that EtH must get is United side to play the same way as his Ajax side?

If you really want to split hair which of EtH's Ajax sides do you want him to recreate at United as the two teams are fairly different from each other.

12.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 20:55:53
Shappy, as you well know I am not 'typical of our fanbase', yet even I am baffled as to what ETH is trying to a achieve. Moston the buys have been poor or short term, and they have all been overpriced.

I see no style, no clarity, no ethos, frankly no idea. I've posted elsewhere so am not going to repeat myself, but right now I am at a loss to understand what the Manager is trying to achieve.

13.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 20:56:35
Shamrock, you're name is half right, you are a sham. As you didn't have an account when we hired EtH and you didn't have an account until a few weeks ago then you absolutely haven't told us all along.

You've literally turned up a couple of weeks ago spouting the usual rubbish whenever we are playing badly.

You are not a clairvoyant, and you have no proof that you even had a thought about EtH before a couple of weeks ago.

All this bravado and "I told you so" and patting yourself on the back for a job well done is just a sad attempt to prop up your flailing ego.

You'll disappear in a few weeks if the manager turns it around only to pop back up next time United struggle in the hope that another manager gets fired and you can say how very clever you were all along as you knew this would happen. Bravo, very clever of you, I'm sure it must fill your life with meaning. Of course you can't prove any of it, and to be frank no one on here or anywhere else will care whether you currently predicted the failure of another football manager or not.

Now run along home back under the bridge before your mummy grounds you for being out late again.

14.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 21:25:46
C'mon, Red Man. He's clearly saying our players can't play that way, not that they're not as good as the Ajax players. That's your interpretation.

He's not saying anything we haven't all said on here at some point - that our players are a hotchpotch of different styles, learned under different managers.

15.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 21:32:39
Shappy

We hired ETH based on what then? He got the job based on what he set up at Ajax, his style, the Ajax style.

Is this motivational and well timed right now at a time when players are not looking interested?
He needs to lead, think about his messaging, not look like he is floundering.

16.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 22:34:56
We’re now hearing that the dressing room is concerned about Ten Haag’s training methods. This group of players need to take a hard look at themselves. They are clearly shifting the blame away from their own inadequacies to the coach. Pathetic in the extreme. They think that because they are at United they have arrived. A clear out is needed over the next three windows and quality players who would run through brick walls for United brought in.

17.) 31 Oct 2023
31 Oct 2023 01:05:39
I've got to get me a pair of these rose tinted glasses!

18.) 31 Oct 2023
31 Oct 2023 06:31:29
Redman

You are twisting things just to suit your argument. What he said is spot on given the players at his disposal. Just conjecture from my side and guessing. Maybe there was a great plan on shipping Maguire/ MC/ DVB and even Martial and get a couple of CM, a right footed cb in for Varrane, who is often injured and play higher up the pitch with Onana.

All those great plans have not materialized. You say you are not advocating for ETH out but everything you post is about how he gets a multitude of things wrong over and over. sour grapes and questions about who we have bought, who gets picked and pretty much everything. Win lose or draw you always find what's wrong.


For the rest of people who want to week in week take a dump on ETH

So we play with what we have and he is being pragmatic. I am glad he has enough belief and character to stick to his guns and say it as is. He is finished as a united manager if he starts playing people or picking teams based on fans/ failed pundits, who are all suddenly football manager and think they know better. Get a grip and move on.

We lost a game to a team that made Real Madrid look like a third division team less than 6 months ago and this job is a long road to a fix. It starts with some form of stability and getting rid of the toxic environment the fans and media creates around this club. If you can't take the bumps that's on you. I was as upset as any Sunday night but my god some of the stuff being posted here is just drivel.

I respect peoples views and discontent but some of this stuff is pure nonsense and like playing a song over and over.

Liverpool bought 4 mids and people here think the eth is sh. t because we bought mount that should have fixed everything. get Real

BTW prepare yourself for more disappointments if you think we are going to go and buy a bunch of new shiny toys in Jan window. The best we can hope for is left footed CB depending on where Shaw and Martinez are in their recovery. I suspect no incoming personally unless we sell someone.

Finally I am 100% with him when he said we are on the up. we will get a lot better as the season goes on and we get players back.

19.) 31 Oct 2023
31 Oct 2023 18:26:06
This morning, Manchesters main newspaper ran an opinion piece on this, using words like bizarre, baffling defeatist and confusing to describe ETH comments.

Are they “twisting” things?

20.) 31 Oct 2023
31 Oct 2023 18:44:03
Nope, your answer is the 8th word in you post. It is merely their OPINION not fact. Merely their interpretation.

21.) 31 Oct 2023
31 Oct 2023 19:32:33
Shappy

You said I was, quote, “reading one thing and taking entirely what you want from it”, Ahmad said I was “twisting” things

It’s not just me “twisting” things.