What is Ten Hag actually trying to do?

[@theflyingdonkeypunch]

Props to the editor for all the quick cuts to JJ sipping from his mug. Felt like I was watching an action movie

[@chrisgarty]

Those sips seemed like a sub-plot and I was expecting a reference to them towards the end 😆

[@DerekTJ]

Not just me!

[@PrabhavKhandelwal]

Its the little things

[@orhandido2]

That was not accidental,it was deliberate cut,IDN why?

[@DarrenPaul]

And the pouring coffee. Cinema

[@nyavoradjei8919]

I think the first step for our rebuild is for everyone around the club, fans included, to accept that we are no longer an elite team. Until we accept that no manager will be given enough time to truly overhaul and rebuild this club without fans and media breathing down their backs.

[@terrm_]

For real 👌🏽🖤 I've been a Fan almost my entire life. But this is our rough patch. To actually transition, we all need to bow our heads and accept the fact that we aren't like that anymore, and exercise patience. Then the only way would be up.

[@russellward4624]

As a City fan it seems they've overrated where they are kind-of like Spurs. Where they thought they were 1 or 2 players away because of where they finished in the table not accepting that they didn't finish 3rd and 2nd respectively because they were good. But because the teams around were bad. Last year spurs, Chelsea and lfc were bad. That allowed Utd to finish 3rd not because they were good. And they've misunderstood where they actually are with the talent or more to the point lack of talent in the team.

[@ernestodotei3893]

Yh I get that we are not elite anymore, but the lack of effort and lackadaisical body language from the players makes watching united games very frustrating.

[@Rumborumbo87]

I think you've made a really good point, Liverpool saw a distinct style of play when Klopp arrived but he also recorded an 8th place finish. I'm sure ETH would love to just go for his Ajax style 100% but he just doesn't have the players for it and an 8th place finish at Utd will almost certainly get him sacked. So he's forced to try and balance pragmatism with slowly introducing ideas which means the team looks all over the place. Obviously injuries and being at a badly run club haven't helped. Utd can try and change manager but it's going to be the same thing over and over until they admit how far they've fallen and just take the poor finishes to allow a manager the time like Liverpool did with Klopp or Arsenal with Arteta.

[@beatty1229]

you are right. our finish last season was a bit of a fluke. we overperformed while other clubs underperformed. we are currently a top 6-7 club, not top 3, and we are not even living up to that.

[@Doweyyy]

Through this whole period Luke Shaw's absence has been massively underestimated. He is a fantastic fullback and really helps Rashford play the way he needs to down the left hand side. Width is absolutely crucial to a team's shape and Shaw is a massive part of that. His absence massively compromises the team's overall ability to build and keep structure. Martinez is also a huge miss in our ability to play out.

[@Allschmoi]

An top team should be able to compensate with enough squad death. I also think you are kind of overselling how important Shaw is. He is good no doubt, but can not be used as an explanation why Rashford is this bad.

[@_DioBrando_]

Luke Shaw wouldn't make City's bench. It's not an excuse to be honest.

[@opinionatortv6457]

​@@_DioBrando_excuse me? 😂😂😂 So you think Gvardiol would start ahead of Shaw?

[@Brickhazard]

Agreed. ETH has always played his teams with left footed LCB and right footed RCB. Shaw, Martinez and Malacia's absence at the same time has cost us dearly. All the plastic fans calling for ETH head do not realise how bad it is with the players available to us defender wise. Even AWB is a massive miss. Normally when either Shaw or Martinez is injured Malacia can cover LB and Shaw LCB as proven against Barcelona last season. We are playing a lot deeper as a result and resulting to counter attack football. I am pretty sure once our injuries come back the results will also change. Our injury situation is a crisis and the squad depth just isn't there.

[@Rafaay]

Even with all of those players, United have no identity in their football unfortunately. I back ETH for United but he has gotten most of his signings very wrong

[@durthacht]

XG against of 4 is "not ideal". Slight understatement there.

[@subboid]

7-0 drubbings are usually around that

[@duffmid]

TBH I think we should be happy was only 3. Before the game I fully expected it to be a new record loss based on how we've been playing all season.

[@tompoynton]

@@duffmidCity are always too nice to United

[@God_is_an_Atheist666]

"Slight understatement" is an understatement.

[@laurenzhacker5742]

What frustrates me is, why Ange Postacoglu can just come in and completely change the Spurs playing style, from a squad that was built for a back 5 system into a fun to watch attacking side - whereas it's seemingly impossible to do that same thing at Manchester United. Could you maybe cover that in a video? cheers

[@charlieharper4982]

Tottenham don’t have the media pressure, owner question also they have a brand new stadium and training ground they are a well run club. At man United there is always pressure and stupid media story’s. Also United had many injuries at the beginning so there can’t be a constant squad.

[@charlieharper4982]

Ange is never a better coach than ETH they are both good… but any random can see that the problem at United is deeper every other coach after Ferguson was struggling

[@sherwan8143]

it's a manager bounce, give it 2 months

[@jeremyvaask2235]

⁠@@charlieharper4982and you have those beliefs after 10 games? Spurs are maddison away from falling off and eventually managers will figure ange out. Not saying he’s a bad manager but we haven’t seen him deal with the pressure. Ten hag had most pressure out of any coach in world football last year and managed to get united a trophy and top 4 finish. He’s also going to be the fastest manager in united history to get to 50 wins after they beat fulham, so i really don’t understand why ten hag is under pressure by the media especially when half of his squad has been out injured.

[@thedaddrive]

Both teams have the depth problem. They are both couple starting defenders away from not being able to play proactive football. United have 3 starting defenders out while Spurs don't. Also Spurs don't have Carabao or UEFA right now, so their depth problem is not exposed, but they are just as screwed if they have to start Sanchez and Dier, or Son/Madison injury. Not saying Spurs isn't great right now, but United's injury and depth problem is extreme. Better teams like City and Liverpool have subs that can play the in the preferred style, but Spurs or United do not.

[@Roman.Rêbwar]

If you looked at the first have of the game Man U backline tried really hard to play from the back,they just couldn't do it ! Not only because of man city's press,but because they simply lacked the ability to do so.

[@Mertaranta]

Which just highlights how important Martinez and Shaw are to ten Hag's system. With them, United are top 4. Without, top 12.

[@pingusbabyyy451]

@@Mertaranta they are never a top 4 side. they benefitted from chelsea, tottenham and liverpool all imploding last season

[@heffman94]

​@@Mertarantaunited a top 4 side? 🤣🤣🤣 dont make me laugh bro

[@Roman.Rêbwar]

@@Mertaranta no even with them we're not a top 4 side,we have players upfront who can't play the modern game which is high press ball possession not making stupid passes and shooting randomly like bruno Fernandez and m.rashfurd,and we can't sell them because they are a brand and we lack the money to do so,yes they are good stars but today's football is about teamwork and being clinical which they are not.

[@Roman.Rêbwar]

@@Mertaranta dalot is underrated too ! Onana Luke shaw,varane,martinez,dalot Our backline without injuries can play modern football very good, but our midfield is in shambles besides casemiro,amrabat,mount nobody plays that way, In upfront antony,garnacho,hojlund can do it but they need polishing, There's no way out of where we are now,we either adapt to the way the top teams play or we become evertons and westhams playing counter attack like a good midtable side and that's it really,we have an elite coach who played the most beautiful, effective football at ajax,he didn't suddenly forgot how to coach ETH is the man.

[@Oliver-zm2ho]

This is so frustrating because one of the main reasons Ten Hag was brought in was for him to implement his system so we wouldn't have to rely on individual brilliance.

[@markpaul7623]

Has dissapointed me big time,i hoped for better,am afraid he is not what i expected

[@yato.692]

@@markpaul7623you wouldn’t have said that last season though would you? Bloody sheep.

[@wingsofsuspensionlifts6814]

such bizarre signings too.... what is the point of mount and eriksen? they desperately need some physicality in that midfield.

[@alexs.818]

​@@wingsofsuspensionlifts6814I bet you he wanted better players, however United's piss poor scouting department and negotiating team were influential in the acquisition of these underperforming signings.

[@barnettmufc77]

@@markpaul7623 Do you guys just forget last season? We were a much better team last year, just chill, allow for new signings to settle and get some key players back from injury and trust the process. It may take a season or 2 but bullshit comments just make it plain and obvious are fan base is full of absolute idiots who expect instant success from every manager. Pep even took a year or 2 to get going at City and they were planning for his arrival a year in advance.

[@Miloxiaocelao]

So really at the end of the day, the problem is still ETH not having the players he wants and needs to play the style he wants. One can argue “United spent BIG money on ETH” all day long, just as we have with all of the previous managers since SAF, but the puzzling phenomenon remains where ALL of the managers reverted back to the counter attacking strategy to win games. And we have had managers with very different ideas on strategies. The fact it all came back down to this is rather telling of the status of the football club. And it almost doesn’t matter who comes in at this point. We might as well have Mickey Mouse sit in the dug out, and it wouldn’t get worse. Backing the manager under the current context really means to choose between immediate results and actually fixing the problem. And all the pundit and fans, and rivals could all just shut up about “but, but, but it’s United”. Any org is as good as the owners. Where there is a will, there is a way. Well, the lack of will trickles down from waaaaay up top. All the analysis with XGs, and possessions, and narrow lanes and channels and style of plays just cracks me up where we have had to rely on a CB half retired to defend, a CM and a CB both one foot out the door to score goals for us, a young striker who is brand new to the league leading the attacking line of a club size of Man United, and another CM who has literally died and came back to life. That’s how the manager has been backed. Onana must be thinking WTF every game, despite his own faults. Same with Bruno, Marcus, and etc, all of whom I am running out of patience with. But can we really blame them? It’s like forcing Bolt to run 100m races, but forbidding him to use his legs. With the players we have, all the new signings we signed with their forces in mind, can’t use their strengths. Even if ETH is just another one-season-wonder, just stick with him until the club structure substantially changes, because what is the point anyways otherwise.

[@AsianLing]

@whatthehead bro Maguire is still here he was 5th choice centre back same with Mctominay. Players which Ten hag wanted sold, are still here

[@nickj.7876]

Could not agree more mate.

[@scottlinton6577]

Fully agree

[@safwaanali5727]

How is postecoglu doing so well then playing exciting football having basically only signed Madison in the summer?

[@vitaminamulti]

Change of manager won't change anything. Rashford and Bruno are best at counter-attacking football -- that's why all managers at United revert to this style. The problem is when we are not clinical, which is often, we don't have other players who can replace these two and add different elements. This is a failure of the CEO Richard Arnold, who has no competency in managing the technical/sporting director or to build infrastructure to recruit the players we need at the right prices. Our problem is we don't target the players we need. When FDJ was not an option, we went with someone completely different from his profile. Most our recruits come through EtH's persnal network. A club of Man United's size shoudl not be relying on the manager's personal network -- name me one other club that follows the outdated SAF style. Ed Woodward messed up the salary structure, making it impossible to sell players. Richard Arnold helped control player salaries, but we are not recruiting the right players and instead are just a slave / overliant on the manager. Ultimately, it is the Glazers who don't care about the sporting end - they just care about the commercial profits and asset growth. They don't care about the club or hell, even the sport! They install CEO's who are incompetent on sporting. Arnold needs to go, new technical/sporting structure is needed -- or else the Glazers really do need to go.

[@brendanmostek4723]

15:25 "I'm sure he didn't come with the idea that were just going to do the same things that we've been doing for the past few seasons and do it just as badly" had me rolling 😂

[@ohmane5453]

As a Liverpool fan I think Ten Hag is doing great and should keep the current style.

[@hijklmn]

any other team fans would agree so they can become like chelsea last season lmao

[@Metalton95]

"Ten Hag is a football genius!"

[@ActuallyAudacity]

So the main issue is that we don't have the defence ETH wants in order to play the type of football he wants to play. He's trying to accommodate the slower CBs he has and adjust his tactics accordingly but it leads to the worst of both worlds... I think the Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez injury really fucked us up because I remember how high we we're playing last season and even then the CBs weren't at the halfway line because we had DDG. With Onana you would expect us to play super high up the pitch but the injuries messed it all up. What's worse is ETH didn't get Kim Min Jae and he would have definitely allowed us to play ETH ball.

[@Mopark25]

This has been so obvious to me I'm really scratching my head as to why people are surprised.

[@nicknewman7848]

ETH didn't get Pavard either or Kane or De Jong and probably a few others that were first on his list. He needs 5 new players to make it work. Onana, Shaw and Martinez are good enough, Fernandez is good enough, Rashford is good enough and Hoilund is one for the future. The others are either not good enough, not ready yet or becoming over the hill fast.

[@optiondezzo1513]

@@Mopark25 rabid fans only live for the moment and have goldfish memory. they most likely forgot shaw and martinez are even man utd players and won't be back till dec/january.

[@Timbone07]

I disagree. ETH needs 15 players but if each will cost 90 million each then you have a problem

[@ChrisWalker-fq7kf]

But we know Shaw is very injury prone and maybe Martinez is too. So how is it going to work?

[@dickykamarullah1507]

I think the first comment Klopp made something about dont take history in your backpack and carry it around when he appoint at Liverpool was brilliant in changing the mindset of the club and make fans and others accept that there are mediocre club, it take pressure off and it allow him time to build the team.

[@Omnipotentmonkey]

when I saw the line-up I assume the exact same thing, that Lindelof would be tucking in to form a 3 and Dalot advancing, in my head it kind of looked like a mirror to City's formation so: ______________Onana______________ __Maguire __Evans____Lindelof____ ____Amrabat___McTominay_______ Dalot_Eriksen_Fernandes_Rashford ____________Hojlund________________ But Lindelof playing for width was just... bizarre... and then you see that Amrabat took up a deeper position than Maguire on average while McTominay, Eriksen, Bruno, Rashford and Hojlund just clustered together with a chasm of space in midfield forming... United are just bizarre atm.

[@FF-oo8nz]

injuries hit us hard. Luke Shaw and Martinez are missed

[@MK12275]

Ten Hag is trying different things with the current squad. He'll make changes accordingly later. The thing is Bruno could play a pivotal role with Amrabat while playing McTominay as the 8

[@andregolding2248]

Erik wants United to be the best transition team with basic possession principles. Basically a mix of Ajax and Borussia Dortmund. It will either be a football revolution or an early dismissal for him. Really hope he can ride out this negative pressure. Up United.

[@iwantgoals1566]

I’ve never seen Dortmund go long from their build up play though. I don’t think they usually do but rather build from the back. Whereas ETH is telling Onana to go long. The only resemblance I see with Dortmund is the pressing and high turnovers but still, we’re too poor on the ball to make anything of it. So we’re basically playing fetch with the other team.

[@andregolding2248]

@@iwantgoals1566 Fair point. Mate, I really don't know. He's facing a firing squad this week. He's being cut to pieces by the usuals. Really hope he can climb out of this hole in time. If he doesn't, we're fucked.

[@odoggy1767]

@@iwantgoals1566 maybe closer to inzaghis inter? still not the best example and not too sure about it with sommer this season (haven't watched them), but a team that is able to build out from the back while also having defenders like bastoni and (at the time), onana playing those long range passes

[@solenstyle]

His Ajax side was already good at transitions. They weren't married to possession like Pep's sides were. It was a mix of Klopp and Pep's football. I just don't understand why he thinks he shouldn't work towards that. Fans will be more willing to back him if they can get some entertaining games, while not having the results all the time. Klopp from day one didn't get Liverpool competing for the PL. But from day 1, you could tell his Liverpool side played like his Dortmund side. Ten Hag has been far too pragmatic. A lot of United fans are under the idea that entertaining football will eventually lead to good results. To say he's not trying to be like Ajax, is a betrayal of why fans were excited for his appointment. Results first business isn't leading to any major honors and its making fans miserable when watching their club play.

[@waggna469]

@@solenstyle best take so far, thank you

[@Wolf_of_Small_St]

The comparison with Solskjaer is an interesting one. In the last 48 PL games under Solskjaer (i.e including the ones where it all fell apart) compared to the 48 that Ten Hag has taken charge of, EtH has just 2 more points than Ole (90 vs 88). Ten Hag's side has conceded 1 less goal but scored 20 less goals than Ole's team did. Ole was sacked for 3 results: 0-5 against Liverpool. Ten Hag lost 7-0 to Liverpool. 0-2 against City. Ten Hag lost 6-3 and 0-3 against City.the 4-1 against Watford. Ten Hag lost 4-0 against Brentford. And 1-3 against Brighton. Ole regularly used to win games against the big teams especially away from home but EtH has got nowhere near. We were humiliated by Istanbul in the CL under Ole, but then this term have lost at home to Galatasary. I'm not suggesting that we get rid of Ten Hag (at this point who else is there) but there has been no improvement since Solskjaer at all. It's just narrative creation from former Ole critics to claim otherwise.

[@teo2157]

Its obviously deeper than the managers, its deeply rooted in the club, perhaps something thats been here since SAF, a poision in the club, otherwise, every manager wouldnt have failed, wouldnt have been ruined, idk what it is, but its serious.

[@Timbone07]

Zero planning We need to start buying players the club needs instead of manager signing or players that are marketable

[@jr5034]

yes but alot of those defeats have come this season or in the Feb - April patch, where the team suffered injuries and didn't play with the best team specifically

[@tarkomi8830]

No improvement? Have been blind? Didn't we lose both home and away against Man C and Liv? What about how we beat the 2:1 huh? Better ball pocession tf is wrong with you?

[@Wolf_of_Small_St]

​@tarkomi8830 Our average ball possession is actually down on the Solskjaer era- 54.8% under Ole to 53.5% under Ten Hag. And for all Ten Hag's possession if the team are scoring 20 goals less, then what is the point. Also, yes we did beat City and Liverpool at home 2-1. But Ole also beat those sides- he won 4 times against Pep Guardiola, including 3 times at the Etihad and the double over them in 2019/20. And we knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup with a 3-2 win at OT under Ole. So what's your point? How does Ten Hag winning 2 games show progression when we used to win those games under Solskjaer?

[@babixillo]

got to sympathize with ETH. working with united is like when an artist got commissioned by client with bad taste in art, they keep changing things to their liking even though the artist keeps pitching great ideas, and the end result is a bad art that looks somewhat okay purely because the artist skills to make it look not too bad.

[@thexperimenter88]

I have zero sympathy. He wasted funds when he purchased Antony, van de beek, Mount

[@jackfeng813]

@@thexperimenter88he didn’t even buy Donny bruh

[@thexperimenter88]

@@jackfeng813 you’re right. Still funds are limited and he bought Antony who is one of the worse players I have ever seen. Mount also does not contribute much. Casemiro does not also fit the system.

[@jackfeng813]

@@thexperimenter88 yeah you right, mount has gotta be the most clueless signing I’ve seen.

[@sqch]

@@thexperimenter88He asked for the players, not his fault the fees were high. This ain’t fifa where the manager negotiates. It was the clubs fault for taking years to begin talks and Utd over the years have become an easy target for clubs to overcharge..

[@ShaunLevett]

For anyone who pines for the 'good old days' of Premier League football, just watch United then realise you are wrong.

[@opinionatortv6457]

Nah, the reason we call for "good old" PREM football is because everyone was essentially playing that style. It was open and exciting. However football has changed and it is not as effective especially against high possession teams. Even though, United are trying to do too many things at once

[@F--B]

@maud8392 so.. nothing has changed and everything is much the same then?

[@opinionatortv6457]

@maud8392 just because the system isn't pass 1 pass 2 doesn't make it boring

[@PK-ts8iz]

​@@opinionatortv6457The same argument can be made for football in the past 5 years or so. There are always going to be clubs who play boring football and clubs who play attractive football in every league in every season. I remember watching Fulham and Charlton in 2003-04 playing beautiful football as midtable sides. Everton, Leeds and even City played some uninspired stuff that same year.

[@cassiusjoe4907]

I think I’d have believed ten Hag’s reasoning for not playing in that same way through necessity… if Ange wasn’t doing what he’s done at Spurs so quickly. Yes, he’s brought in some players that fit his system more, but ten Hag has had way more time to figure things out and bring players in than Ange has. I think it shows the weakness in pragmatism in football. Just play the way you want your team to play! Results may not come, but at least you tried

[@Jur1_00]

I don't know if I agree with that. Let's say I have a team and I want them to play like Klopp so I go and hire Klopp. If he turns around and says he wasn't brought in to play like he was at liverpool I don't think I will be happy

[@highnoon7097]

@@Jur1_00 haha what a strange reply. I don't think you understand the original comment. He's saying a manager should stick to his principles and at least give it a go, rather than the absolute shite compromised football that 7Hag has stunk the place out with for 18 months. Even Jesse Marsch stuck to his principles and had more of a coherent system than 7Hag has. Better to be hanged for a sheep than a lamb.

[@guardaviewer4197]

I really love how they got the real Erik Ten Hag here into Tifo studios to tell us all about Erik Ten Hag's tactics!

[@andrewhezekiahdaniel]

11:47 Yes because Bruno and Rashford are counter-attacking players who give the ball away for fun.

[@grahamnewton4381]

I think the key to this is the comment that Utd are short term termist and you cannot build a team in the short term. I have seen a number of Liverpool rebuilds. The current Arsenal team is a rebuild. Blackburn and Chelsea virtually bought new teams and Utd were lucky with the ‘class of 92’ which gave them a new team. Since Ferguson left Utd have become a patchwork quilt paying ludicrous amounts to fill individual squares with little regard to the overall shape and blend of the team. Personally I think the current squad is at least as good as when Ferguson left but Ferguson was exceptionally skilled in getting results from average players. Utd don’t have Ferguson but have not made progress since he left.

[@randomstuffchanelkg]

You dont have to look too deep into this to see the problem. You have Evans and Maguire starting for one of the most important matches of the season

[@siddheshraorane9224]

Answer: Trying to go back to Ajax 😂

[@yashodhandamle353]

Ten Hag needs to communicate his ideas and thoughts about the game better through media and press conferences. This should be as though he is talking and explaining to the fans. One of Sir Alex's biggest plus was how he communicated with the media. As a fan, we knew exactly how and what he was thinking, so when he dropped someone, we were always kept in the loop. Sir Alex's substitutions were quite telling, he would demote a bad performance by substituting, and a bad pattern by a first-teamer would result in him getting dropped. Ten Hag needs to do these things more than anything

[@loudmouthdiaries5188]

Where have you seen fergurson talk tactics? U re either young or ignorance Ten hag has the best substitution record in the epl since his arrival. Ten hag is more tactical than fergurson. Fergurson is king of man management (no one compare) Ole has zero tactic he was just nice

[@Hardy2608]

Yes Eric Ten Haag should tell everyone what his tactics are😂

[@loudmouthdiaries5188]

@@Hardy2608 we all know what he is trying to do and he has communicated it but it is not yet coming off. That's it. It is taking longer than he thought But every united player has said they know what he is trying to do.

[@Zephyrr03]

Manu created 0.9 xg quite high for their current standard.

[@celtic69]

Imo he was introduced into legacy far too early in his career

[@diegoclark7697]

That was mostly cuz city gave them the ball in dangerous areas. Not UTD themselves creating something

[@Hans.Dewitt]

​@@diegoclark7697having the opponents make a mistake IS creating opportunities, City won't give the ball away for nothing

[@mikexhotmail]

Agree but unforce error also part of the game.@@Hans.Dewitt

[@abhinavkumar4824]

mostly cause of game state

[@mathewsnook3803]

At this point, he's trying to get sacked, don't get any cheese for quitting your job

[@rayjbucknor]

One of the weird things about being a Man United fan over the last couple years is that I've honestly believed the team we've had (all the way back to the last few years of Pogba's United career) has been good/talented enough to challenge for the league or at least a few more cups, even with Man City's unprecedented dominance over the last 3-4 years. (Although, honestly, from a neutral POV, Man City are so f***ing good) I've always thought we're one player away or two players away. But with 10 years of pain I'm thinking blow it up, keep a few keystones but blow it up begin a proper rebuild. Literally hasn't been this bad in my lifetime, I'm 26 going on 57 because of this season

[@highnoon7097]

people play too much fifa career mode. These "full rebuilds" don't happen. Get it out of your head that starting from scratch will ever be an option.

[@rayjbucknor]

Who said anything about starting from scratch, I'm agreeing with going through the pain of having a bad team in the short term for long term success. Our current formula of firing a manager and watching the new one show with a team that isn't theirs is boring now

[@icecreamman3545]

​@@highnoon7097you can have a full rebuild of a position though, Liverpool recognised that midfield was their worst position so they bought in Mac Alister, szobozslai, gravenberch and endo in one transfer window, if United can rebuild a position or 2 every few transfer windows a good squad can be molded within 2-3 years

[@LordWay]

Yeah our recruitment is so poor unfortunately we overpay for basically every player and then get so little value when they leave. So even the rebuild wouldn't really work at this point we are kinda stuck when we can't generate funds from sales all that much. Each season we creep further towards FFP hence all the loans last season.

[@maxmartinez3172]

We are desperately missing Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw 😢 both bring the defense to life and progress up there pitch also casemiro

[@Silas-gz9zl]

As if those two would've changed yesterday's result. Good players, but the problems obviously lie much deeper than that.

[@duffmid]

We've had Casemiro most of the season and he's been awful. Either his legs are gone or he's lost his fire because he knows English refs are dieing to send him off any chance they get. He's just another on the very long list of Glazer signings who we get at most a single season from, and then they're here for another 3 years on huge wages. The mistakes and patterns in the way they've run this club into the ground are so obvious it's hard to believe.

[@joestockton7016]

All three of them were playing against Liverpool earlier this year when they lost 7-0

[@Timbone07]

I disagree. I believe ETH needs 15 players but spending 90 million on one and constantly overpaying is a big problem

[@arahman137]

Jon sounds like he is done analyzing Man Utd's baffling tactics ...

[@wiretom]

Imagine city were missing rodri stones dias etc ... Nobody mentioning uniteds back 4 has been out for weeks

[@b_b256axle8]

People in England want this ETH gone, they pressed RAF but all he said is out there for everyone to see now

[@cjlfc]

4xg conceded is shocking even in the Liverpool 7-0 game they only conceded 2.6xg

[@rajimus]

Its only beause Onana made 2 saves. Xg is an awful thing to base any sort of stats on. Spurs have the same average Xg as united and chelsea this season. Theyre pretty much top. Yet theyve had mroe penalties go their way and own goals and defelctions.

[@sosamma090]

United having unbelievably slow defense and midfield is a massive problem that Ten Hag cant fix. Remember that Ten Hag wanted Kim but all he got was Evans. It also doesnt help that Rashford just forgot when to pass and shoot.

[@Combatwombat-sn7ng]

Ten Hag's issue is more than just tactical. It seems like he's a terrible man manager, who makes too many excuses and throws players under the bus. Not to mention he hasn't actually made any of the players better- compare that to the top managers in the league who do improve their players.

[@poppyharlow4448]

The injuries are one thing, the fact that there's no cohesiveness within the team is another. When I watch this unit play, I just see 11 guys, not a team. It's so obvious they should be doing better, they win the ball high up the pitch more than anyone else, but they never find a pass. I think they'll have it figured out by the end of the season but I don't really see them pushing for anything apart from a conference league or Europa league spot, and I don't see them making it out their UCL group either.

[@akamiguelsanchez9985]

Let’s be honest; they sit deep and lump it

[@isaacnewton3514]

😂😂😂😂 Exactly

[@Irfan87]

It's strange to me that injuries is an excuse that isn't afforded for Man Utd, but Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal were given that benefit of the doubt. Not having a consistent back 4 is really disruptive as the previously mentioned teams have experienced.

[@harukrentz435]

our injury problem is the defense, but our biggest problem is in the attack we barely score goal. injuries shouldnt be excuse.

[@manniking233]

Yup. Opponents hate us so much and the media are aggressively trying to bury Erik Ten Hag, so no circumspect judgement is being applied at all. They see the scoreline and leap into action. Smh.

[@grapeappletwist]

No idea. I don't understand why he wants them to become the best team at counterattacking and transitions. It wasn't like that at Ajax.

[@mantoocha]

It's not about "the pressing unit", but more about depressing unit in Manchester United's squad

[@hipstr_t]

As a Spurs fan, I can truly say that purely transitional football seldom works over long periods. Listening to the analysis in this video reminds me of the time we played under Mourinho and Conte. They largely supplied the structure out of possession but relied on individual quality in the final third to score goals. This is reliant on your forwards to maintain form throughout a season (which rarely happens) and for your defense to be rock solid (which United doesn't possess). Especially for a club as big as United, it's absolutely ludicrous that they don't employ a coach that tries to dictate the game and play possession based football. If their goal is to win leagues, ETH isn't the man.

[@vitaminamulti]

Without good eggs, no chef can make a good omelette. The problem is the recruitment + injuries. Who is the Son and Maddison for United now? Bruno and Rashford are under performing, maybe they lack key support (ie: Shaw at LW)

[@Bochop1]

eth has tried to play his game and the team paid consequences, we also are missing our whole bsckline

[@rickysrighteyebrow8167]

They hired ETH to do that but he doesn’t have the players throughout the team to play in that way. Go back to last season when we got thumped in the first two games. He realized that the ingredients to play in the Ajax way were not on hand and are unlikely to be anytime soon.

[@iwantgoals1566]

Exactly. This is why I hate it when top reds dismiss this kind of analysis and say only the score line matters at the end of the day. Because if we keep playing Harram football the results will run out cause the style of relying on individual brilliance is unsustainable at the end of the day. The worst thing is that it’s a former Ajax manager playing the long ball and we as United fans thought we’d finally seen the back of that.

[@vitaminamulti]

Yes, recruit the right players so we are not so reliant on Bruno and Rashford when they are not in form. @@rickysrighteyebrow8167

[@gauravpande7746]

What am analysis guys and that last line that you have to suffer short term to gain long term I agree !

[@duffmid]

At this point my only hope is that Ratcliffe does come in, and he does bring a proper DoF, and they both sit ETH down and say basically what Jon did, we have to accept a couple of bad rebuilding years, but you were brought in BECAUSE of how Ajax played. So stop this Ole/Bruno Ball nonsense. Drop whoever you need to drop and start molding the kids you have to play in your style. And see if you can reactivate DVG just for kicks. I would like to know if JJ or Jon think there's even a remote possibility of that happening if Sir J.R. does come in.

[@LeeHusk19]

For me the biggest problem with this team is that none of our midfielders want to play in the center of the pitch. The gap between the defenders and attackers is always massive and nobody moves to create angles for passes, there’s only ever one good passing option and it’s so predictable that teams trap us or push us back to Onana. Casemiro - likes to be between defenders or in the opposition box McTominay - likes to play in the half spaces Fernandes/Mount/Hannibal - attacking third half spaces Erickson - half spaces in defensive third or attacking third Even Amrabat avoids central positions. We desperately need a Carrick in the middle of the pitch who is happy to play in the centre circle, link play and break down attacks. Fred was the only player who naturally did this and he hasn’t been replaced. Fingers crossed Mainoo can fill this void…

[@raihansiddique5210]

This is actually the best take on the current situation 👏🏾

[@SLSAMG]

Self sabotage. He's now fully aware the club is rotten. Pep rejected a role in the past, as did Klopp, because they both knew it was a poison chalice.

[@Liversh0t]

everything feels a bit half-assed tactically, the team doesn't press together, push high together, but they also don't play the way a team that sits deep is supposed to play either

[@blakelyle2158]

What program do you guys use for the tactical board?

[@CizzuCizzu]

I'm asking that too

[@Gooner_for_life]

I think cameraman wants some of that tea ( Coffee) as well 😅 With focusing everytime on JJ whenever he has a sip

[@SLM3573]

when you look at a back 4 of Dalot, Evans, Maguire and Lindelof even Crystal Palace have a better backline. Someone needs to go having spent over a billion and thats your options.

[@Mopark25]

All 3 LBs and 2 starting CBs are injured, who could have predicted that?

[@horriblelittlegoblin]

Great point by Jon at the end - the insistence on top 4 every season is a major factor in Utd's repeated failure culture. Managers need a few seasons to create something stable, especially in the shadow of SAF, and immediately sacking them as soon as they finish 5th provides no chance for that and enforces short-termism in tactics & manager planning. It's a point nobody seems to notice as we all buy into the whole absurd idea that finishing outside the top 4 even once is unacceptable

[@bungaIowbill]

It's just a bad season. Ten Hag's the man for the job. 👍

[@jedsithor]

Ole played counter attacking because he had to. He tried to make United a more front foot team that would be aggressive in midfield and play with a higher defensive line but to do that he needed to be able to bring in more than the 3 big signings per summer mandated by the Glazers. Had Ole gotten his way, his team would have been something like: De Gea Wan Bissaka Varane Maguire Shaw Rice Bruno Caicedo Sancho Haaland Rashford haaland, Caicedo and Rice were three players he wanted. The Ronaldo deal meant there was no chance of Haaland, the United scouts didn't like Caicedo and the plan was to go for Rice the following summer, forcing Ole to make do with Fred, McTominay and Matic for another season. It's also possible that Maguire and De Gea would have eventually been replaced. Of course in the end, Ole lost his job. Ten Hag brought in Martinez, Casemiro and Antony, 3 major signings plus Malacia as a back up. This season, again, 3 major signings in Mount, Onana and Hojlund. Of those 3, I suspect only Onana was first choice. It's well known he wanted Kane and spent the summer last year pursuing De Jong. Everything at United is done in bits and pieces when what's been needed for years is a wholesale restructuring of the squad. Three major signings every summer is fine if you're just adding to a settled team but when the team need 6 or 7 new players, spreading it out over multiple years is hurting United because whoever the manager is ends up being stuck playing players that don't match their vision and you have too many square pegs in round holes.

[@optiondezzo1513]

man utd will always be on the backfoot and be years behind the top 5 because they do not have more money to spend as the glazers do not inject more funds into the club. man utd's transfer coffers have always been generated by its own financial turnovers and bank loans (which has resulted in them be 1B in debt). the dividends they pay to the glazers every year since their takeover is equal to one new signing to the club and its been going on for over a decade. so here we see a man utd team totally spent and totally lacking depth to compete in the modern game, let alone the EPL which has progress tremendously the past 5 years. man utd as a club are still stuck in the early 2000s. man utd's eventual decline will be a sharp drop off. serious football observers will not be surprised if they start battling relegation eventually.

[@manniking233]

Preach!

[@destroso]

I love seeing the full consequences of firing Jose and keeping Pogba 😂

[@dutchmilk]

That is what you get when the club have fastfood "fans" who might get kick in the face by their own boots if they attempt to play football.

[@destroso]

@@dutchmilk no, Real Madrid fans are like that, in fact most probably are, you can’t blame the fans what a bad take

[@GrahamPlays]

Fantastic show as always guys

[@chinaman1]

So many people saying united missed shaw and martinez. But those 2 played against city last time too and united also lost that last united-city match.

[@JohnDoe-qm8ns]

At least it was a much better performance, and they did also win at OT in January. Can't forget the 6-3 tho.

[@vaibhavthapliyal5234]

Even if he's not able to play his fittest players, over what 1.5 years you cannot see any significant improvement in the players. You would expect that after 1.5 years the current players would start playing like that ajax side a bit or have some change in the playstyle.

[@InsideManUtdPod]

Last year Rashford, Shaw, AWB had massive improvement in their performance. What are you talking about?

[@n0body550]

@@InsideManUtdPodhe’s just one of those, “i only have opinions based on the scores i see” type people

[@Brickhazard]

All the players he has to play that style are all bloody injured that's why.

[@Doweyyy]

This is relatively hard to disagree with!

[@phightinphil25]

10 matches isn't close to a half year, ignoring the improvement from Rashford, Dalot, and AWB last year.

[@simoneric4667]

I wanted to say the loss of Luke Shaw and Martinez heavily killed us, however as much as that is true, What is worse is how lost Ten Hag seems to become when injuries to certain players sets in along with loss of form of the "hollywood" players like Rash and Bruno. He needs to rely on system as opposed to players, and so I now agree with Jon (And Ralf Rngnick) we need a complete overhaul and to stick to a philosophy, no matter the results. Arsenal did it and are now bearing fruit.

[@iiNeedSkins]

He is missing his entire backline, the effect this has cannot be overstated.

[@Joe-og6br]

Yes but people have articles to write and videos to make.

[@kukunase1686]

thats an excuse

[@levVXO]

@@kukunase1686 the entire core of the previous season was made upon degea shaw awb martinez varane how is that an excuse.

[@meep6188]

​@levVXO the entire team trains together. Theoretically the backup players should know what the rest of the team is trying to do. Besides, the team doesn't only struggle in defense, the attack is putrid. We have all his preferred attackers and they can barely manage a goal

[@iiNeedSkins]

@@kukunase1686 Well, sure. But reasons are important, how else can they be addressed?

[@ajahnpadawan8812]

One problem with this thesis is that surely a world class manager would find a way to get results in the short term, while gradually changing the style over time? He passed the first season on this basis but the jury is now firmly out.

[@dushimedavid6345]

last season we struggled at the end of the season. I hope we can get some form.

[@mojoleaker]

Against the bigger teams Ten Hag's Ajax always played with a counter attacking setup. The trouble for Ten Hag is that in the Premier League almost all the teams play at a higher level than the Dutch teams and hence why he sets up his United team to play how the Ajax team played the "bigger" teams.

[@redboyjan]

Like all the other managers at OT, they are so arrogant they think they can bridge all the massive issues at the club themselves somehow. Up The Glazers, a fine sitcom

[@Michael.Koulibaly]

I've never seen a manger refer EXCLUSIVELY to the club's past success as a his reference for how to shape his team tactically. Ten Hag earned his success, reputation and job at Man Utd based on the football he played at Ajax. Now he's saying he wants to be the best transitional team, wants to play according to the clubs past of fast counter attacks and that he'll never play the way he played at Ajax. He's betrayed his identity, and that rarely works anywhere in life, not just football.

[@n0body550]

How he played at ajax isn’t an identity, its a philosophy, and philosophies on football constantly change. Dont speak wen you know absolutely nothing.

[@Michael.Koulibaly]

@@n0body550 Mate, please argue more respectfully. Philosophy and identity are intertwined because a coach's philosophy influences his teams identity. For example: Klopp’s philosophy of "Heavy metal football" means their tactical identity is one of aggressiveness with and without the ball, and coaches often say "This is who we are, and this is how we play". That's identity. You can identify a manager and his team simply by how they play. But this is all irrelevant in the point I was making anyway.

[@n0body550]

@@Michael.Koulibaly From Ten hags own mouth his philosophy/identity is one of past man u teams, and if that isn’t noticeable, then the players are to blame for being braindead children who just dont want to work, and it’ll be the same regardless of any manager

[@OwenTownson]

I think the players don’t have the ability to execute his philosophical ideas. His recent quote about the way United are playing is a testament to this.

[@Mj19939]

Love this breakdown. Anybody know the app they are using?

[@CizzuCizzu]

I'm asking that too

[@rajsingh03]

It's exactly what JJ said, when United have the ball they don't know what to do with it. No progression sequences, no 3rd man runs, no passing triangles etc. Hell, the same issue persists in the attacking 3rd when anyone who is on the ball doesn't have a single clue as to how to break the defensive line of opposition and score. No sense of space and positioning.

[@rajimus]

theyre missing 6 first team players and have been all season. its clear why they arent playing how they should be but people seem to forget that.

[@lorenzomartinez8543]

The question everyone's been asking!

[@theSentient08]

The only players Eth wanted to sign as his first choice was Antony, Martinez and Onana. He wanted de jong, he got Casemiro (brilliant player btw), he wanted Kim Min jae, he got Evans, he wanted Kane, he got Hojlund. He was looking at Dumfries, Todibo. Now tell me with your 'brilliant' analysis, if he got those players and they were fit, would he or would he not have been able to play his style of football? Infact, if Martinez, Shaw, Bissake, Casemiro and Varane are fit, do you think we'll be in the position we are in now?

[@Ricky07753]

Lol let's not act like he spent Antony,Martinez,Onana,Mount for 261 mil for all of them.Ofc if he spent huge amount of them he'll not spent another huge amount.Other mamager don't get the player they wanted e.g Klopp didn't get caicedo but still fine with endo,pep wanted paqueta but still fine with nunes.And what's up with Tominey playing all weeks and didn't play Varane for tactical reason is absolutely ridiculous.And what more ridiculous is paying 60 mil for average chelsea midfielder and giving no.7 lol😂.Look st wolves(got lucky to win),brighton and spurs matches,Shaw,Bissak,Case,Varane all played in that match

[@martinpowell5221]

It's ironic hearing Ten Hag say he is unable to to get his squad to play like his Ajax team did in season's past. Not just because he's signed former Ajax players that he managed during his tenure in Amsterdam - Onana, Martinez, Antony etcetera - but because there are other managers, such as Ange Postecoglou, who arrived from a weaker competition (at least according to UEFA coefficient rankings), and has been able to deploy his tactics from his time at Celtic, implementing them into his tactical vision at Tottenham Hotspur, with brilliant rewards. The only reason Ten Hag is unable to get his ideals across to the squad is due to the overall lack of quality in key areas of the pitch; because his squad is just not good enough at the moment to compete with their main rivals. That is not to say Manchester United firing on all cylinders , unhindered by injuries and suspensions, can't hack Manchester City's level, but the squad depth at Manchester United is not good enough to truly compete with that of their rivals. The majority of Ten Hag's squad are unable to adapt to the Ajax way of playing due to a lack of technical acumen in the side. There are certainly individuals in the side who make a difference, but a few gems in an otherwise copper filled pot means those few individuals are an exception to the rule: that Manchester United's squad is not good enough. Taking Ten Hag's signings into account, along with Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, that is still not extensive enough to convey the tactical principles of the manager. After a few injuries, such as that of Martinez and Casemiro, huge voids begin to show themselves. When you consider how Liverpool nosedived after the injury to Virgil van Dijk in 2020; or William Saliba for Arsenal last season: Manchester United are indeed a victim of their own injury crisis - essentially, their entire back line. So who is to blame? To blame the Glazers is understandable, but Ten Hag has been given a hefty transfer package to ensure his second campaign can improve on the last. Thus, one must look at the overall running of the club; those with control on sporting matters who seem inept at choosing the right targets at the right time. Ten Hag is alone with few footballing savvy people around him, expected to do the job of multiple directors and analysts. Sure, the idea seems great; the squad on paper would certainly seem viable for silverware in the not so distant future, but the foundations of this journey, led by Ten Hag the torch bearer, is being built on shallow foundations without the expertise from top to bottom necessary to ensure longterm success. So, the Glazer's running of the club, and the lack of sporting operators in important areas - unqualified individuals who seem to have attained such high positions due to nepotistic relations - are likely candidates on who United fans should point the finger at. Not meaning to sound condescending because it seems most Manchester United fans already know who the culprits are.

[@alexg3228]

What you expect from Erik ten hak, his knowledge of football is to that level only. Compare with pep guardiola, jogen klopp, and others he is miles behind. You sign cheap manager you received cheap result.

[@gaba9ool]

i think ten hag needs time, more signings and also that the injury troubles cannot be ignored. once martinez and varane are back i think well look better. but idk if thats just blind optimism.

[@amronpimpinan]

So, High press with low defensive line? Well, I would never try that in fm

[@chibbyranjo]

In the summer there was talk of advancing to a six-up-top system, which is an increase in the pressing group of 50%. That relies on the remaining defensive unit being stable. He clearly does not trust his defence, as much as he tries to voice that he trusts the players. Would he trust his first-choice defenders? He doesn’t currently have them. So he surrenders those extra two pressing players and puts them in front of his unfavored back four. His tactical ideas are entirely undermined. He can’t commit to anything with essentially a first choice back four being out injured. He’s stemming bleeding. Badly. But trying to all the same.

[@lamestreammedia3154]

Amrabat out McDonut in. Insane.

[@drex5160]

McDonut is ironically their most prolific player right now and had a good shot saved in the first half. Should have kept the same midfield for the 2nd half and they might have knicked a draw.

[@theoraexplora]

the initial point The Dog made about the "really good coaches making it look like they have more in attack and in defence" in a section titled Individual Brilliance vs Structural Success is ridiculous given that United's structure is being affected by injuries. his "structure" requires that transition moment we saw to have a fullback and a midfielder sprinting up to create a 3-1-6 when the pressing 4 win the ball high cuz that creates opportunities to win the ball over and over in the final third and craft chance after chance; but you can't do that with Casemiro/Eriksen on the pitch and can't do that if you only have 2 fullbacks available. he needs to be able to do that until a goal is achieved and also have the option of taking a tired fullback and midfielder off for an equal quality replacement (AWB and Shaw being injured causes this problem) and have a member of the pressing 4 taken off to reset into the 3-2-3-2/situational 3-1-6 (fewer problems here with Mount and Amrabat back playing regularly, form is the bigger issue). EtH needs to be able to make 3 equal quality changes per game at FB-CM-pressing unit and currently can't

[@applesoranges559]

Ole Gunnar Solskjær got MUCH better results than Ten Hag with a MUCH much weaker personel against big teams ... Forget City, Ten Hag just keeps on continually getting literally SCHOOLED by ANY half decent footballing team n Mark blew him up so much at the time of bringing him in constantly with that Ajax domination football, thinking they are about to bring in that constant Jurgen Klopp fantasy right from the Ragnick days, that ETH is ROYALLY getting miserably found out, in over n out of his depths ... n yet back in the day wen United were winning trophies with Sir Alex then nobody gave a peep about the Glazers then ... A 6 year old child can see right thru the utter double standards building here n blame the Glazers, Harry McGuire, The Referees, the British Media, The Club's pantry, Their transport services .... Everything n every1 apart from this truly incompetent Manager right at the forefront of it with all the footballing decisions n power 💯 ..

[@manniking233]

Typical Anglophile who'll be real quiet, once Gary Neville or Carrick is hired as manager. Smh. Keep it up, though. Your nation needs you...

[@sjantz8809]

“They do not” ~ as an editor, im lovin the post production banter

[@JKS323]

I can’t think of a perfect video title!

[@rickysrighteyebrow8167]

Let’s see how other teams play without their first choice defense and their most important midfielder out.

[@joestockton7016]

7-0?

[@juhanisjumaat9083]

What frustrates me is, when playing a better ball playing team, his tactics is not working. Opposition wings have a free run and our players have a hard time trying to win the ball narrowly. Brighton caught them, and yet again, eth still stick to the same setup. It is painful to watch..

[@MelonGearSolid]

Without watching the video: he's trying to get his first eleven sorted with no injuries.

[@robderp]

Haven’t had first choice CB pairing all season, hasn’t had first 2 LBs all season, haven’t had Wan-Bissaka all season so Dalit hasn’t had a rest, maybe something to do with why we haven’t been a functional team so far, but you guys say nothing has changed from last year?

[@thecountofmontecristo8280]

Ten Haag has bought a lot of ex-Ajax players. There really is no excuse for why he can't play the Ajax way. In less time and having bought only 3 starting players for comparatively very little money, Ange Postecoglou has achieved an Ajax style at Tottenham this season. No one should be buying what he is selling.

[@Javadamutt]

I don’t know if you can do that anymore. This season is insane, normally you can point to 3 teams that will challenge for the title and within that you will always get another doing surprising things with a good season. This year while you have your clear title contenders there are 10 teams I can see that should be in the running for the European spots. If United take a step back to rebuild they risk dropping not into mid table but into a relegation scrap. As much as I hate to say it, fighting 1 season to the next is the only way to survive currently

[@tommyshads]

Utd are almost halfway to survival after 10 (awful) games. Even with a full rebuild Utd would still be picking up enough points to survive. Luton have 5 points in 17th and we could see some record low points tallies this year There is an opportunity for rebuild for a club/board/structure with the right vision and determination. United print money regardless of league position and have an opportunity to reduce the wage bill over coming years by letting contracts expire even if they can't sell (Martial 2024, Heaton 2024, Williams 2024, Maguire 2025, Varane 2025, Eriksen 2025, Van De Beek 2025). That's 1.25m+ per week in wages alone. Throw in Sancho and you are looking at 1.5m per week saved. That's with United reducing their wage bill by 1m per week over the past year or so even including new signings (Ronaldo, Jones, Bailly etc.). New players would need to come in, but Utd have the revenue to spend 100-150m per summer comfortably. The Adidas deal value would decrease, but so do salaries with non-CL football (25% reduction). Mainoo, Alvaro Fernandez, Garnacho, Mejibri are immediate talents who could be getting minutes. Martinez, Shaw, Malacia, Antony, Onana, Hoijlund, Casemiro are Ten Hag players. With a change in style Mount should be getting minutes too. It's possible but requires bravery and pain from top to bottom to achieve. But with the short-termism option failing it surely becomes more appealing?

[@matthartshorn9483]

Last season everyone went on and on about the midfield and attack having too much gap. They blamed it on personnel....looks to me ten hag is coaching it.

[@Vipox92]

Exactly, I think the players are doing exactly what he wants them to do

[@Mopark25]

The personnel are injured 🙄

[@piyushpoddar9292]

Ten hag has been better because he has faced better coaches? Absolutely disagree with that. Ole faced the likes of Pep (one of the best records for a manager vs pep), klopp, tuchel, potter (was considered top top class at Brighton - won every game against him), jose, conte, nagelsman and many more. They've both faced equally high level managers but united under ole was *much* better.

[@SkullSnax]

Barely a mention of how not having any of his first choice defenders impacts how they play out from the back, how they press as a team, how they create chances through overloads. You would think there's an opportunity when JJ points out Lindelof playing left wing to question how not having Luke Shaw or even Malacia has impacted their chance creation, impacted Rashford, they can't overload that wing that's been probably their defining attacking source for the past 10 years. You would think there's an opportunity when he points out Jonny Evans playing where Martinez would be to say how Martinez was firing passes through along the ground to Rashford, breaking 2-3 lines of defence to set him up, or how he could defend higher up the pitch because he's got the pace and better reading of the game. Or how, as much as he'd had some signings he wants, more than half his starting 11 are players from the past. How we wanted to replace Maguire with somebody more similar to Varane, how he wanted De Jong and got Casemiro, wanted Kane and got Hojlund, players not even vaguely in the same profile.

[@saumya_42]

You can debate all you want. Manchester United as a club don't have quality players at the moment. Just accept the facts.

[@barryh.4220]

City have some ageing players, and their best player is out injured, but they're still ten times the side that United are. The desire, skill and passing ability that they possess is mesmerising .....

[@adamcheong4742]

City has been a team for the last few seasons plus the individual skill is better than other teams.

[@darger3]

I understand his tactics may seem out of touch, but maybe he is experimenting with sub par players and hoping something sticks to the wall.

[@ReenactionMan]

How you gonna buy like 15 players that you have coached before then claim you dont have the players to play how you played before????

[@zSilverGuardian]

It's simple ten hag way is working at ajax because they are young players which can train hard and still put in good performance on the pitch, for utd players who are pampered to the max they can't do hard training therefore they are so tired when it comes to matches, esp with some of the players reaching 30+ as well. They are pampered the most when ole was there because he is trying to be their friend instead of a boss. And when players are unhappy they purposely play poorly to throw the manager under the bus, this has already happened to so many manager before ten hag. His way of discipline is good its the utd culture of over pampering which is causing the problem

[@sigfigronath]

4 expected goals is absolutely insance

[@acceleretron4475]

I agree with some analyst. It's not about Luke Shaw or AWB. It's about the structure. Man Utd should maintain the same structure in and out of possession. When out of possession the fullback should go up front pressing the wing area of the opp. Thus maintaining the narrowness like you guys said. And the rest is just coordination.

[@duncanblade]

When a club like Manchester United can't get rid of players, and replace them with the Manager's choice, and then start getting loan players - how is the manager supposed to deal with that? We're not Everton ffs

[@shahaletsaw7752]

The biggest problem for united now is none in their front line is firing. Holjund is a big positive, but the likes of Rashford and Antony are dismal. Garnacho hasn't been any better too. The rest in the squad are Martial and Pellistri who aren't reliable either. Let's look at Arsenal, City or Liverpool in that regard - Saka, Martinelli, Jesus, Nketiah; Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Foden; Diaz, Salah, Darwin, Gakpo; all these players are outright scoring or producing something in front of goal.

[@flashdark1]

Someone please show me the manager that loses his entire starting back line in front of a new goalkeeper, and still manages to get constant results…. Pep didn’t have Rodri in the line up for 4 matches and lost 3 of 4 in all comps. Give ETH a healthy squad and time before you make sweeping judgements. There’s not a manager in the world that takes these players and makes it work cohesively. A lot of you would have said Poch would have done better but he’s in the same boat as ETH at Chelsea. You know he’s capable of building squads in the Premier League. He’s also saddled with a crazy squad build and erratic executives. The examples are clear as what needs to change, and it ain’t the manager every time.

[@ratboy555]

The coffee close ups 😂❤️

[@collinmoeller1345]

The injuries are a major problem, but even then the lack of effective ideas from ETH and the fact that we haven’t managed a convincing win ALL SEASON is concerning. If it’s the bad depths fault then get them out for gods sake.

[@manniking233]

"Get them out". Whose job is that!? Definitely not Ten Hag's. Ascribing blame to Ten Hag solely when there is a recruitment and sporting guy standing right there shows the lack of good faith in many takes on this issue. You folks are angry at Ten Hag and so, look for ANY argument that sounds nice to justify that anger because he lost a game including blaming him for stuff that it makes NO sense to blame him for... Smh.

[@timmcelroy2188]

From Theatre of Dreams to where dreams go to die. No responsible footballer or manager should go near United