ERIK ten Hag’s appointment as Manchester United manager in the summer of 2022 was meant to herald the start of a new era for the club. The Dutch coach supposedly had a clear style of play. He arrived at Old Trafford with a clear vision of how his new team should play. United apparently had an identity for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
20 months on, though, it’s impossible to see that identity. Manchester United are suffering the same old problems under ten Hag that they did under Ralf Rangnick and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In fact, there’s no difference between ten Hag’s approach and the one employed as Solskjaer during his time as United manager.
Under Solskjaer, Manchester United played underdog football. They sat deep and hit out on the counter attack and achieved some memorable results playing this way. Most notably, Solskjaer’s approach delivered landmark victories against Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, both of whom struggled against United on the break.
It became clear, however, that Manchester United would never win a Premier League title playing this way. They needed to be more proactive and comfortable on the ball and push their defensive line higher up the pitch to truly compete against City and Liverpool. This is why ten Hag was identified as the right man for the job.
At Ajax, ten Hag implemented a dynamic, possession-based style of play that took the Dutch side to the brink of the Champions League final in 2019. His approach was modern and had the buy-in of players like Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek who were all perfect fits for their manager’s system.
Within just a few weeks of his arrival in England, though, ten Hag compromised on his ideals. He wanted de Jong to join him at Old Trafford, but ended up with Casemiro after the Dutch midfielder refused to leave Barcelona. The 4-0 defeat to Brentford in United’s second match under ten Hag also shook the Dutch manager’s faith in his own ideas.
Last season saw Manchester United surpass expectations by finishing third and reaching two cup finals – one of which they won against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup. However, they did this by playing a more transition-heavy game than ten Hag had originally envisaged. He had to compromise to push United forward as a team.
Now, though, ten Hag has made so many compromises he is completely detached from his original vision. Manchester United’s underlying numbers show they are among the Premier League’s passers of the ball. Opposition teams repeatedly expose just how bad they are in possession.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did not get the backing he needed at Manchester United but he was better than Erik ten Hag.
Solskjaer was seen as a less experienced manager while Erik ten Hag was seen as one but stats says otherwise.
Ole Gunnar was the better amongst the two… pic.twitter.com/MWbdh0DpvC
— Futball News (@FutballNews_) October 31, 2023
At least under Solskjaer Manchester United recognised their own limitations. Solskjaer knew he lacked the midfield technicians to play like City or Liverpool and so he never tried to. Under ten Hag, Manchester United are stuck somewhere between what their manager wants them to be and what they were before his appointment. They’re in ideological no man’s land.
Of course, Solskjaer’s tenure at Old Trafford collapsed quickly at the start of the 2021/22 season, but that also happened because Manchester United lost sight of what their own identity, signing Cristiano Ronaldo when their system didn’t work with him as the number nine. Ten Hag has made the same mistake by many of his own signings.
Saturday’s match at St James’ Park drew a stark comparison between one team with a clear plan and another with no plan at all. Newcastle United are on an upward trajectory while Manchester United can’t escape the downward spiral that has already claimed several managers. If ten Hag can’t quickly rediscover his own sense of self, he’ll be next.
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