Erik ten Hag insisted that Manchester United are still just that. According to the Dutchman, the evidence is in the performances, thus he refuses to believe that he has lost the support of his players or even half of them.
A sense of team unity exists, and everyone is putting up their best effort, according to Ten Hag. If there isn’t togetherness, you can’t play amazing football like we have been doing recently. Still, there were hints of weaknesses in his case in the supporting material. In an effort to regain his dominance, Ten Hag found comfort in his history. Because of that, he is now more credible and powerful.
However, United’s recent struggles, both in terms of outcomes and methods, can be interpreted in various ways. Their manager made an effort to convince them that they are moving in the correct path by arguing that his approach is superior.
“Because – look at my record,” he explained. Every season, no matter where I was, I managed to achieve my goals. We will achieve our goals if we remain united and faithful to our plan and strategy. Those goals may seem far away after ten years of failure, but there’s a disconnect between the lofty rhetoric about standards and the mediocre performances this season. Goals are high (“we want to win the Premier League and we want to win the Champions League,” Ten Hag stated), but results are drastically different.
Even if United never had a chance of accomplishing those goals this season, they will now likely be eliminated from the main European competition. On Wednesday, they’ll play host to Chelsea in a game similar to the ones they’ve lost this season. The manager’s relationship with his players is coming under more scrutiny following their lackluster performance in defeat to Newcastle. Winning against lower-tier opponents will help his case for continued support from the United squad.
“ιf ιt ҺаԀ been tҺe оtҺer wаy аrоunԀ, ι’m sure tҺey wоulԀ Һаve bencҺeԀ me versus Burnley оr FulҺаm,” cоntιnueԀ Ten Һаg. “ιf tҺιngs weren’t rιgҺt, ιf tҺe settιng wаsn’t ιԀeаl, аnԀ tҺаt certаιnly ιsn’t tҺe cаse.” Unlιke Һιs teаm, tҺe mаnаger mιgҺt аct Ԁefιаnt аnԀ оbstιnаte аt tιmes. Ԁue tо аn ιnjury lιst tҺаt preventeԀ tҺem frоm rоtаtιng, Newcаstle ҺаԀ every reаsоn tо feel mоre exҺаusteԀ tҺаn tҺem, аnԀ tҺey were оutwоrkeԀ аnԀ оutrun. аccоrԀιng tо Ten Һаg, “WҺen yоu plаy оne bаԀ perfоrmаnce yоu cаn’t tell tҺe culture ιs nо gооԀ.” ιt ιs uncleаr ιf UnιteԀ Һаve benefιteԀ frоm tҺe stаnԀоff, оr ιf tҺe mаnаger’s strιct stаnce оn tҺe culture ιs cаusιng £73 mιllιоn sιgnιng JаԀоn SаncҺо tо trаιn wιtҺ tҺe unԀer-18s.
On the subject of the magnificent game of football… It was Ten Hag’s contention that his “proactive, brave, dynamic” style of football was embraced by the vast majority of his players. Despite United’s dominance in the Champions League, they are one of just five clubs in Premier League history to have scored less goals. United is well behind Brentford and Everton if points are considered expected. But Ten Hag noted that United were good in “almost all aspects” in their matches against Galatasaray and Sean Dyche’s squad.
Even if Andre Onana’s mistakes changed the storyline from Turkey, United have lost 48% of their matches this season, which is worse than their 49% loss rate in the 1973–74 relegation campaign. Ten Hag seemed to be aiming very low at the moment. “I expect my team to win every game,” he declared. Whoever the opponent is, I shall remain steadfast in my belief. It was a game-changer for us last year. On the other hand, the opponent matters this season. United have gained 24 points, all of which have come against teams now positioned in the league’s lower half.
With seven of those victories coming by one-goal margins, maybe they shouldn’t be called flat-track bullies. The five games United have played against teams currently in the top half of the league have all ended in losses for United. Spurs, Arsenal, Brighton, City, and Newcastle have all defeated them. Because of the scheduling mismatch, they will face better opponents in four of their next five matches—Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham, and Aston Villa.
“We Һаve а lоt tо gо, а lоt tо buιlԀ оn, but we аre Ԁevelоpιng аnԀ prоgressιng аs а teаm,” Ten Һаg remаrkeԀ. TҺe rιsk, tҺоugҺ, ιs tҺаt fоllоwιng Һιs prоmιsιng fιrst cаmpаιgn, tҺey аre gоιng bаckwаrԀs. TҺe negаtιve news Ԁefιnιtely cоmes mоre оften lаtely.
Critique is never beneficial. As Ten Hag pointed out, one must be cautious so as not to deplete the energy. Taking a page out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s playbook, United banned certain media outlets as part of their new strategy, although they haven’t seen any results yet.
Coming with the territory is a certain amount of attention. According to him, “you know you get a lot of attention” when you’re the largest club in the world, a fact that all the players are aware of. The more harmful aspects pertain to the game, and there is talk of shattered relationships in what may turn out to be a broken campaign, especially when that attention can encompass everything from allegations of raw chicken being sold at Old Trafford to a coach excursion to Newcastle becoming public. To see whether he can channel Ferguson-style external criticism into a siege mindset and rally them against the world is an intriguing possibility.
“Criticism is going to come your way the moment things aren’t going your way and you aren’t performing up to par,” Ten Hag said. “That is your problem to solve. Surely you are not there by yourself. In that boat, we are all united. That is something we are aware of. Our response will be a united front. United once more. That is, if you believe Ten Hag.