Manchester United’s Struggle Continues: Is Erik ten Hag Truly at Fault?
From a punishing 13.8km run just two games into his reign to off-field clashes with his own players: Is Ten Hag the man to be blamed for this Manchester United’s downfall? Let’s take a closer look at what’s actually going wrong at this football club.
Currently this Man Utd team is seemingly so easy to play through, the reason is when the team is out there on the pitch it looks like they start matches with a clear game plan if it works they look threatening in the first half but if it doesn’t work their performance tends to drop below expectations, the ability to fix things on the fly is missing in this team right now.
Manchester United has had their worst start to a Premier League season on record. Looking decent in the first half but then capitulating in the second half, making promising starts but failing to take their chances and then end up losing the game — a recurring narrative week after week but the question arises: what exactly is going wrong at this club?
The answer is very simple “ The composition of Manchester United Squad ”. Look the Ten Hag style of game is possession-based football with quick, incisive passing in the final third but here with this United squad he has to adopt a more pragmatic approach and play a lot more direct. The current players that the team has are not well-suited to execute Ten Hag’s preferred tactical approach.
If Man Utd wants to jump to become an elite side then it’s not just a matter of training; they need to invest, they need to find and buy the right talent.
Lack of Technical Players
Even after Ten Hag’s revamp with a spending of almost £411 million since summer 2022, it seems that many of the players he specifically chose are not matching his expectations. This is because of the lack of technical football in players. Earlier this season Man Utd were leading the league in high turnover rates, indicating that their pressing strategy to win back possession high up the field was effective, catching defenses off guard. This should naturally lead to scoring opportunities but their conversion rates on these power plays are the lowest. Why?
The reason behind this is the players’ lack of technical proficiency in their gameplay. United have an average of 1.1 (Goals per match) sits 12th in the league table and only created 18 big chances in the premier league this season so far. This indicates that the attacking numbers has been underwhelming and what’s more concerning is, I don’t see any plan B for attacking concerns right now.
Bruno is the only real creative force in the team right now so naturally, you’d want someone with his playmaking skills pushing forward to deliver that decisive pass. However, due to lack of ball carrying or progressive passing, Bruno has had to drop deeper and deeper into midfield trying to take some duties. This was particularly evident against Brighton, where by the end of the match, he was playing so deep it almost seemed like he was a center-back.
Take Mason Mount, for instance, a player who, in my view, could integrate into the team and partner well with Bruno’s style but his current form is off; the level of creativity he displayed at Chelsea is nowhere to be seen this season. Against Spurs, Mount had only 26 touches, which was the tenth fewest among the 11 United players. Moreover, he didn’t manage to get even a touch within the opposition’s box.
This paints a picture of dip in creativity and technical spark of the team, with the team’s average rating at 6.89 for the season, they find themselves languishing at 13th in the league table for average ratings, far from expected levels.
Struggling to Maintain Possession
Man United are not good enough on the ball this season, currently averaging 47.6% possession, they stand bottom of the league in terms of holding possession.
“Hold the ball so you can rest with the ball”
A really famous saying in football and this is what Man United is not doing at the moment. They have to keep possession to give themselves a break; you don’t have to constantly run hard to chase and recover the ball. Instead, hold onto it, pass it through, and build up your play gradually from the back. Look at Manchester City — they’re often so comfortable on the ball that they play with a relaxed pace, a totally different mentality, almost as if they have sort of different heart rate. When you’re in control, you can effortlessly knock it around, pop it around you can have a breather you can literally walk around that’s the hallmark of a team skilled in keeping possession.
Last time out at Old Trafford against Man City, United had 39% share of possession, completing 391 passes. They were pressing as aggressively and cohesively as Ten Hag would like, but if they held possession as high up the pitch as they need to then United simply wouldn’t find themselves in the position of being hunched, in a mid-block, trying to resist opposition bouts of action.
Off-Pitch Incidents
United’s season start has been further troubled by a series of events beyond the pitch. Their management of Mason Greenwood’s unsuccessful comeback faced substantial backlash, Antony was on leave to deal with accusations of assault from three women, Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from the club, marked by an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, adds to the team’s issues and Jadon Sancho is training separately from the main squad following his adverse reaction on social media to criticism from Ten Hag.
Much of it became too much for the manager to control. A new manager taking the reins at Manchester United with a great managing portfolio and big achievements meant business, he signaled a serious commitment to turning things around. He indicated that it was only a matter of time before he ended the six years trophy drought. At a club like United, there’s constant buzz, particularly from pundits who are often former players, and the towering legacy left by Sir Alex Ferguson amplifies the pressure. This environment serves as a constant reminder of the high expectations that come with being part of a major football institution.
Going through all these distractions was undoubtedly challenging for Ten Hag, yet he displayed remarkable resilience and managed to steer the ship in the right direction. It’s tough to come to terms with the team’s current form, but it’s important to remain patient with Manchester United and Ten Hag at this juncture. It is easy to forget after last season that this was always going to be a multi-year rebuild and we’re just entering the second year.
Realistic Opinion
Similarly to Ten Hag, Mikel Arteta, who once served as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at City, spent several years shaping Arsenal into the team they are today. Despite some challenging periods for Arteta, it has now become a familiar story for Manchester United but the fans need to “trust the process”
Without backing anyone, I would urge all Manchester United fans to avoid directing their frustration towards the manager and players. They are not at fault, they should not be the target. It might be more appropriate to question the ownership’s role in this situation.
