How did Erik ten Hag lead Man Utd astray?

Man Utd are experiencing the worst run of results in the club's history, currently ranked 14th in the Premier League table before FIFA Days in October. From the position of a team that has won the top flight of English football 20 times, Man Utd of the 2024-25 season is struggling in the bottom half of the rankings.

Erik Ten Hag is of course the one who must bear the highest responsibility. From poor quality contracts, to tactless statements off the field, the Dutch coach is the reason why the Red Devils dressing room is more dilapidated than ever.

Contradictory philosophy

Coach Ten Hag once convinced Man Utd's board of directors to give him a huge amount of money to build the most satisfactory squad.

But in the match against Aston Villa, coach Ten Hag did the opposite. Up to 7 expensive contracts under Ten Hag had to sit on the bench in this match.

The value of these 7 players is around 335 million pounds. This figure exceeds half the value of Aston Villa's squad (516 million pounds).

Manuel Ugarte was fit but was on the bench for both of the last two matches (draws with Porto and Aston Villa).

He did not put his faith in the two central defenders Lisandro Martinez or Matthijs de Ligt. Against Aston Villa, Ten Hag started Maguire and Evans. This is the central defender pair of Leicester City from 5 seasons ago. Up front, Christian Eriksen started, not Manuel Ugarte.

Man Utd's board of directors must be wondering where the hundreds of millions of pounds in transfer fees have gone?

Buy Hojlund instead of Watkins

In the summer of 2023, Man Utd's board of directors targeted a series of strikers, but eventually narrowed it down to two prominent names: Rasmus Hojlund and Ollie Watkins. After negotiations, Man Utd chose Hojlund because he is 7 years younger than Watkins, considering this a long-term contract.

Ten Hag called Hojlund Man Utd's 'best striker' after the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa. However, Hojlund has only scored 17 goals in 48 appearances. He is 25th in the Premier League's top scorers in 2023-24 with 10 goals.

Rasmus Hojlund is far behind Ollie Watkins.

With Watkins, the Villa striker scored 19 goals in the Premier League last season, helping the team qualify for the Champions League. Watkins, with 13 passes to help his teammates score, also won the title of King of assists. His achievements surpassed Man Utd's best passer, Bruno Fernandes (8 assists). Buying Hojlund to replace Watkins can be considered a mistake by Ten Hag and Man Utd's Board of Directors.

Antony, Mason Mount, Sofyan Amrabat are also failed contracts. Joshua Zirkzee just arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2024, but is preparing to leave in the winter transfer window.

What did Ten Hag do for Rashford?

Rashford was the best player in Ten Hag's first season at Man Utd. He scored 17 goals, helping Man Utd finish 3rd in the Premier League, winning the Carabao Cup. However, Rashford's form declined in the 2023-24 season. This striker will not be able to participate in EURO 2024.

Rashford must of course take responsibility for his poor form, having angered fans by throwing a birthday party just hours after the 3-0 defeat in the Manchester derby.

But Ten Hag was also at fault. He did not encourage Rashford to regain his spirit, but criticized his student for 'poor defense' in front of the media.

"Rashford doesn't do what I ask him to do defensively, I will question him. I will question Rashford with the data I collect on the computer," Ten Hag said in April 2024.

Ten Hag is not afraid to criticize Rashford in front of the media.

Last midweek, Man Utd led Porto 2-0 thanks to a goal and an assist from Rashford, but were later equalised 2-2. Coach Ten Hag immediately withdrew Rashford from the field, citing “fitness issues”.

Ten Hag is known as a harsh coach with his players. He used harsh words with Ronaldo, Sancho, Casemiro and Varane. All four of these players have left Man Utd. ESPN revealed that the former Man Utd players' association had advised Ten Hag to be gentler, but he did not change.

Refuse to buy left back

Man Utd enter the 2024-25 season without a pure left-back. It's October now, but Luke Shaw and Malacia have yet to make a single appearance for the Red Devils.

Malacia missed all of last season with a knee injury. Luke Shaw improved with 15 appearances, before returning to bed in February.

After 10 years playing for Man Utd, Luke Shaw played 191 times, missing more than 50% of the team's matches due to injury. Each year, Luke Shaw plays about 19 matches for Man Utd.

Luke Shaw has been continuously seriously injured, missing more than 50% of Man Utd's matches.

The lack of a pure left-back also affects Man Utd's ability to climb the wing. Diogo Dalot is right-footed, so his ability to connect with Rashford is limited. This was a topic of "dissection" in the England team at EURO 2024 (Trippier and Foden).

According to the Times, coach Erik Ten Hag's term is likely to continue after an urgent 7-hour meeting in London. The Dutch coach needs to urgently find a solution to overcome the limitations at Man Utd, because his time is running out. A bad result against Brentford after the international break will be the end of Erik Ten Hag's excuses.

Thanh Loc

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/erik-ten-hag-khien-man-utd-lac-loi-ra-sao-ar900844.html