It’s difficult to imagine Erik ten Hag’s first season at Manchester United going any better.
Yes, you can say United could have won more trophies; that would have been better. Realistically, though, considering it was his first Premier League season, the rebuild needed, and the various instances of unexpected drama at the club last year, what Ten Hag accomplished with United exceeded many expectations.
Ten Hag isn’t one to dwell on success, however, especially when there were some glaring issues on the pitch that caused more than a few problems last season. Always preparing, finding ways to improve, and looking to the next challenge, Ten Hag will have used the summer pre-season to fine-tune his tactics and work out ways to fix last season’s struggles as United look ahead to the 2023/2024 season.
Here are five puzzles Ten Hag needs to solve if Manchester United want to improve in 2023/24:
Balance the midfield
Erik ten Hag may have inherited several midfielders when he took over, but he quickly realised there was need for improvement if he was going to have any hope of implementing his tactical philosophy at Old Trafford. Adding playmaking, fight, and experience in Casemiro and Christian Eriksen last summer was a good start, and Ten Hag worked hard to bring in Mason Mount this summer, with the strong likelihood that Sofyan Ambrabat joins, as well. While Ten Hag’s signings have vastly improved the quality of United’s midfield, it leaves him with a bit of a headache when it comes to finding the right combination of players in the middle of the pitch. Great problem to have, right?
Ten Hag needs to find a trio of midfielders who not only complement each other’s strengths, but also make up for each other’s weaknesses. And even though the Dutchman doesn’t tend to rotate very often unless he is forced to do so, bolstering the midfield with players he’s targeted might mean he has more flexibility when it comes to his preferred type of player, depending on the opposition. Away from home against a top six side, for instance, Casemiro and Amrabat might start together, in order to lock up the middle of the pitch and break up play. Mount or Eriksen, however, could get the nod when Ten Hag prioritises controlling possession or unlocking stubborn bottom half sides who opt to park the bus. The addition of Mount–and potential addition of Amrabat–provides United with a player in Mount who is more attacking, but also presses, and Amrabat who is defensive, but can also pick a pass.
This season, Ten Hag may also have youngsters such as Hannibal Mejbri and Kobbie Mainoo at his disposal, as well. New signings and youth players improves United’s midfield depth, but it will be up to Ten Hag to pick the best midfield on the day and he’ll be expected to figure it out quickly.
Kill off games
When it comes to ruthlessly putting teams away and killing off games, United haven’t exactly been stellar. A quick look at the Red Devils’ goal differential in recent seasons is further evidence of this fact, as United had the worst goal difference in the top six last season and a goal difference of zero in 2021/22. The lack of a striker is a big factor, but United’s poor finishing has played a larger role. United create a lot of chances, but their attackers haven’t been clinical enough in front of goal. Bruno Fernandes led the league in big chances created and chances created last season, but finished ninth for assists with just eight; a fourth of his big chances created.
Under the tutelage of Benni McCarthy last season, Marcus Rashord’s goal output soared to new heights and his goals from inside the box and headers levelled up, but relying on a winger for goals will only take you so far. Wout Weghorst, bless him, seemed to be cursed in the opposition box after missing sitter after sitter, but the fact that he, Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony, and Bruno all have chances missed means that Ten Hag has United playing in a way that creates more chances, so what’s the problem? Is it a mental hurdle? Lack of focus? Is it the fact that wingers don’t have a striker’s mentality to get into the best positions to put away chances? It’s a head scratcher, to be sure, but Ten Hag and McCarthy need to instil a bit of ruthlessness back into the squad or United will continue to see missed chances come back to bite them in matches.
Improve United’s press resistance in their own half
Whether it’s a sloppy pass or being dispossessed under pressure, losing the ball has cost United on several occasions. Without pointing fingers at any single player, United have given away possession too many times in their own half. We saw this recently against Borussia Dortmund, RC Lens, and Athletic Bilbao, and while it’s only pre-season, it does potentially show that a few United players have some work to do before the Premier League kicks off.
It isn’t a secret that former United goalkeeper, David de Gea, wasn’t the best with the ball at his feet and defenders such as Harry Maguire or Victor Lindelof don’t look comfortable under pressure. As a result, opposition players have regularly pressed our defence into passing back to De Gea, who oftentimes booted the ball out of play, played a hospital pass to a teammate in a risky area, or played a long pass straight to an opponent. United’s midfielders, too, have dallied too long on the ball at times, inviting pressure and failing to find a teammate or sort out their feet before being overrun by the opposition and losing the ball in their own half.
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are both quality on the ball, with the former being a revelation in United’s backline as far as building out from the back is concerned. Bringing in Andre Onana will help in this regard, as well, as his ability on the ball almost makes him a deep-lying playmaking midfielder who is just as capable of receiving a pass under pressure as he is finding a teammate with a pass. This adds another layer to United’s play that we haven’t seen in many years that will hopefully combine well with Ten Hag’s other signings to vastly improve United’s press resistance in their own half.
Too hesitant in the final third
There’s something there with Antony. The Brazilian’s ability on the ball and willingness to help out defensively are valuable assets, but he can be guilty of killing United’s momentum on the counter at times, opting to hold up play rather than take on his man. When he has backed himself to beat a defender and get to the byline, Antony looks dangerous, but then his lack of a right foot causes him to cut back onto his left. It’s these delays–though only seconds in real time–that allow the opposition to regain their shape and kill United’s attack. Jadon Sancho’s struggles last year, too, saw him hesitate in the final third and play a safe back pass rather than carry the ball into the box himself. These are two senior players for United and they’ve been shown up on several occasions by the tenacity and fearlessness of youngsters like Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri.
Counter attacks rely on speed–physical and mental–and being caught in two minds or hesitating have been the undoing of so many of United’s promising attacks last season. To be fair, some of this has to do with United’s lack of a true number nine to get on the end of balls into the box or make runs off the shoulder of a defender; this leaves the wingers with a lot of work to do on their own. Sometimes, though, you have to get your head down and whip in an early cross, hoping that your teammates are doing what they need to do to get on the end of them.
United also have a habit of taking several touches too many or playing too many passes in the opposition area, looking for the perfect shot, when it would be better for someone to take responsibility and just pull the trigger. The shot could take a deflection, the opposition keeper could not see it through a crowd, or the ball could rebound back into the mixer. In any case, wasting valuable seconds with hesitation or trying to walk the ball into the net with too many touches allows the opposition to organise and leads to yet another wasted attacking opportunity. Ten Hag would do well to get his players to be a bit more courageous and direct in the final third next season.
Away form needs fixing
While Ten Hag has made Old Trafford a fortress again since taking over, leading United to 15 wins, three draws, and just one loss at home last season, the Reds’ away form, on the other hand, was abysmal. Away from home, United recorded only eight wins and three draws, with eight defeats. That’s simply not good enough for any team hoping to get back to challenging for the league, let alone a club of Manchester United’s stature. When questioned about United’s away form last season, ten Hag admitted that “personality and character” had much to do with the results, but what does that mean for United going forward?
Similar to how keeping things simple and stringing a few passes together can help a player recover in a match after making a mistake, not letting heads drop and refusing to give up after a few mistakes or conceding a cheap goal–such as City’s first goal in the FA Cup final–can prevent a mental snowball effect.
United’s away form and overall tendency to crumble after mistakes before Ten Hag’s arrival remind me a lot of England’s supposed shootout curse. Highlighted by Ben Lyttleton in his book, Twelve Yards: The Art and Psychology of the Perfect Penalty Kick, one major factor in England’s poor penalty kick record is that the players, fans, and media expect it. Self-fulfilling prophecy and an almost predetermined acceptance of a poor showing in a shootout played more of a role than the actual performance of the players. In that context, United’s miserable few seasons–reaching an all-time low in 2021/22–could easily have instilled a defeatist mentality in the players, leaving many to simply try to minimise the damage and just make it to the final whistle. This overall pessimistic mindset and wounded pride might be what Ten Hag was referring to. Still, United endeavoured to play the most matches of any club in Europe last season to a third place finish, a Carabao Cup, and an FA Cup final–all of which go a long way towards boosting morale and providing United a platform upon which to rebuild for the future. Ten Hag has a plan and he doesn’t suffer the lazy, incapable, or the non committed when it comes to seeing it fulfilled. Perhaps, then, his greatest contribution thus far has been reinstating the high standards that Manchester United has let slip in recent years.
Last season’s triumphs have earned Erik ten Hag a fair bit of trust, but now it’s up to him to reward that trust by ironing out the kinks and keeping the momentum going as Manchester United look ahead to the 2023/24 season.
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On play in the final third the big question will be how good is Hojlund .Let us be positive and say he is really good .Then you have a look and see which players give him the best service and i think that would be Garnacho and Pellistri . If Hojlund is just average then i believe you will see Rashford and Antony playing up front . It all makes for a very interesting start to the season
the final third point is the most important – antony is hugely wasteful and predictable – sancho seems to lose confidence – hopefully a real no 9 will help them – as it should tbf.
jury is also out on whether a midfield with casemiro and bruno can keep the ball – both have pretty awful ball retention – if this doesnt improve it doesn’t matter how the final third looks, we will be overrun in midfield, as happens very frequently. its a big season for bruno also. captain now and lets see if he can lead a talented side properly without the histrionics.
also need to see ETH ball this season. which means pressing and lots of posession – as noted previously i doubt thats possible with the midfield we have.