The first coach was not good, and after the change of coach, he improved slightly, and after showing his strength in the transfer market, he stacked up because of various problems, which made the team return to chaos. Ten years after Alex Ferguson's retirement, the mess at the start of the season shows that they are caught in this cycle for the fourth time.
Dutch coach Erik ten Hag joined the team in a strong last season and reborn the team in a year's time, from the tactical structure to the team culture, which is significantly different from his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The results of the EFL Cup title + the top four in the Premier League allow Manchester United to head into the second season of a new era.
But this season's development is obvious to all: last season solved a bunch of problems, and this season new ones are coming. In the Champions League, Manchester United was considered a good draw, but after being defeated by Galatasaray and FC K Benh**n in succession, they were only at the bottom with four points after five rounds of matches, and their efforts to fight for the Champions League last season were almost in vain.
Leaving aside the ongoing management change – a decade-long source of problems – fans have largely identified the following reasons for the early season slump: the degradation and mistakes of some players, the transfer strategy that seems to have bought the wrong person, and the management of manager Erik ten Hag.
Yes, it's all **, but what triggered these problems one by one was the injury problem at the beginning of the season, which made Erik ten Hag's ideal style of play that worked well last season be defeated layer by layer from the personnel level. And the deployment that has been deepened in the summer vacation, with the injury of a few core players, the whole body is affected, and the power gradually fades. As the manager, Erik ten Hag did not come up with an effective backup plan, and the diamond midfield formation that was experimented with at the beginning of the season is rarely seen now.
After 1 3 seasons, under the domino effect of player injuries, it gradually became clear that Manchester United did not have what a mature team should have: to have a plan A that can dominate the game, and to come up with a plan B that can stabilize the results when the plan fails. They have won a number of small victories against lesser-than-strong teams, some of which have been the result of a game-winning goal, rather than a tactical victory, in the balance of power, by controversial decisions or the whimsy of some players.
Luke Shaw and Tierrell Malacia were absent at the start of the season, but fortunately, the transfer window had not yet closed, and they were able to borrow Sergio Reguilon from Tottenham for an emergency, but the son also reported injury, and United had to play with the left wing-back empty.
Let's look at how Arsenal's Zinchenko and Thomas Partey, Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Manchester City's former Cancelo supported from the full-back position to the middle, forming a double-pivot core with the back. Unfortunately, this system has not been present in Erik ten Hag's tactical book, and the wing-backs and defensive midfielders in the team are not equipped to double play in both positions.
Amrabat, the new returning midfielder, once played at left-back, which was a last resort. Erik ten Hag tried the possibility of using Amrabat as a wing-back as the second central midfielder, but the performance was not satisfactory. It's not just Amrabat who is organising and big-picture issues, but his indecisiveness in his positional moves and the lack of a tacit understanding with the midfielder often leaks space for the opposition to attack. Amrabat had a poor cameo as United's vaunted breakthrough down the left flank slumped before Luke Shaw returned.
Raphael Varane's injury has deprived United of their most consistent defender. Lisandro Martinez's injury has deprived Manchester United's system of last season of its most important member. With both players out at the same time, and new goalkeeper Andre Onana naturally attached to instability, Manchester United's defence is in turmoil. After beating Everton 3-0 in the 13th round, the net value of goals scored and conceded was removed from the negative number and returned to just 0 points.
Raphael Varane's form after his return last season is much worse than before, and in Erik ten Hag's mouth, the combination of Maguire and Evans is irreplaceable by Varane at present. With the recent return of left wing-backs, the coaching staff moved Victor Lindelof back to left centre-back, making good use of his evenly balanced left and right feet to make up for the fluidity of passing at the back, but only barely.
The rout at the back has affected the quality of the attack one after another. Last season was the explosive year of Rashford's career, but this season's squad is incomplete, which has brought Rashford back to mediocrity. At the same time, it means that Rashford does not have the ability to lead the team out of the doldrums.
In addition, Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag are breaking with each other, and Antony is in a slump of form, and United are tantamount to breaking their wings. Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri are highly talented, but they will take time to materialize and the team is not in good shape to grow while protecting them.
In midfield, Erik ten Hag's ideal 4-3-3 formation would be to deploy two midfielders who can move between the number eight and ten positions in front of a defensive midfielder who can provide enough protection, and be responsible for pressing the flanks of the midfield when defending. Christian Eriksen's injury and the slow entry of new signing Mason Mount have disrupted Erik ten Hag's calculations. Erik ten Hag is a coach who insists on pressing, and in his first season at Manchester United, he finished 12th in the PPDA rankings, and although he has been slightly revised this season, he is still only at the middle of the table. (9th in 13 rounds).
ppda = the number of passes made by an opposing player before each defensive action outside of the defensive third.
In the second away game at the beginning of the season, for example, the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur was used to push forward pressure to allow Manchester United's front-court players to get more space after intercepting the ball, and the United had at least three threatening shots on goal from the front of the field. However, the lack of action in the forward line allowed Manchester United to lose the game in a situation of parity.
Rasmus Hojlen hadn't joined at the time, and Erik ten Hag had basically lined up the best team other than him. But now that Rasmus Hojlen is here, the whole Manchester United team is injured, disabled, and even Rasmus Hojlen himself is injured. Even when he returns, the midfield has yet to adjust and there are not enough conditions for him and Rashford to play the desired chemistry.
The current Manchester United is not stable in possession and the press is not sharp enough. In an interview in November, Erik ten Hag bluntly said that he could not play the style of play of Ajax at Manchester United, which in my opinion is a bit of a bow to reality, because in the face of the wave of injuries at the beginning of the season, Erik ten Hag did not make a fundamental change in his tactical philosophy, but by adjusting the positioning, role and even position of a small number of players.
The two elements of "speed" and "ball control" are not mutually exclusive, but when the two are fused together to push the team to another level, it takes time to hone it. This was originally Erik ten Hag's mission this season, and the important acquisitions of Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlen were also aimed at moving the process forward. However, the defeat was due to injury, and Erik ten Hag's reluctance to come up with other plans to cope with the schedule, slowing down the pace of the team's transformation, which led to the current disastrous start to the season.
Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlen are three important acquisitions that are at the heart of Erik ten Hag's restructured structure, rather than an option to build on the existing one, so there will be painful periods. Injuries in some positions, particularly the emptiness of the left wing-back before the international break in October, have left United without the ability to save points during the run-in period.
Taking a chaotic team to the top four, Erik ten Hag's first season in charge has shown fans that there is nothing wrong with his philosophy. The problem is that in the face of a sudden wave of injuries, he did not choose to let the team change the style of play, resulting in the current sluggish record. Against teams like Tottenham, Brighton and Manchester City, which also emphasize pressing and possession up front, Erik ten Hag, who is known for his pressing, was beaten down and couldn't be said to be face-saving.
As has been discussed around Andre Onana, if United can score more points on the offensive line than Andre Onana makes mistakes at the back, I believe he will not suffer as much ridicule as he does now.
Overhaul is something that United have lacked since the days of Jose Mourinho. Now Manchester United is heading towards this process, but the injury has made it dizzy, which has delayed the reform process a little.