Normally a football club would evolve with each manager in terms of its playing staff and its style, however we all know Manchester United are anything but a normal club.
Under Erik ten Hag there is a sense that it would take time to impose his way and stamp on this United team, but from what we have seen we are going to need more a Sledgehammer than a Scalpel.
Backing a manager is not just bringing players he wants in but also getting rid of players who do not suit his style. United is full of players who resemble Frankenstein’s monster of a squad with players from 3/4 different managers who all had contrasting styles.
This is a squad that lacks the fundamentals both individually and collectively to be competitive at the highest level but also lacks the kind of intangibles that you just cannot gather from footage or stats. Determination, character, guts call it what you will, but this team routinely folds under pressure.
The games against City, Liverpool, Brighton and well most others in the last few years are littered with basic errors and lack of a backbone.
If we need an example of this then we only have to look at the game in Copenhagen in the Champions League, United went 2-0 up but ended up losing 4-3 and staring at a near impossible task to qualify for the next round.
United can point to the red card decision for Marcus Rashford, but to be honest it is an easy cop out whereas this stuff happens too much to be coincidence. It is what happened after that is the big problem, any time this team is put under the slightest bit of pressure it wilts.
They had to dig deep and go back to basics and herein lies in the problem, they can’t control possession and if United do not have the ball, then they have to defend and they can’t defend. This team doesn’t look like it can manage a game, regardless of who is out there on the pitch.
Too many times United’s defence resembles quicksand in that one mistake is quickly followed by another, the more they try to fight it the quicker they sink until they are in over their head. This is personified in Harry Maguire, a good defender but now has become a meme, once you get into the cycle of mistakes for any defender it’s difficult to get out of.
Also, the perception of Maguire is of a man who makes mistakes, and it sums up Unite’s defence, he was brought on in a game for England against Scotland at half time and one of first things he does is score an own goal.
He needs to go to another club who aren’t as scrutinised as United otherwise it will fans counting down until he makes a mistake. He will play well in certain games where he isn’t put under a lot of pressure, or he is defending the penalty box as teams come on to United but long term his summer departure will be inevitable for all parties.
Let me be fair though he is not the worst of the defenders we have, that honour goes to Diogo Dalot. I remember William Prunier and Alexander Buttner, but they were quickly found out and moved on, Dalot however just consistently doesn’t have anything that you can rely on. If both him and Victor Lindelof continue to start games, then United should partner up with Rennies given the heartburn most fans will get when they see their names on the team sheet.
The analytics and stat community rate him quite highly as he is consistent but anyone who watches him both on tv and in person knows he is consistently terrible. Defending, passing, reading of the game and concentration which Copenhagen’s third goal should encapsulate as well as losing Miguel Almiron a week earlier against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup.
If there wasn’t a shortage in full-backs, I doubt he would make the bench but here we are, he was given a new deal a few months ago for five years and I should imagine whoever signed off on that deal will be out of a job soon enough when Sir Jim Ratcliffe takes over.
I do feel for Andre Onana as he is new at the club and with his style being opposite David de Gea it will take time for him to become a solid goalkeeper for us. He has his mistakes sure, but he is starting to find his feet but the quicker he gets a set reliable defence the sooner we will see the best of him.
Teams attack as a unit, but they also defend like a unit as well and for years not just under Erik ten Hag they look clueless when the opposition takes the game to them. Casemiro and Raphael Varane, who are both multiple Champions League winners, both look completely shot and maybe already thinking about that footballing retirement home in Saudi Arabia everyone is talking about.
Next summer will require 3 or maybe 4 new Centre backs let alone possible full back changes and a possible new defensive midfielder if/when Casemiro leaves. Although on one hand this looks bad, but this bad season at United could be a blessing in disguise.
This could allow a new structure to be put in place and allow for players being moved on who might have stayed on with a good season. Allowing the club to clean house and move on people who don’t fit the new direction.
There will be a few uncomfortable conversations to have in the next few months behind closed doors about a lot of players but necessary ones. This could allow Sir Jim and INEOS to put their stamp on the club early, but they need to identify good players quickly.
The performances from the defence do prove one thing and that is this side needs gutting and a new one building, for ten Hag and the club it will be a case of Revolution not Evolution.
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Hmm. I’ll see your Prunier and Buttner, and raise you a Graeme Hogg and a Jimmy ( oh it’s not POSSIBLE, Jimmy ) Nicholl.
Yeah, we lack cojones at present; despite individual experience, some are struggling with the pressure and expectation of playing for the world’s best-known Team.
But they’ll get there, they’ll get there.