Analysing Erik ten Hag's Tactical Genius: Insights into Manchester United's Managerial Mastermind
Erik ten Hag's tenure at Manchester United has been marked by astute tactical decisions and a focus on team cohesion. Dive into some of his choices since he has become United's boss.
Straight forward, strong willed and passionate are words which could easily describe Manchester United’s boss Erik ten Hag.
The Dutch manager, who is currently refusing to let English forward Jadon Sancho train with the first team, has had a long history of bust ups with many former players.
Here are some of the biggest management decisions he has made in his tenure with Manchester United.
A legend returns
Ronaldo has been a legend for Manchester United since his arrival from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. He had scored 145 goals in 346 games for the English giants.
During the 2021 season, the footballing icon had interest from cross-town rivals Manchester City while he was playing in the Italian, Serie A, with Juventus FC.
Former United boss and Champions League winner, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer managed to get the Portuguese legend, for a fee of €15 million (£12.86 million) on a two-year contract, from the Italian football giants.
His second debut was on September 11, 2021, at Old Trafford against Newcastle United. Ronaldo managed to get two goals in the game, giving United a 4-1 win.
Despite the fairy tale start from the United legend, it would eventually sour a year later. After Solskjaer had been let go from the club, he had a fractured relationship with interim manager Ralf Rangnick and was unable to score in more than two months. His form didn’t improve when Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag arrived at United either and the troubles only continued.
Ten Hag’s arrival to United
Ten Hag would arrive at United in April 2022. The Dutch manager had previously been the head coach at the historic Dutch-side Ajax FC. He had taken the team to the semi-finals of the Champions League (2018-19), defying all odds by fans and pundits. Players such as Matthijs De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong would get big-money moves to other top-named European clubs by the end of the campaign. De Ligt, like Ronaldo, would eventually move to Juventus, and now plays for FC Bayern. Frenkie De Jong would eventually move to Catalan giants, Barcelona. Ten Hag would try and get De Jong to move to United, however, the deal would eventually fall through.
The Dutch manager was also very similar to a United legend. Ten Hag’s management style is similar to former manager Sir Alex, whose opinion was nobody was bigger than the club. An example of this was how he dealt with former Ajax player, Noa Lang. During the pair’s time at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Ajax FC’s home ground, the pair had multiple altercations, which eventually ended their relationship. During a 4-3 Dutch cup win for Ajax over Telstar in 2019, the former Ajax manager shouted at the winger after Lang had scored his first goal. He said:
“Noa! You have to run deep! You have to shut up, you have to listen, you just need to do it. No! Cut it out, it’s our game not yours.”
These arguments would eventually lead to the winger being sent on loan to Dutch side FC Twente in the January transfer window and to Belgian side Club Brugge in 2021.1 Lang who spoke in an interview about his relationship with his former manager said:
“Everyone loved me at Ajax, except for one person. I wanted to be loaned, but he was so angry he wanted to sell me. Not the management, but the trainer got his way.
“No, I never spoke to him again and I don’t want to. A new chapter has started and I’m going to make it a success.”
Sir Alex had similar issues with Manchester United’s former captain Roy Keane in 2005. Keane's time at United ended unexpectedly early after he criticised his team-mates on the club's television channel MUTV which led to him clashing with Ferguson.2
Keane was heavily critical of United's performance in a 4-1 defeat against Middlesbrough and didn't hold back in his assessment of the likes of Ferdinand, John O'Shea, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher.
Ronaldo and Ten Hag’s fight
Ronaldo and Ten Hag’s relationship was difficult. Ronaldo had lost his child and was finding it difficult to deal with United’s management. During a game against Tottenham Hotspurs, Ronaldo refused to play after being asked to go on the pitch by the Dutch manager. The United legend’s refusal would make Ten Hag drop him for the next game against London side Chelsea.
These problems eventually led to Ronaldo bashing the club in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.3
The United legend said he felt the club had not progressed since Ferguson’s departure. Ronaldo said:
“At United, the progress was zero, in my opinion. To compare with Real Madrid and even Juventus, that they follow the rest of the world, so the technology, especially in terms of training, nutrition and conditioning, eat properly and to recover better than before.
"Manchester right now to compare with that club, I think it's behind in my opinion, which is something that surprised me. A club with this dimension should be the top of the tree in my opinion and they are not, unfortunately. They are not in that level. But I hope the next years they can reach to be in a top level.”
Ronaldo’s views on the club are similar to many fans of United. The Glazer family, bought the club in 2005 for £790 million.4 The purchase of the club was done in a highly leveraged deal which has been criticised for loading debt onto the club.
United fans believe teams such as Chelsea FC, Newcastle United and Manchester City will only continue to win trophies as more money has been put into these clubs.
Ronaldo was also harsh on his former manager. The United legend said:
"The coach didn't have respect for me. So this is why the relationship, it's in that way.
“He keep saying in the press that he come to me, he like me blah, blah, blah, but that is only for the press, 100 per cent. If you don’t have respect for me, I'm never going to have respect for you."
The interview eventually led Ronaldo and United to agree on a mutual termination of his contract. The former Manchester United player is currently playing in Saudi League with Club, Al Nassr having scored more than 10 goals.5
Manchester United’s situation now
Currently, Manchester United is in a similar situation with English forward Jadon Sancho. Ten Hag, who is a very straightforward talker, recently after a 3-1 loss to Arsenal, publicly said he felt Sancho has not been training well.
While Sancho publicly blasted his manager on social media and felt he had become a “scapegoat” for the team’s loss. His post has led to him being banned from training with the first team unless Ten Hag and United’s first team get an apology. Currently at the moment Sancho is refusing.
With Ten Hag’s and United’s history of letting go of players who challenged the hierarchy at the club you can only feel that Sancho is in murky waters at the moment.
(Updated: 16/09/23)
Football journalist, Fabrizio Romano, has reported that Ten Hag has said:
“With fans it’s the talk, with you it’s the talk, but with the players, it is not the talk. They want to perform.
“For players who didn’t have so much opportunities, it’s chance to come into the team.”
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag told Noa Lang to ‘shut up’ before Arsenal and Leeds interest, he ‘made Belgian football hot’ and wants Real Madrid move after AC Milan transfer - https://talksport.com/football/1122173/man-united-erik-ten-hag-noa-lang-arsenal-leeds-liverpool-real-madrid-milan/
Rio Ferdinand recalls 'mad' bust-up between Sir Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane over Man United captain's infamous MUTV rant as 'like a movie' with the whole squad 'cringing' as they were forced to watch it - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12506453/Rio-Ferdinand-recalls-Roy-Keane-clashed-Sir-Alex-Ferguson-managers-office-midfielder-axed-Manchester-United-following-MUTV-analysis-2005.html
Cristiano Ronaldo Piers Morgan full interview: All the key quotes about Manchester United, Lionel Messi, Erik ten Hag and more - https://www.sportingnews.com/au/football/news/cristiano-ronaldo-piers-morgan-full-interview-man-united/f9du0usae1plm2wnzftjpsvr
Who are the Glazer family and what is their net worth? Manchester United shares suffer worst day - https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/glazer-family-owners-manchester-united-net-worth-b1059986.html
Who Is Top Scorer In Saudi Pro League 2023? Is Cristiano Ronaldo? - https://coopwb.in/info/who-is-top-scorer-in-saudi-pro-league-2023/