Who is ten Hag?
Erik ten Hag is a former Dutch player turned manager.
After retiring from playing in 2002 with FC Twente. He stayed to coach until 2009. During this stint he worked under Fred Rutten and Steve McClaren. That’s a name we haven’t heard in a while.
After Twente he found himself reunited with Rutten at PSV where he won a Dutch Cup. His efforts here earned him his first senior team managerial role at Go Ahead Eagles in the Eerste Divisie. In his only season in charge of the Dutch second side he earned them promotion to the Eredivisie.
After the lone season with Go Ahead Eagles, the dutchman left for Germany where he joined Bayern Munich’s managerial stuff and oversaw Bayern II. After two years in Germany, ten Hag returned to the Netherlands with FC Utrecht where he earned them their best finish since the 1980’s, and European football.
Subsequently he earned himself a move to Ajax where he’s been since 2017. Winning multiple titles and phenomenal European displays has put him on everyone’s radar.
The Pep Connection
Looks aside, Erik Ten Hag could very well be Pep 2.0.
During Pep Guardiola’s time at Bayern Munich, Ten Hag oversaw Bayern II. Many see this as a pivotal moment in ten Hag’s career. Prior to this he’d only experienced coaching at FC Twente and PSV Eindhoven.
He’s said previously that he’s learnt a lot from Pep Guardiola, which is evident when you watch his Ajax side play.
Guardiola’s City produce some spectacular football at times. The type of football we all love to watch. Ten Hag’s philosophy is exciting and progressive, clearly influenced by his time with Pep. He likes his teams to press from the front. Similarly, to what we see in the likes of Man City and Liverpool. Both of which have managers who were also influenced by German Football.
We often see Pep’s fullbacks pushed high up the pitch, essentially playing as wide wingers. This enables his team to create an overload in attack and force the defenders to make a mistake. Ten Hag implements the same attacking tactic, many claim that he plays a 3-2-5 formation.
Why ten Hag?
The ten Hag train started picking up speed after Ajax’s memorable Champions League run in 2018/19 seeing the club best Real Madrid but heartbreakingly lose to Tottenham Hotspur in the Semi-Finals.
Not to mention this season, where he led Ajax to topping their Group with 6/6 wins and a +15 goal difference.
This season in the Eredivisie, ten Hag boasts an impressive 80% win rate. Yes, it’s the Dutch league, but nevertheless, impressive. He’s also restored Ajax’s dominance in the league which prior to him, had been won by PSV and Feyenoord.
Fluidity. We think that that is a key factor in why ten Hag has been selected for the United role. United are stagnant, lazy. They need to move and be more intense in their positional movement. All of which are features of ten Hag’s Ajax team.
What formation does he like?
Ten Hag prefers a 4-3-3, sometimes flat, sometimes with two defensive midfielders screening the back four. He likes his fullbacks to attack and overlap, and his wingers to cut inside.
As we know from the likes of Liverpool and City, the 4-3-3 is a great formation to press in.
However, Ten Hag has an odd system with his defensive tactics. One of the full backs moves to play defensive midfield, providing help and extra cover when they are trying to win the ball back. His formation essentially changes to a 3-2-2-3 which puts so much pressure on the opposition and enables his players to swarm the ball.
What does ten Hag need?
Ball. Playing. Centre Backs.
This is his biggest need. Ten Hag wants his teams to play out from the back with his fullbacks pushing high up the pitch. The centre backs need to be comfortable on the ball and be able to play forward passes, not just side to side. They also need to have the speed to cover the high press if the opposition manages to get in over the top.
An elite defensive midfielder. The ‘Anchor man’.
The anchor man position has been missing from United for a few years. Matic doesn’t quite cut it anymore. McTominay has the potential but it’s hard to say what his best role in midfield really is. And Fred is more of a box-to-box midfielder. United need that gritty defensive midfielder that can break up tackles and control the game with accurate passes.
An all rounder Right-back.
As we’ve said before, ten Hag often rotates his fullbacks into the midfield to supplement the press. So United will need a fullback that can defend, make tackles, pass efficiently, and can push on in attack and take on the opposite number. We think Luke Shaw has the ability to do this, so let’s focus on the right back.
Back in 2019, when United signed Wan-Bissaka, he was stat wise, the best tackler in Europe. Averaging a tackle every 24 minutes. As defensively solid as he is, his attacking ability has repeatedly come under scrutiny from pundits and fans alike. Dalot has also not shown enough quality so far to make this position his own.
Potential Winners and Losers of the ten Hag era.
Donny van de Beek. Winner.
Self-Explanatory. Van de Beek was one of the many stars that emerged under ten Hag’s Ajax. Many of which becoming big stars at bigger clubs. Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt to name a few.
This hasn’t been the case for Donny who struggled to make it into the United First team and is now struggling to make it into a relegation battling Everton side.
The appointment of ten Hag is a huge boost to van de Beek’s career and we hope that he can show why United signed him in the first place.
Harry Maguire. Loser.
We don’t want to pile on to the unnecessary hate that Maguire is already getting, but Ten Hag needs ball playing centre-backs. Maguire is a brute and physically dominant in the air. Unfortunately for him he’s not the type of player that will fit into this new era at United. The high press means that there will be a lot of space at the back too. Maguire hasn’t got the speed to cover it.
Jadon Sancho. Winner.
Sancho’s first season at United has been underwhelming. We know he has the talent and potential, he’s just yet to show it consistently in the Premier League. The likes of Antony and Tadic who are on the wing right now at Ajax are more technical players as opposed to athletic. Sancho fits into the same category. Hopefully he thrives under ten Hag.
David de Gea. Loser.
Similar to his defenders, Ten Hag likes ball-playing keepers. De Gea is an elite shot stopper, imagine the state Manchester United would be in without him this season. If we focus on de Gea’s passing, which is what ten Hag will want, the stats are not good at all.
Ederson (Man City)
Alisson (Liverpool)
de Gea (Man Utd)
The elite ball-playing goalkeepers in the premier league; Ederson and Alisson score 88.4 and 85.4 in Pass Success % this season. De Gea scores a 69.2%. There’s no denying that he’s a fantastic shot stopping keeper. But again, he’s unfortunately a loser in the ten Hag era.
This will be no walk in the park for the dutchman. Since Sir Alex Ferguson, we’re yet to see a good consistent manager at Manchester United. Long gone are the glory days of United. With arguably the biggest fan base in the world, there is a lot of pressure on the manager.
There’s been a few questions about ten Hag’s presence and his ability to address big characters in the dressing rooms. If he’s given the chance to overhaul the players at the club and bring in who he wants to bring in, this shouldn’t be a problem. There are too many players at Manchester United right now who don’t want to be there. If they’re still there, that’s when issues may arise.
Every manager needs time to bring in their ideas and implement their tactics. Will United give him that? Probably not. A lot of fans and board members have a win now mentality. Especially for a team like United. There’s too much history there for them to accept that they are in rebuild mode.
Given the chance and resources, we think Erik ten Hag has all the abilities to succeed in Manchester. But he needs effort from the players and backing from the board. He is a good manager. Don’t ruin him United.
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Potential targets for ten Hag and United coming soon!
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