By Perfect Blue Go To PostHow are you going to replace McTom’s goals?
Impossible.
By replacing the manager lol
By Perfect Blue Go To PostHow are you going to replace McTom’s goals?
By Perfect Blue Go To PostHow are you going to replace McTom’s goals?crosses and inshallah.
By Laboured Go To PostImpossible.ETH doesn't play ST
By replacing the manager lol
By Laboured Go To PostImpossible.Brilliant!
By replacing the manager lol
Clown will play a wide open midfield that exposes the 18 year old inexperienced kid, and destroys his confidence 👍
Same with Onana last season, made quite a few mistakes but then you realise he was facing 2 times the shots as most keepers.
Same with Onana last season, made quite a few mistakes but then you realise he was facing 2 times the shots as most keepers.
By bone Go To PostGotta admit, I am not enjoying this competent transfer window by United.Let's wait till they replace the manager position too to make that judgment
Delighted that we've got Yoro over the line. I won't go into raptures over INEOS fixing everything just yet, but the signs are good. Had too many false starts over the years.
We're signing players in areas of need. Martial and Varane are gone and we've replaced them with players who have similarities in skill sets and are crucially much younger. They have room to improve and benefit the team even more.
We're signing players in areas of need. Martial and Varane are gone and we've replaced them with players who have similarities in skill sets and are crucially much younger. They have room to improve and benefit the team even more.
By Batong Go To PostLet's wait till they replace the manager position too to make that judgmentIt's not about the quality of the signings themselves per se, it's that they're acting like a real club now. Getting players in quickly and without too much noise instead of loudly focusing on one target at a time. It was their norm to let transfer sagas drag out for weeks or months only to either end up either overpaying or missing on their man and having to overpay in another window to get him.
United fans actually know the players they have bought or just going off youtube clips they have watched in the last two weeks?
Yoro to United:- we finally have some competent lads running the club.
On Wednesday, around 9am, a plane carrying Leny Yoro left Brussels, Belgium, bound for Manchester.
Attempts had been made to bring the 18-year-old defender to England the previous evening after he decided to join Manchester United rather than Spanish and European champions Real Madrid — but he ended up flying the next morning.
The moment, nevertheless, retained its significance.
United, after weeks of trying, had their man. Although Yoro had not finalised personal terms before boarding that jet, it was a young man with his mind finally made up who took the short journey across to the UK.
A fee of £52million ($65m; €62m), potentially rising to £59m, had already been agreed with Lille (the French club are only 70 or so miles from Brussels) last week and late on Tuesday, it was Yoro’s turn to give United his broad approval to the proposed five-year contract. The deal was confirmed on Thursday evening. Against the odds, when never considered frontrunners until this week, United had landed what many in Europe consider a “generational talent”.
Plenty, including other suitors, had expected Yoro to end up signing for Madrid either this summer or in a year when his contract with Lille was due to expire.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, kept anonymous like all those spoken to for this article to protect relationships, Madrid held talks with Yoro’s representative, Jorge Mendes, and the willingness to join them was made clear. All signs had pointed towards their Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Yet United’s accepted bid, worth more than double the one tabled by Madrid, presented Yoro with a decision to make. He was eventually convinced his development could continue at pace in the Premier League. Former United centre-back Rio Ferdinand was deployed, among others, to convince Yoro it would be the right move. The finances, too, appealed as much to the player as they did Lille.
The capture of Yoro is a huge financial investment for United and, perhaps just as importantly, a signing to mark intent under the control of minority owner INEOS, fronted by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. There is a feeling within United that getting in Yoro and the impending departure of Mason Greenwood are seismic for multiple reasons. They have captured a defender who could represent a brighter future around the same time as they have managed to shift a controversial player whose future lay away from Old Trafford.
A week after bringing in 23-year-old Netherlands international forward Joshua Zirkzee for £35.8million from Italy’s Bologna, another coveted youngster has been recruited to accelerate the summer rebuild and map out a long-term strategy.
Tuesday had been a celebratory day for Madrid.
The unveiling of Kylian Mbappe, the prolific forward signed as a free agent after his Paris Saint-Germain contract expired, had drawn 80,000 fans to their Santiago Bernabeu and gently sharpened expectations for the 2024-25 season.
The biggest transfer of this summer window has entrenched Madrid’s position as European football’s dominant force — but there was another target still to be landed before manager Carlo Ancelotti’s all-conquering squad could consider itself perfectly rounded.
Madrid were hugely interested in Yoro. Chief scout Juni Calafat and his staff believe the defender has enormous potential and extensively tracked his performances with Lille last season.
The initial plan had been for Madrid to sign a central defender in 2025 but serious injuries last season to Eder Militao and David Alaba — with Alaba expected to remain sidelined until October or November — forced a rethink. Yoro was supposed to be the answer, a rising talent who could become another long-term addition to a squad that may have its best years ahead.
Madrid, though, had a cap to their valuation. An offer of between €25million and €30m was as high as they went in negotiations with Lille, believing Yoro’s preference for a move to the Champions League holders would eventually force the French club to back down. Yoro, after all, could not be stopped from leaving in 2025 as a free agent once the final 12 months of his contract had run down.
Waiting a year for Madrid did present an obvious risk for Yoro. If the Spanish side changed their plans, or if he suffered an injury or lost form, there would no longer be a move on the table.
Madrid have used the free agent market astutely, signing Mbappe, Alaba and Germany international centre-back Antonio Rudiger without a transfer fee in recent years. Yoro, they felt, would be next if Lille did not budge. They could also point to the signing of Aurelien Tchouameni, a countryman of Yoro’s, in the summer of 2022 and Jude Bellingham 12 months later as evidence they were becoming the natural home for Europe’s best young players.
United’s interest, though, hardened Lille’s resolve. Senior figures there made it clear over the past two weeks that Yoro would not be moving to Madrid, based on their offer. Yoro’s preference for a move there counted for nothing to Lille, who were angered by suggestions their prized asset, who came through their academy, might choose to see out his contract and then leave free of charge.
Perceptions from sources in Spain were that pressure was applied to Yoro from within the French club, pushing him towards United and the greater windfall that move would mean for them. According to sources within Yoro’s camp, there were concerns he would not play if he stayed at Lille to wait for a free-agent move to Madrid. Going to the Bernabeu might have been Yoro’s initial preference but, given the obvious impasse in valuations, it would not bring the same financial returns. The only offer received from Madrid had been flatly rejected.
Madrid made their position clear to agent Mendes during a meeting in June. It was said any move for Yoro would have its financial limits, but their intention to sign a central defender was made all the more apparent when Rafa Marin, one of the club’s backups at the position, was sold to Napoli of Italy for just over £10million this month.
It was not just Madrid who had expected Yoro to join Mbappe in another ambitious summer in the Spanish capital. A source with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic that another top European club interested in Yoro had received guidance that the defender’s top three preferences were Madrid this summer, Madrid in the coming season’s January window or Madrid next year.
Liverpool registered their interest in Yoro but did not table an offer after being informed that he wanted guarantees about playing time, which they weren’t in a position to provide given they already have four first-team centre-backs — captain Virgil van Dijk, Jarell Quansah, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.
Liverpool rate Yoro highly but viewed him as a long-term project rather than someone who would be fast-tracked straight into Arne Slot’s side.
Even if Yoro had been open to fighting for a place at Liverpool, it is doubtful that they would have been willing to match the overall fee of around £59million for an 18-year-old who only had one year remaining on his contract.
Having initially expected him to be available for around £40m, the fee escalated after Liverpool’s involvement in the process had ended.
Paris Saint-Germain’s perspective is that they pulled out in the days leading up to United pressing ahead to get the deal wrapped up.
There was a willingness to bide time this summer at Madrid, testing Lille’s defiance as the weeks wore on, but United’s moves last week altered the dynamic. A deal worth €62million, plus a further €8m in potential add-ons, paid over several years, carried obvious appeal to Lille, despite falling well below their bullishThat financial package was agreed last week, giving United the chance to sell themselves to Yoro in person.
United feared a late competitive offer from Madrid would leave them vulnerable in negotiations but productive talks on Monday, with a club representative sent to see Yoro in Brussels, brought an agreement over the structure of a five-year contract with the potential to be extended by a further 12 months.
Yoro agreeing to the move was surprising to many.
Madrid, who are thought to have alternatives in mind, were informed on Wednesday morning of Yoro’s decision to go to Old Trafford. “He will earn a lot of money,” said one senior source at the club. “He will be fine there.”
The finances involved have raised eyebrows in the Spanish capital, and with other clubs who had shown an interest. Yoro, for all his potential, has played 46 games in Ligue 1 and is yet to play senior international football with France. There are no guarantees he will adapt to the demands of English football. Some clubs believe the fee eventually agreed for Yoro is too high. demands for more than €100m earlier in the summer."
[19/07, 00:21] Aqib: That financial package was agreed last week, giving United the chance to sell themselves to Yoro in person.
United feared a late competitive offer from Madrid would leave them vulnerable in negotiations but productive talks on Monday, with a club representative sent to see Yoro in Brussels, brought an agreement over the structure of a five-year contract with the potential to be extended by a further 12 months.
Yoro agreeing to the move was surprising to many.
Madrid, who are thought to have alternatives in mind, were informed on Wednesday morning of Yoro’s decision to go to Old Trafford. “He will earn a lot of money,” said one senior source at the club. “He will be fine there.”
The finances involved have raised eyebrows in the Spanish capital, and with other clubs who had shown an interest. Yoro, for all his potential, has played 46 games in Ligue 1 and is yet to play senior international football with France. There are no guarantees he will adapt to the demands of English football. Some clubs believe the fee eventually agreed for Yoro is too high.
How Joshua Zirkzee fits into
United, though, have been willing to look beyond the financial risks Madrid were unwilling to take, believing it is simply what was required to secure a player identified by the club’s scouting department as having the highest potential of any centre-back his age across Europe. Yoro was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year following 2023-24, his first full season in senior football, helping Lille secure Champions League football with a fourth-place finish under Paulo Fonseca, whose own successes led to him taking charge of Italy’s AC Milan last month.
There was also a timing element. If United did not sign Yoro this summer, the chance might not come again with Madrid prepared to wait until 2025 and the expiry of his Lille contract.
United’s interest in Yoro predates INEOS taking sporting control of the club in February but his profile — young, dynamic and promising — aligns with new, long-term planning.
An emphasis has been placed on the youngsters who helped United to shock Premier League champions Manchester City in the FA Cup final in May, with Rasmus Hojlund, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho all aged 21 or under. Zirkzee is 23 but Yoro does not turn 19 until November.
The capture of Yoro will also be considered a feather in the cap of new chief executive Omar Berrada, who led final negotiations. The chase had become an obsession, with the former Manchester City chief operating officer eager to beat Madrid and signal a new direction for United. Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, Berrada’s fellow newcomers as sporting director and technical director, were also heavily involved. Wilcox flew out to meet Yoro at an early stage in the process to impress on the defender how much United wanted him and how they would work to develop him.
Director of player negotiations Matt Hargreaves was also heavily involved, managing to sign Zirkzee and Yoro in quick succession. He has also dealt with the complexities around striker Greenwood’s move to French club Marseille.
The centre of United’s defence has long been an area that has cried out for investment.
Despite signing Yoro, the club maintain an interest in Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern Munich and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite. Further moves are likely to depend on sales and space in the squad. At a time of substantial cost-cutting across all departments at Old Trafford, United have committed to an outlay of €104.5million, albeit with payments spread over multiple years.
Yoro had been expected to provide long-term answers for Real Madrid in their defensive line.
That he will instead start the coming season with United embodies the changing landscape at Old Trafford.
By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostUnited fans actually know the players they have bought or just going off youtube clips they have watched in the last two weeks?Not even watched a YouTube clip of Leny
By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostUnited fans actually know the players they have bought or just going off youtube clips they have watched in the last two weeks?Not much, but I've seen more of these guys this past season than you've watched Mainoo as of today.
When the opps are trying to gaslight you, you know you're on the right track
if Yoro had gone to RM, he would be heralded as the next coming
if Yoro had gone to RM, he would be heralded as the next coming
The Athletic's United podcast mentioned that Ugarte was divisive among United's recruitment team, so who knows whether the club will unearth some kid they prefer
By Laboured Go To PostTurns out that unfollowing Enzo is the real racism.#Justice4Enzo the real victim
By Perfect Blue Go To PostHow are you going to replace McTom’s goals?Maybe by conceding less
Does McTominay actually score that many goals by the standards of a player who does literally nothing else?
By Perfect Blue Go To PostHow are you going to replace McTom’s goals?
They play Wooden's boys in the next qualifying round, first leg on Thursday, second leg the following Thursday.
By BrentMused Go To PostDoes McTominay actually score that many goals by the standards of a player who does literally nothing else?Nobody knows.
I think he's way underrated for his skillset, considering how many people say he's shit, but I definitely don't think he's a top club level player.
Think he will flourish if given an attacking midfielder role though for any mid table club.
ESPN released a top 100 athletes of the 21st century list: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/40446224/top-100-athletes-21st-century
3) Lionel Messi
13) Cristiano Ronaldo
48) Thierry Henry
50) Zinedine Zidane
55) Luka Modric
65) Kylian Mbappe
70) Andrés Iniesta
75) Xavi Hernandez
87) Ronaldo Nazário
94) Ronaldinho
95) Zlatan Ibrahimović
Putting Modric above Iniesta & Xavi (and even Biscuits who didn't make the list) is wrong.
3) Lionel Messi
13) Cristiano Ronaldo
48) Thierry Henry
50) Zinedine Zidane
55) Luka Modric
65) Kylian Mbappe
70) Andrés Iniesta
75) Xavi Hernandez
87) Ronaldo Nazário
94) Ronaldinho
95) Zlatan Ibrahimović
Putting Modric above Iniesta & Xavi (and even Biscuits who didn't make the list) is wrong.
By FortuneFaded Go To PostSounds like something Will would name himself in fantasy football
They play Wooden's boys in the next qualifying round, first leg on Thursday, second leg the following Thursday.
By Batong Go To PostSounds like something Will would name himself in fantasy footballIt's true
here u united mugs
(apple translated)
Erik ten Hag looks back exclusively on tumultuous year: 'This was by far the hardest season I've experienced as a trainer'
Despite a bad season, Erik ten Hag stayed on board at Manchester United, one of the largest clubs in the world, this summer. In a large and exclusive interview, the manager looks back and looks ahead. Today part 1: the bizarre spring and what preceded it. ,,My position left me completely cold.''
In the corner of his office is a houseplant, a sanseveria washed out of the muts. Furthermore, there is little cozy about this modest space, with a suspended ceiling, a few seats and a desk.
"It's a bit of improvising," says Erik ten Hag, apologizing. Earlier in the afternoon we were guided around Carrington, Manchester United's famous training complex south of the city. The large main building where the first team normally lives is cordoned off with construction fences. It will be completely demolished in the coming weeks.
,,That's why we moved to the academy for this year. The main building will be completely replaced and renewed this year.''
In a sense, it is also a symbolic renovation. Because it was not the case that 'The first team building' hung together on Carrington with adhesive tape and was totally outdated. In fact, six years ago it was modernized. But in the context of the Premier League, it was no longer one of the most modern, super-de-luxury complexes in England.
The new owner and Ineos billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe therefore immediately threw fifty million pounds at it to give Carrington not a four-star, but a maximum five-star look. ,,That fits exactly with the ambitions Ineos has at United,'' Sen Hag also sees. ,,They strive for the best of the best in everything.''
The fact that the Dutchman himself is still part of that future was certainly not a matter of course this summer. After a dramatic season in the Premier League, ending with an eighth place and an infamous trip through the Champions League, his job in May was emphatically the subject of debate. The Ineos- top sweired and weighed. In the weeks shortly before and after the FA Cup final won against Manchester City on May 25 (2-1), rumors, doubts and uncertainty ruled.
What did all that do to you, in that spacious week before Wembley?
Ten Hag: ,, You have influence on many things, but not on some things. There was so much against it in that phase. But still, I firmly believed that we could win that final. Most importantly, I would convey that faith to my squad. I had to make sure that the whole umfeld would not become negative in advance. And that that also went into the heads of the players.''
But it was also about your own position, right? Before and after the final you bite off firmly, more than you had ever done at United before.
,,But I wasn't that busy. My position left me completely cold.''
That is almost not possible, is it?
,,I wanted to win. If United's club leadership finds someone they think is better tomorrow, I'll go. It's that simple. Those are the mechanisms in football that you have to respect. At a club like this, but also at Bayern Munich and Ajax, it is crystal clear: if you don't win, you have a problem.''
Why did you win so little last season?
,,That has been a sum of factors. The first thing I've always done is analyze myself: what have I left behind? But there were some crucial things I had no influence on, such as that huge number of injuries. I know the arrows were also aimed at me in that regard, but it's not like that.''
How was it put together?
Ten Hag thinks for a moment. Within the medical staff and performance- department, United has now appointed a new doctor (Gary O'Driscoll) and a new head of physiotherapy (Jordan Reece), both from Arsenal. Ten Hag: ,,It had nothing to do with the intensity of my workouts, because you train and play here every three days. That started in my first season.
,,If you see the program we had then, with 61 games, and apart from all the games my players played for their national teams: that's just bizarre. That's really too much. We are therefore not the only team that struggled with injuries, are we, other clubs had the same. Last season we only had it constantly in the same positions, all in the back. At one point we had almost no defenders available.''
But that's unimaginable, note at a club that has invested hundreds of millions in players in the last ten years?
,,When we started here, United hadn't won a prize for six years, and that really wasn't because they didn't have good managers here. It does say something about the composition and quality of the player group. I knew that when I started, of course. Only: they were long-term commitments.
,,We were and still are in that process. If you compare our selection to other top clubs in the Premier League, then we are certainly a lot less in width. That's exactly why it was so difficult for us to cope with those injuries.''
Immediately after the FA Cup final won, you went on vacation. Was it already clear to you then what the sequel would be?
,,No. Except that I had another year of contract. But if the communication decreases at some point, then of course you feel that. That was clear: there was less communication during that period. While it was always there before, and good too. The communication had to come from me more and more. Even after the final.''
So what do you conclude from that?
,,Well, I just went on vacation, did my thing. We have prepared the last things towards the new season, in a professional way. The preparation program, the organization of the selection, that kind of thing. And then you go on vacation, away from the situation, because it was a very tough season. By far the hardest season I've experienced as a trainer.''
What did that do to you personally?
,,You get tired, especially at the end. Then you have to make sure you keep the sharpness. Let's be: you lose too many games, it just takes strength to keep the team on the lesson, to motivate. The players are disappointed, the people around you are disappointed.
,,This is a very large club, a lot of people work here. Those people are also disappointed, a negative mood is created. As a manager, you have to keep giving the energy. That takes power of course.''
As a manager, do you also have a coach yourself?
,,Not in the sense of a personal coach. But I do have people who support me, people I have a lot of. My wife, my family my agent, my friends. I'm a regular sounding board, you know.''
Do you also come home dead every day? Because it was of course a k*t season, to put it flat.
Laughing: ,,That was it. I can't say that, but you can. And that was exactly what it was. If you don't win, everything costs more energy. After the Cup Final I did get energy again, but the first week after a season you just have little resistance. Then you're up.
,,This is a job in which you make maybe a thousand decisions a day. Every day. And it goes on, at a murderous pace. I understand Jürgen Klopp very well, that after nine years at Liverpool he says: now it's done, I don't have the energy anymore. This is a really tough job.''
But then you've had such a hard season. Then you first go to Twente and then to Ibiza, but you hardly hear anything from the club management. That's weird, isn't it?
,,The communication did fall away yes. But I just celebrated holidays with my loved ones, and I let things come to me. I have no influence on that anyway.''
But that's very strange, isn't it? These were the Ineos- people with whom you had been very intensively for months, who saw in you an ideal candidate to shape their project, even when the results were not good. And then suddenly the line is dead.
,,Of course that's a strange course of affairs. But it's not like I panicked. Why? It's a decision that wasn't in my hands. I just waited for it. At that moment you just think in two scenarios: whether we continue, or not. It's that simple and I'm sober enough to look at it that way.''
But did you never think in that period 'just find it all out, I'll stop myself'?
,,This may sound a bit clinical, but I think about things like this in the process. And if you know how processes run, then you know that the line often goes up, but sometimes down due to circumstances. If you know what you are doing, if you know which direction you want to go and also base your decisions on it, in the purest possible way.
,,If you put down the right structures and work together in a good way from clear lines. If you also have a good relationship with the players, with the people in the workplace. Then you know the weather is getting better.
,,Added to my football vision too. If you see my career, I've almost always been getting the most out of my teams for ten years. From Go Ahead Eagles until now here at United. And almost always won a prize. That gives me a certain peace. In the end, the success also came to United, although it was late in the season. As difficult as it was, we did win a prize. In all those years before we came, that had always failed.''
So a season like the last season doesn't make you insecure?
,,No. Understand me well: I'm not perfect. But as long as I keep reflecting on myself every day, keep developing and keep challenging myself to tap a higher level, I am convinced that ultimately leads to successes. In the Premier League - and that's the beauty of this league - everyone is good.
,,Here are the best managers, with the best structures and organizations behind them, who work with the best players. So you have to be really good.''
And then Ineos-topman Dave Brailsford & co came to visit you in Ibiza and then they said: we want to go anyway.
,,They didn't say 'we still want to go on', but: we want to go on. The argument they gave was in a short summary: we looked at everything and put it next to each other, but we think we already have the best manager in house.
,,Then I said: then we have to discuss a number of things, about how we interact with each other and work together. We had a good, honest, but also confrontational conversation about that. As it should be at the top.''
You were also in a position to make demands at the time.
,,I gave my vision of the season, of the situation as it was at United. And I indicated which way we should take in my eyes. You have to be very honest about that. And then it's about: do you get together or not? I also said to them then: if you think this is not the way, then we just have to break up.''
One of the conditions you set was in your staff, because you have changed it substantially. René Hake, Ruud van Nistelrooij and Jelle ten Rouwelaar have been added for a reason.
,,If you want to get better, you have to innovate. We looked closely at that yes. But when it comes to Mitchell van der Gaag, for example, with whom I worked fantastically, it was something else. He wanted to become head coach again. Then that's the time to break up.''
Do you see the risk that you will gather many Dutch people around you?
,,I look at quality. This is the Premier League. Not only in the composition of your player group do you look at the absolute top, that also applies to the coaches, specialists and staff members. In it you can see in almost the entire English top that managers surround themselves with international toppers, often people with whom they have a trust relationship, or who they already know.
,,At Liverpool that was no different under Jürgen Klopp and now under Arne Slot. But you see it everywhere. At Manchester City, at Arsenal, at Spurs, at Aston Villa. Spaniards, Germans, Dutch, Australians, you name it.
,,I went looking for people I know are good. Loyalty is also a thing. Ruud van Nistelrooij: a fantastic, experienced coach with United-dna. With Darren Fletcher we have a talented British coach. René was someone in the profile like Mitchell had: a very good and experienced, analytically strong field coach. And Jelle ten Rouwelaar has trained three Orange- internationals, including Bart Verbruggen. With his innovative exercise material, he is one of the great talents when it comes to modern goalkeeper training.''
Was your old club Ajax still angry about that, that you took Ten Rouwelaar away from there?
,,They were not happy with that, no. I understand that too, I found that annoying too. But I had already spoken extensively with Jelle in February and March. Because many things were still uncertain at the time, including about my own position, I could not yet make hard agreements about that. I'm glad Ajax eventually cooperated to make this possible.''
Tomorrow in part 2: Erik ten Hag about Dutch players, United's purchasing policy and the arrival of Arne Slot to England
paywalled interview: https://www.ad.nl/buitenlands-voetbal/erik-ten-hag-blikt-exclusief-terug-op-tumultueus-jaar-dit-was-met-afstand-het-zwaarste-seizoen-dat-ik-heb-meegemaakt-als-trainer~aab25bc7/
(apple translated)
Erik ten Hag looks back exclusively on tumultuous year: 'This was by far the hardest season I've experienced as a trainer'
Despite a bad season, Erik ten Hag stayed on board at Manchester United, one of the largest clubs in the world, this summer. In a large and exclusive interview, the manager looks back and looks ahead. Today part 1: the bizarre spring and what preceded it. ,,My position left me completely cold.''
In the corner of his office is a houseplant, a sanseveria washed out of the muts. Furthermore, there is little cozy about this modest space, with a suspended ceiling, a few seats and a desk.
"It's a bit of improvising," says Erik ten Hag, apologizing. Earlier in the afternoon we were guided around Carrington, Manchester United's famous training complex south of the city. The large main building where the first team normally lives is cordoned off with construction fences. It will be completely demolished in the coming weeks.
,,That's why we moved to the academy for this year. The main building will be completely replaced and renewed this year.''
In a sense, it is also a symbolic renovation. Because it was not the case that 'The first team building' hung together on Carrington with adhesive tape and was totally outdated. In fact, six years ago it was modernized. But in the context of the Premier League, it was no longer one of the most modern, super-de-luxury complexes in England.
The new owner and Ineos billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe therefore immediately threw fifty million pounds at it to give Carrington not a four-star, but a maximum five-star look. ,,That fits exactly with the ambitions Ineos has at United,'' Sen Hag also sees. ,,They strive for the best of the best in everything.''
The fact that the Dutchman himself is still part of that future was certainly not a matter of course this summer. After a dramatic season in the Premier League, ending with an eighth place and an infamous trip through the Champions League, his job in May was emphatically the subject of debate. The Ineos- top sweired and weighed. In the weeks shortly before and after the FA Cup final won against Manchester City on May 25 (2-1), rumors, doubts and uncertainty ruled.
What did all that do to you, in that spacious week before Wembley?
Ten Hag: ,, You have influence on many things, but not on some things. There was so much against it in that phase. But still, I firmly believed that we could win that final. Most importantly, I would convey that faith to my squad. I had to make sure that the whole umfeld would not become negative in advance. And that that also went into the heads of the players.''
But it was also about your own position, right? Before and after the final you bite off firmly, more than you had ever done at United before.
,,But I wasn't that busy. My position left me completely cold.''
That is almost not possible, is it?
,,I wanted to win. If United's club leadership finds someone they think is better tomorrow, I'll go. It's that simple. Those are the mechanisms in football that you have to respect. At a club like this, but also at Bayern Munich and Ajax, it is crystal clear: if you don't win, you have a problem.''
Why did you win so little last season?
,,That has been a sum of factors. The first thing I've always done is analyze myself: what have I left behind? But there were some crucial things I had no influence on, such as that huge number of injuries. I know the arrows were also aimed at me in that regard, but it's not like that.''
How was it put together?
Ten Hag thinks for a moment. Within the medical staff and performance- department, United has now appointed a new doctor (Gary O'Driscoll) and a new head of physiotherapy (Jordan Reece), both from Arsenal. Ten Hag: ,,It had nothing to do with the intensity of my workouts, because you train and play here every three days. That started in my first season.
,,If you see the program we had then, with 61 games, and apart from all the games my players played for their national teams: that's just bizarre. That's really too much. We are therefore not the only team that struggled with injuries, are we, other clubs had the same. Last season we only had it constantly in the same positions, all in the back. At one point we had almost no defenders available.''
But that's unimaginable, note at a club that has invested hundreds of millions in players in the last ten years?
,,When we started here, United hadn't won a prize for six years, and that really wasn't because they didn't have good managers here. It does say something about the composition and quality of the player group. I knew that when I started, of course. Only: they were long-term commitments.
,,We were and still are in that process. If you compare our selection to other top clubs in the Premier League, then we are certainly a lot less in width. That's exactly why it was so difficult for us to cope with those injuries.''
Immediately after the FA Cup final won, you went on vacation. Was it already clear to you then what the sequel would be?
,,No. Except that I had another year of contract. But if the communication decreases at some point, then of course you feel that. That was clear: there was less communication during that period. While it was always there before, and good too. The communication had to come from me more and more. Even after the final.''
So what do you conclude from that?
,,Well, I just went on vacation, did my thing. We have prepared the last things towards the new season, in a professional way. The preparation program, the organization of the selection, that kind of thing. And then you go on vacation, away from the situation, because it was a very tough season. By far the hardest season I've experienced as a trainer.''
What did that do to you personally?
,,You get tired, especially at the end. Then you have to make sure you keep the sharpness. Let's be: you lose too many games, it just takes strength to keep the team on the lesson, to motivate. The players are disappointed, the people around you are disappointed.
,,This is a very large club, a lot of people work here. Those people are also disappointed, a negative mood is created. As a manager, you have to keep giving the energy. That takes power of course.''
As a manager, do you also have a coach yourself?
,,Not in the sense of a personal coach. But I do have people who support me, people I have a lot of. My wife, my family my agent, my friends. I'm a regular sounding board, you know.''
Do you also come home dead every day? Because it was of course a k*t season, to put it flat.
Laughing: ,,That was it. I can't say that, but you can. And that was exactly what it was. If you don't win, everything costs more energy. After the Cup Final I did get energy again, but the first week after a season you just have little resistance. Then you're up.
,,This is a job in which you make maybe a thousand decisions a day. Every day. And it goes on, at a murderous pace. I understand Jürgen Klopp very well, that after nine years at Liverpool he says: now it's done, I don't have the energy anymore. This is a really tough job.''
But then you've had such a hard season. Then you first go to Twente and then to Ibiza, but you hardly hear anything from the club management. That's weird, isn't it?
,,The communication did fall away yes. But I just celebrated holidays with my loved ones, and I let things come to me. I have no influence on that anyway.''
But that's very strange, isn't it? These were the Ineos- people with whom you had been very intensively for months, who saw in you an ideal candidate to shape their project, even when the results were not good. And then suddenly the line is dead.
,,Of course that's a strange course of affairs. But it's not like I panicked. Why? It's a decision that wasn't in my hands. I just waited for it. At that moment you just think in two scenarios: whether we continue, or not. It's that simple and I'm sober enough to look at it that way.''
But did you never think in that period 'just find it all out, I'll stop myself'?
,,This may sound a bit clinical, but I think about things like this in the process. And if you know how processes run, then you know that the line often goes up, but sometimes down due to circumstances. If you know what you are doing, if you know which direction you want to go and also base your decisions on it, in the purest possible way.
,,If you put down the right structures and work together in a good way from clear lines. If you also have a good relationship with the players, with the people in the workplace. Then you know the weather is getting better.
,,Added to my football vision too. If you see my career, I've almost always been getting the most out of my teams for ten years. From Go Ahead Eagles until now here at United. And almost always won a prize. That gives me a certain peace. In the end, the success also came to United, although it was late in the season. As difficult as it was, we did win a prize. In all those years before we came, that had always failed.''
So a season like the last season doesn't make you insecure?
,,No. Understand me well: I'm not perfect. But as long as I keep reflecting on myself every day, keep developing and keep challenging myself to tap a higher level, I am convinced that ultimately leads to successes. In the Premier League - and that's the beauty of this league - everyone is good.
,,Here are the best managers, with the best structures and organizations behind them, who work with the best players. So you have to be really good.''
And then Ineos-topman Dave Brailsford & co came to visit you in Ibiza and then they said: we want to go anyway.
,,They didn't say 'we still want to go on', but: we want to go on. The argument they gave was in a short summary: we looked at everything and put it next to each other, but we think we already have the best manager in house.
,,Then I said: then we have to discuss a number of things, about how we interact with each other and work together. We had a good, honest, but also confrontational conversation about that. As it should be at the top.''
You were also in a position to make demands at the time.
,,I gave my vision of the season, of the situation as it was at United. And I indicated which way we should take in my eyes. You have to be very honest about that. And then it's about: do you get together or not? I also said to them then: if you think this is not the way, then we just have to break up.''
One of the conditions you set was in your staff, because you have changed it substantially. René Hake, Ruud van Nistelrooij and Jelle ten Rouwelaar have been added for a reason.
,,If you want to get better, you have to innovate. We looked closely at that yes. But when it comes to Mitchell van der Gaag, for example, with whom I worked fantastically, it was something else. He wanted to become head coach again. Then that's the time to break up.''
Do you see the risk that you will gather many Dutch people around you?
,,I look at quality. This is the Premier League. Not only in the composition of your player group do you look at the absolute top, that also applies to the coaches, specialists and staff members. In it you can see in almost the entire English top that managers surround themselves with international toppers, often people with whom they have a trust relationship, or who they already know.
,,At Liverpool that was no different under Jürgen Klopp and now under Arne Slot. But you see it everywhere. At Manchester City, at Arsenal, at Spurs, at Aston Villa. Spaniards, Germans, Dutch, Australians, you name it.
,,I went looking for people I know are good. Loyalty is also a thing. Ruud van Nistelrooij: a fantastic, experienced coach with United-dna. With Darren Fletcher we have a talented British coach. René was someone in the profile like Mitchell had: a very good and experienced, analytically strong field coach. And Jelle ten Rouwelaar has trained three Orange- internationals, including Bart Verbruggen. With his innovative exercise material, he is one of the great talents when it comes to modern goalkeeper training.''
Was your old club Ajax still angry about that, that you took Ten Rouwelaar away from there?
,,They were not happy with that, no. I understand that too, I found that annoying too. But I had already spoken extensively with Jelle in February and March. Because many things were still uncertain at the time, including about my own position, I could not yet make hard agreements about that. I'm glad Ajax eventually cooperated to make this possible.''
Tomorrow in part 2: Erik ten Hag about Dutch players, United's purchasing policy and the arrival of Arne Slot to England
paywalled interview: https://www.ad.nl/buitenlands-voetbal/erik-ten-hag-blikt-exclusief-terug-op-tumultueus-jaar-dit-was-met-afstand-het-zwaarste-seizoen-dat-ik-heb-meegemaakt-als-trainer~aab25bc7/
Would be happy enough with Ugarte. It's clear that Mainoo is the player we're going to build our midfield around and the former can help cover some of Kobbie's weaknesses. He looks to be a great possession winner and can really help with our counter attacking strategy.
Still doesn't solve our problems with building attacks through midfield though. Ugarte is a very conservative passer and Mainoo can't yet consistently make those line breaking passes.
Still doesn't solve our problems with building attacks through midfield though. Ugarte is a very conservative passer and Mainoo can't yet consistently make those line breaking passes.
Can't believe I'm saying this but I would like to see Mainoo used a bit more sparingly this season. While he's great I think he's playing almost too much football at present. And I don't think we should be building a midfield around him until we actually become a possession based team (which won't be happening under the current manager).
By Laboured Go To PostCan't believe I'm saying this but I would like to see Mainoo used a bit more sparingly this season. While he's great I think he's playing almost too much football at present. And I don't think we should be building a midfield around him until we actually become a possession based team (which won't be happening under the current manager).I agree that we shouldn't be as reliant on Mainoo as we are, but our midfield is in such a state that I don't think we have the money to solve all our problems in one go. Rodri is the type of player we need, but there aren't many out there like him that can progress the ball through midfield as well as shield the defence. Think we'd be looking at signing two players to do the work we'd need. So one ball winner in Ugarte and a dribbler in Mainoo plays mostly. Still not ideal, but better than before at least.
Mainoo is a special player in his own right. Being able to break through a defensive press through dribbling is what almost every team desires. Just aren't many of these players about.
By Oddinho Go To PostIsn’t Ugarte pretty mediocre on the ball? That’s what I tended to read in assessments about him.
A tidy passer (in a ball retention sense) and surprisingly good dribbler. Just not a particularly progressive passer is the main thing (although his long ball passing isn't bad).
By Cleff Go To PostI agree that we shouldn't be as reliant on Mainoo as we are, but our midfield is in such a state that I don't think we have the money to solve all our problems in one go. Rodri is the type of player we need, but there aren't many out there like him that can progress the ball through midfield as well as shield the defence. Think we'd be looking at signing two players to do the work we'd need. So one ball winner in Ugarte and a dribbler in Mainoo plays mostly. Still not ideal, but better than before at least.
Mainoo is a special player in his own right. Being able to break through a defensive press through dribbling is what almost every team desires. Just aren't many of these players about.
I'm trying to will a Zubimendi bid into existence but there wouldn't be the money for that unless we sell both Casemiro and McTom.