Erik ten Hag &#8211; CaughtOffside

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Writing in his latest exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Jacobs said that the dressing room at Man United is tense but there are players trying to improve it.

“Not all the blame can be placed on Erik ten Hag, who retains the faith of the Manchester hierarchy, but there’s no doubt the dressing room is tense,” the journalist wrote.

“There are players in it, Jadon Sancho included – at least before he was banished from the first team – who feel the Manchester United boss is too much of a taskmaster.

“But there are also leaders, like Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Scott McTominay who are positive influences off the field and doing all they can to improve the mood and keep everyone united.”

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Ten Hag’s pre-match decision ahead of Newcastle tie shows how bad things are at Man United

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 13:53:00 +0000

The vultures are circling as far as Erik ten Hag is concerned, with his tenure at Man United looking more and more tenuous by the day.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where things have gone so wrong for the Dutchman, given he took the Red Devils to two finals last season and got them back into the Champions League.

All the while they were playing football that was pleasing on the eye, but this season it’s all fallen apart and the wheels are coming off.

Suggestions that it’s a mixture of things are perhaps not without foundation.

Awful performances on the pitch leading to unexpected losses can account for much of United’s malaise, whilst the Mason Greenwood, Antony and Jadon Sancho situations can’t have done anything for team morale.

It may even be how ten Hag has decided to deal with those problems which has helped to undermine him.

Not forgetting that the signings which were made across the summer window have been hugely underwhelming.

Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat have all performed well below expectations so far.

After the news that Marcus Rashford had been out partying in the wake of the Manchester derby defeat (per The Telegraph – subscription required), another potential example of insubordination, ten Hag has taken the decision, detailed by Mirror Sport, that he will not be speaking to the press before the game including not attending his pre-match press conference.

It’s undoubtedly the worst decision he could’ve made for it makes the entire situation worse.

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Erik ten Hag recruitment may save his job

Connor Holden — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 12:57:15 +0000

Speaking on The Athletic Podcast, Adam Crafton has said that Erik ten Hag leading recruitment might actually be what saves his job at United.

Crafton has suggested that the fact Ten Hag has led United’s recruitment, could ironically be his saving grace, as the team is now heavily built towards him as a manager.

Many have criticised Ten Hag’s recruitment, with many of his signings being deemed failures, however the fact they are signed for his style of football could actually be what saves him his job.

Some of these signings include Andre Onana, Antony, Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen.

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Erik ten Hag's fingerprints are all over #MUFC's recruitment and the club is being built more and more in his image.@AdamCrafton_ believes that makes a change in management highly unlikely…

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— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) October 31, 2023

Manchester United currently sit 8th in the Premier League on 15 points, with five wins and five losses in their opening 10 games.

However their recent 3-0 loss to rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford is the big talking point, and the reason many are wondering if Ten Hag’s job is safe.

United face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup Round of 16 next, before travelling to Fulham at the weekend for their next Premier League fixture.

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All that’s wrong with Man United encompassed by Marcus Rashford’s antics after the Manchester derby

Jason Pettigrove — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 09:16:29 +0000

Marcus Rashford did little to enhance his reputation in the Manchester derby at the weekend, Man United meekly surrendering to Pep Guardiola’s swashbucklers at Old Trafford.

It was a reminder of just how far the chasm is between United’s once noisy neighbours and themselves, and that’s unlikely to change for a few years yet.

There was no creativity or urgency from the Red Devils which is a damning indictment on Erik ten Hag’s squad.

Man City, a team that won it all last season, were by far the hungrier of the two teams and deserved to come away from the Theatre of Dreams with the three points.

The Dutch coach has certainly got a fight on his hands to keep his squad together and to turn them around from their current malaise.

How they’ve gone from the team they were just a few months after ten Hag took charge to the shell of an outfit they look at the moment is anyone’s guess, though Rashford’s antics in the wake of the derby hints at attitude issues.

Rather than keeping a low profile and digesting the magnitude of the defeat, the striker went out partying according to The Telegraph (subscription required).

Though the report does state that he turned up for training as normal and on time, going clubbing after a defeat to your biggest domestic rivals shows poor professionalism at best.

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Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano responds to surprise Erik ten Hag decision in Man Utd defeat vs City

Mark Brus — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 08:37:56 +0000

Fabrizio Romano insists there is no issue with Sofyan Amrabat at Manchester United after he was subbed off at half time by Erik ten Hag in the Manchester Derby defeat at the weekend.

The Red Devils lost 3-0 at home to rivals Manchester City and were very much second best throughout the game, with summer signing Amrabat struggling and hauled off by his manager at the break.

Still, writing in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing, Romano made it clear that Ten Hag remains happy with the signing of Amrabat, with the Morocco international coming in and doing well in the role the Dutch tactician had in mind for him when he brought him in on loan from Fiorentina.

“Even though Sofyan Amrabat being substituted at half time raised some eyebrows, everything is fine there,” Romano said.

“Ten Hag is happy with this signing and feels he’s bringing what he wanted to his squad – to fight and win the ball in midfield, but when you’re chasing the game against Manchester City you perhaps need something else, so there’s no problem there.”

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Amrabat has perhaps not reached his very best form in a Man Utd shirt just yet, but we all know what he’s capable of after his superb showing at the World Cup last year, when his strong midfield displays helped Morocco reach the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time ever.

It’s surely only a matter of time before United see the best of Amrabat, who looks a good fit for what Ten Hag is trying to build at the club.

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Supercomputer predicts where Man United will finish this season and it is grim reading for Ten Hag

Darren Looney — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 21:27:02 +0000

Man United’s season hit another low on Sunday as the Red Devils were demolished by rivals Man City in their own backyard and a supercomputer has now predicted where the Red Devils will finish this season following that result.

Pep Guardiola’s side rocked up to Old Trafford and won the derby 3-0, but that could have been more as the Premier League champions dominated the second half of the clash.

This leaves United eighth in the table after 10 matches, having won five and lost five. The Manchester club are already 11 points off the top spot and eight off a top-four finish.

Following the weekend’s results, Opta have run the season’s remaining fixtures through 10,000 simulations with their vaunted supercomputer.

Each team is assigned a ranking based on a mixture of betting odds and a hierarchical Elo-based rating system to predict what is most likely to happen over the coming months.

The supercomputer predicts that Man City will once again win the Premier League, edging out Liverpool to the title; but their Manchester rivals, Man United, will not be so successful as Erik ten Hag’s side are predicted to finish eighth this season – the same position they currently hold after ten games.

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Man United hierarchy make decision on Erik ten Hag after poor start to season

Darren Looney — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 17:50:52 +0000

Man United’s season hit another low on Sunday as the Red Devils were demolished by rivals Man City in their own backyard.

Pep Guardiola’s side rocked up to Old Trafford and won the derby 3-0, but that could have been more as the Premier League champions dominated the second half of the clash.

This leaves United eighth in the table after 10 matches, having won five and lost five. The Manchester club are already 11 points off the top spot and eight off a top-four finish.

This has put pressure on Ten Hag but according to ESPN’s Rob Dawson, Manchester United’s hierarchy still have faith that the Dutch coach can turn things around, although there is an acceptance that form will need to improve drastically if they are to finish in the top four this season.

? Manchester United's hierarchy still have faith that Erik ten Hag can turn things around, although there is an acceptance that form will need to improve drastically if they are to finish in the top four this season.

(Source: @RobDawsonESPN) pic.twitter.com/zm3oOqzx0v

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) October 30, 2023

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