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Casemiro’s legs are gone. Marcus Rashford doesn’t monitor again. Bruno Fernandes whines lots. Christian Eriksen has misplaced his physicality. Scott McTominay is just not disciplined positionally. Harry Maguire is clumsy.
These are simply a few of the criticisms Manchester United gamers have confronted this season. They’re all appropriate, to various levels, however to say that the squad which got here third final season and received a trophy is immediately ineffective can be too black and white.
The actual fact is, Erik ten Hag’s system, as a substitute of masking the deficiencies of his gamers and maximising their effectiveness, is exacerbating it.
Gamers shedding belief of their supervisor and giving up has been a standard theme in post-Sir Alex world at United which is why Ten Hag has been afforded an extended leash.
It’s ironic, due to this fact, that the one-time gamers are literally following his directions to a tee, it’s inflicting extra fear than it will if that they had given up.
That’s as a result of Ten Hag’s ways are the largest downside at United proper now, clearer than ever after the defeat to Fulham at Previous Trafford.
Urgent construction and “Chaos ball”
Urgent is an important a part of fashionable soccer and all good groups do it. Ten Hag waxing lyrical about his crew gaining possession excessive up the pitch ought to be a marker for greatness.
Nonetheless, Ten Hag’s thought is nice, however its implementation is flawed. The result’s, that United are simply bypassed in midfield as soon as the opponent performs by their preliminary ahead press.
That isn’t exhausting to do, since for a supervisor who talks a lot about urgent, his thought of urgent simply appears to be the participant working in the direction of the ball.
It’s exhausting to see a urgent set off, no one is marking the house, and the one lure United set in urgent is for themselves the place they’re open for a counterattack.
A easy one-two bypasses the press and immediately, a wave of opponent gamers are working proper on the defensive midfielder, on their own on an island.
Casemiro’s legs won’t be the identical as final yr, however no defensive midfielder can mark an acre of house and a number of gamers by himself.
Harry Maguire is perhaps clumsy, however there’s no line of defense that may deal with the quantity of high-quality transition alternatives United leak on a per-game foundation
Christian Eriksen lacks physicality, however no participant can match the tempo of the sport when it’s simply ping-pong from one finish to the opposite.
Actually, it may be argued that the explanation why United have had so many accidents this season is as a result of gamers are pressured into conditions the place they should make extra high-intensity runs than ever earlier than.
United gamers aren’t overlaying themselves in glory, however for as soon as, within the post-Sir Alex period, it’s the particular person high quality which is carrying the membership to wins, regardless of the system set as much as hinder them.
It should finally result in a scenario the place both the system wants to vary, or the one implementing it must be modified.
Proper now, the latter seems extra seemingly than the previous as a result of Ten Hag is nothing if not cussed in his methods.
