We need to talk about Ten Hag. Part II – team selection and signings

‘Part I. Tactics’ is here: https://www.stretfordpaddocknews.com/ten-hag-tactics/

To a certain extent, Ten Hag’s hands have been tied due to injury and illness this season. The high number of intense, long sprints required in the direct system favoured this season, along with reported intense training sessions, large number of pre-season friendly games and an overall lack of rotation have no doubt hindered the managers plans.

Injury and absence aside, the manager isn’t blameless

Questionable in-game substitutions have done Ten Hag no favours.

The withdrawal of Mainoo for McTominay against Nottingham Forest recently was decidedly strange. Scott has played his fair share of matches as a pivot, but he is not a natural #6 and has spent most of his time in that position with another alongside him. The much-maligned McFred Double Pivot was very effective in the main. They were lacking in ball progression but were in the main very solid. Now, visiting teams see United away as a chance to fill their boots as we struggle for defensive stability.

There have been questions asked about team selection since the dawn of time.

Social Media has long since made this a hotbed of conversation, not all of it rational and many of the more vociferous have their favourite villains nailed to the mast early doors – Donny Van Der Beek was one that seemed to provoke a strong reaction.

He was underwhelming in the main and was too lightweight for the physicality of the premier league. He wasn’t Ten Hag’s signing, but the pattern of strange signings has mostly continued under the Dutchman.

questionable incomings and outgoings

Ten Hag has been backed to a greater degree than any other manager in a shorter period of time, but his acquisitions, and outgoings have been strange to say the least.

It is fair to say none of his signings have truly hit the ground running or proved resilient enough for the Premier League. The best example of this has been the Antony, for whom United paid an eye-watering £86 million (seriously!)

He has been abysmal by any offensive metric. His passing stats have been decent and he retains the ball, but his passing is often backwards of square, he rarely beats his man and often loses out in duels in the attacking third.

By contrast, a player deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, Anthony Elanga, has had a much greater attacking output than his expensive counterpart.

Andre Onana has conceded a high number of goals and has notable technical flaws in his game along with an aerial weakness. His passing game is a huge improvement on De Gea, but the tempo does not seem to be there. Martinez and Casemiro have been the stand-out incoming players under the Ten Hag, but even Casemiro has fallen off a cliff amid reports of behind the scenes fall outs.

Fred has been sold and Martinez has been injured since the damaged foot last season – Was Ten Hag’s instinct to play him in practically every game he was available a contributing factor to his sustained spell on the sidelines?

Casemiro and Martinez. Good but not perfect

Both Casemiro and Martinez have notable weaknesses in their game – The former is more of a destroyer than creator, and after a season in the limelight after scoring a few goals, it might be time for him to simplify his game after trying a few too many Hollywood passes, but it is most likely that a season in a more competitive league as an isolated #6 has taken its toll on him. The disciplinary issues may point to a lost yard of pace, or may also be an indicator of a deeper issue within the team.

Martinez has brilliant tackling statistics and his passing is excellent, but he has been susceptible in wide areas as well as aerially, and it feels as though he was restricted in last season’s system. His performance against Forest and Arsenal earlier this season were poor to say the least; perhaps a hangover from his injury.

Again, question marks against the manager. Martinez has played a number of matches as a defensive midfielder and perhaps his attributes would be better deployed in a double pivot with Casemiro?

The ones that haven’t worked….yet

Mason Mount seemed a strange signing – there doesn’t seem to be a clearly defined role for him. His attacking output last season was bettered by Jadon Sancho and he has not had a chance to get going following injuries.

The remaining signings have been a mixed bag. Amrabat suffers from the same issues anyone in a Ten Hag midfield struggles with, and he has also been hampered by injuries. He looks a shadow of the player we saw at the World Cup.

As we have seen before with the likes of Weghorst, team selection with Ten Hag has little to do with form, ability or tactical awareness. He was selected often and was truly dreadful in most of his appearances. He worked hard but that was it.

The list continues. United consistently overpay for players, but the fact that most of our best players are still Solskjaer signings is alarming, especially as they all played better for Ole. The youth system is bearing fruit and there have been signs that Amad Diallo might not be the flop many painted him as, despite the fact he had an excellent loan with Sunderland. Whether his injury travails are part of the hard-line approach will be open to conjecture, but he at least looked lively at Forest.

It’s no secret that United’s season has been largely tainted by injury and absence this season, but at the moment his signings and team selection aren’t at the level required to compete for the big trophies.