We're only two games into this new season and yet, I feel as though we are already season defining.
It is crunch time for Erik ten Hag.
There hasn't been much improvement over the pre-season which isn't anything new as most teams don't really play to their full potential on tour but by the time the new campaign starts, you would like to see some improvements.
While United have displayed a new and improved high press and aren't giving away loads of chances a game, ought else has actually changed.
The team is still sitting with a relatively deep defensively line, the midfield can appear open a little too much, we don't score many goals nor do we create multiple chances.
It is all much the same as before.
The difference between this season and his first two is that this is ten Hag's third year at the helm and he doesn't have that leeway of it being his first season nor does he have the excuses of injuries and not bringing in the players he wanted, much like his second.
He has everything he needs at his disposal yet nothing is different.
No one can truly understand why he isn't using his new signings like Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs De Ligt with the only new recruit in the lineup being Noussair Mazraoui which is mainly due to the fact that we don't have a left-back. I'm not sure we would've seen him start had Luke Shaw been available.
Our best player at the moment in Alejandro Garnacho is having to be content with a spot on the bench despite clearly being our most lethal weapon.
So,
WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!
I can't understand what ten Hag's playing at.
He now has all the tools yet is choosing to use those same blunt ones that let him down before.
It's no wonder the football isn't anything amazing.
That victory over Fulham gave us all this optimism that perhaps with the changes in the squad and staff, we could start to see some real improvement in the style of play.
We haven't.
Even on crosses we were still shite when looking at how we defended both Brighton's goals.
The two false 9s experiment has worked when it comes to the high press but in very little else. I will admit that Mason Mount has been particularly good at this high press as against Brighton and Fulham, it just didn't work as well when he went off.
But the number 7 didn't offer much more.
He and Bruno Fernandes also aren't target men should we want to go more direct nor do they have the wherewithal to play that striker role.
I think we are better off with a number 9 and the thing about Joshua Zirkzee is that he can do that false 9 role pretty well as he isn't an out-and-out centre-forward. So why not use him and Mount even if it means dropping Bruno Fernandes?
That would be a BIG call of course but when you're the manager of Man Utd, these big calls need to be made.
He needs to do what's best for the team.
Similarities to the past
There are some familiar patterns with the manager's third season compared to his first two.
Erik ten Hag's opening record in his three campaigns at Old Trafford doesn't make for good reading.
22/23:
- Utd 1-2 Brighton
- Brentford 4-0 Utd
- Utd 2-1 LFC
- Southampton 0-1 Utd
23/24:
- Utd 1-0 Wolves
- Spurs 2-0 Utd
- Utd 3-2 Forest
- Arsenal 3-1 Utd
24/25 so far:
- Utd 1-0 Fulham
- Brighton 2-1 Utd
- Utd ?-? LFC
None of his starts have been convincing but the difference is he now has a lot of signings that he wanted and there are no injuries.
His teams didn't play good football during these games, the victories were scraped, not many goals were scored, a few were conceded.
However, the only true shining light from these 10 opening fixtures before the international breaks was the win over Liverpool at Old Trafford in game 3 in his first season.
Our next match is Liverpool at home in game 3.
That triumph over them two years ago was really important in the tenure of ten Hag. After those two horrendous performances and results over Brighton and Brentford, it really looked like the writing was on the wall even just three games into his reign as United manager.
A similar story is unfolding this time around as it appears as if our greatest rivals could be our salvation for this season.
Beat them and put in a good performance doing so will not only improve the mood of everyone associated with the club but also improve the optimism for the future.
It will also mean that the international break won't feel so loooonnnnnggggg.
The flip side to that is should we lose and in quite the dramatic matter,
M E L T D O W N.
And all break we will never hear the end of it from Liverfool fans; the media and ten Hag outers will be on the manager's back even more than usual; and even I (a ten Hag inner) will seriously start to worry.
One has to ask though, why does Erik ten Hag's teams start the season very slowly?
Contradictions
We then have his hypocrisy.
He will say one thing and do the other. Or he will say something about one player and then go in the opposite direction for another.
When looking at the victory over Fulham, there were some good performances. Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui, Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho were all top performers in that win.
But there were some really flat displays too.
Amad, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes - who missed 2 great chances - were all very underwhelming.
I don't undertand why he couldn't drop those players and bring in those that did perform well like Zirkzee and Garnacho for the game at Brighton. He rewarded the likes of Maguire, Mazraoui and Mount with another start after a good performance so why not bring in the two players who actually made the difference by getting the assist (Garnacho) and goal (Zirkzee) in that opening day win.
The manager also has his favorites, mainly those who can perform poorly and still start.
This is one thing that I've been really frustrated about him during his time at Old Trafford. He does prefer certain players over others and will always give them a chance no matter how they perform.
Marcus Rashford has been terrible for the last year yet is always in the starting lineup, this time, ahead of Garnacho.
Rashford offers nothing to the team whereas Garnacho offers everything. He is deadlier in attack, makes things happen and works harder than the Doctor.
Garnacho is just better in every way at the moment and needs to start.
Now that someone like Maguire has performed badly, let's see whether the manager will drop him for the Liverpool game.
He also regularly mentions how players need to have discipline, the right attitude, need to work hard and fight for their place. Certain players don't display some or all of these traits but are regularly there.
On top of all this, the player needs to be good enough, which a lot of ours aren't. For some reason, ten Hag has thought that sticking with those same few that have been poor for many years is the right thing to do.
At this point, ten Hag deserves all the slack he's getting and he's only got himself to blame.
Final Thoughts
The whole reason I wanted him to become the manager of United was because of what we saw at Ajax.
The football they played was beautiful. Their destruction of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu will live long in the memory. And he happened to achieve all this with youngsters.
Late teens, early twenty-somethings were the ages of most of those players who propelled Ajax to superstardom and resulted in almost that entire squad being sold to other big clubs.
He previously had the excuse of it being his first season and then all the injuries in his second. There are no more excuses.
Erik ten Hag also has FIVE players (Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs De Ligt) from his time at Ajax whom already understand exactly what he wants in terms of his style of play.
Even with them, I don't expect us to see 'ten Hag ball' straight away but I do expect some improvements.
For everybody saying we weren't that bad against Brighton or that we were unlucky, there were some good patterns of play and the high press was great, let's be honest, if we're not really doing anything because of that, what's the point?
Have we seen much improvement since he's come in? A lot of the play style is very similar to previous seasons (and not just under ten Hag) and a lot of the problems of the past are still evident.
The good news (if you want to call it that) is that we're really early on in the season. While admittedly, we cannot be dropping points at any time in the campaign nor would we like to see too many mistakes, early on is perhaps the best time, if there even is one.
This allows us to analyse those errors early so that we know exactly where to improve for the future.
Something else that is a positive is that in his first two seasons, Erik ten Hag had to deal with several issues both on and off the pitch but managed to win two trophies.
Now with a better squad, hopefully no issues and injuries, and in his third season, if he can somehow improve, imagine how good we can be.
On the other hand, it is very concerning that we are having so many (of the same) issues as before. You'd think that some of these would've been resolved.
I do worry about Erik ten Hag. As a backer of his (although it may not appear so thanks to this post), this is the first time that I'm truly concerned about him.
It is his third season and he has been well backed by the new co-owners in INEOS, there is nowhere to hide and yet he makes mistakes that he's made before and does contradict himself quite a lot.
I truly cannot understand why the new signings aren't straight into the team nor why he isn't starting Garnacho. His persistence with certain players and tactics will probably lead to his downfall.
Then, he will only have himself to blame.
I don't even know whether he will play Manuel Ugarte now that we have him.
Are you also worried about the manager? Or do you think that it will all work out in time?
Background Image: Erik ten Hag | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal