Manchester United is in dire straits, especially given its reputation and history as a club. After suffering 14 defeats in the Premier League last season, they have lost two of their first three matches and are languishing in the bottom half of the table.
United somehow managed to finish in the top half last season, but their eighth-place finish was their worst in the Premier League era. They also finished at the bottom of their group in the UEFA Champions League. Quite surprisingly, though, Erik ten Hag managed to keep his job with a victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final, which hugely helped his cause.
When talking about Manchester City, the contrast with them could not have been starker for Manchester United. While Pep Guardiola’s team ensures that the blue half of Manchester is almost always celebrating, the red one’s struggle is not sitting well with their fans.
Manchester United seem to be incapable of playing attacking football under ten Hag:
Much has been said about Manchester United’s lack of identity under ten Hag. Well, they seem to be having a preferred style of play for quite some time now: breaking through a counter by playing long balls forward to their wingers. That is the prevalent style that even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, ten Hag’s predecessor, followed.
Quite understandably, United has recently failed to dominate its opponents regularly. They have primarily played second fiddle almost every time they have faced another big club in the recent times. They have been dominated in terms of ball possession and other such key parameters nearly every time they have faced the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur.
It is a far cry from the Manchester United of Sir Alex Ferguson era, when the Red Devils used to be the dominant team more often than not. Trophies like FA Cup, UEFA Europa League and EFL Cup have come to United since Sir Alex left, but the dominance and swagger has been missing, as has been success in Premier League and Champions League.
Even a smaller club like Brighton and Hove Albion has recently dominated their match-up with the Red Devils. Many teams have overcome the fear factor when visiting Old Trafford.
If United is to stem the reverse tide, they should try to change their philosophy by being more aggressive against most other teams. They should be ready to attack their opponents irrespective of the latter’s stature. It might result in several defeats initially, but they have been losing anyway and could probably not fare any worse against quality opposition.
Ten Hag does not seem capable of making his team play aggressively. His coaching style is primarily defensive, which is evident from Manchester United’s inability to consistently string passes together inside the opposition half under his tutelage. Even attacking players like Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, and Alejandro Garnacho usually have to wait for that elusive long ball played inside their half to form the attack.
United will have to take some risks and consider dominating their opposition instead of always being reactive. This will involve some risk, but there is no reward without risk.
There are people like Thomas Tuchel and Zinedine Zidane, whose teams have recently played an exciting brand of football. It remains to be seen whether the INEOS group and Sir Jim Ratcliffe note that and act accordingly.