Ten Hag becoming ‘vulnerable’ as Neville warns Man Utd have ‘no default style of play’ amid Solskjaer, Mourinho comparisons
Gary Neville has concerns for Erik ten Hag at Man Utd
Erik ten Hag is failing to impose a clear strategy at Manchester United, whose playing style under the Dutch coach is more ambiguous than Jose Mourinho’s or even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s, Gary Neville has suggested.
Ten Hag has had a tough time of things in the Man Utd dugout this season. Although he won a trophy with the club last term, results have been inconsistent this time around, which has led to questions about his future.
The imposing changes that will come at boardroom level when Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment into the club is ratified are only adding to the uncertainty about Ten Hag’s position.
Man Utd have not won two matches in a row since November, which is almost unthinkable for a club of their stature.
Most recently, they were pegged back twice in a draw with Tottenham Hotspur, which puts them seventh in the Premier League table.
Although they shared the spoils on Sunday, there has been a stark contrast between the philosophies at both clubs this season.
Indeed, former Man Utd captain Neville has accused Ten Hag’s side of lacking ‘electricity’ and being a ‘hard watch’.
He said on the Gary Neville Podcast: “We need to see a style of play develop in the next few months or else I think the coach will be vulnerable because ultimately the new owner will come in and want to see how we’re going to play, want electricity, want razzmatazz.
“Manchester United have historically been box office. Spurs are box office. I love watching Spurs play football. Manchester United are a hard watch.
“They’ve got some exciting, talented players, it just needs to somehow gel in the next few months, and I hope it can for Erik ten Hag.
“I’m talking about patterns and combinations that players can rely upon when they go through difficult moments in a match. You rely upon the memory of what you’ve been working on in practice to come out on the pitch at the weekend.”
For Neville, it is surprising that a coach with Ten Hag’s history is struggling to get Man Utd to mimic what he has produced in the past.
Neville continued: “Ten Hag’s coaching, being at Bayern Munich and then going to Ajax, he’s produced fantastic teams that have had really good combinations and patterns of play that I would see in a really well-functioning team. And I don’t see anything of it.
“They really struggle to be able to know where each other are and put combinations and patterns together. That’s the bit in the next few months that I think needs to come.
“Results, yes. Of course, it is nice to win. There’s no real electricity in this stadium at the moment watching the team so what we need to see is something develop, that the team are improving, progressing and on the right track.”
Neville struggles to see Man Utd playing style
As far down as 18th in the current Premier League table, you can find a team with the same number of goals scored this season as Man Utd.
Clearly, that is an issue, which Neville believes may stem from their lack of attacking strategy.
He questioned: “Where is the default style of play in this team? I don’t see it and that is a real concern.
“We know United under Ole and Jose Mourinho were more counter-attacking, but that’s not what we expected from Erik ten Hag.
“We expected that high pressing, front foot, high tempo possession-play. He said something a few weeks ago that he can’t deliver that at Manchester United which I thought was a really interesting thing for him to say because other managers have proven at Brighton and at Tottenham that you can deliver with players that maybe aren’t even as valuable in the transfer market as the ones that United have.
“That is what we need to see from United. How are they going to play? How are they going to win matches? What is the strategy? It hampers those attacking stats a lot because if you don’t have a style of play, it really is a struggle.”
Ten Hag’s next opportunity to restore some confidence at Man Utd will be in the FA Cup on January 28, but since that will be against a lower league opponent, he will realistically have to wait until February to prove some of his doubters right or wrong.
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