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The problematic aspect of Manchester United’s struggling season revolves around the number of players who would potentially be included in an Erik ten Hag adaptation of the famous line from The Godfather Part III. The quote, “Just when I thought I was out, he pulls me back in,” may resonate with players such as Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Raphaël Varane, Casemiro, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, and Sofyan Amrabat as they navigate their status of being sidelined – or not – by the manager.
Various players have been rejected and then brought back into the team as Ten Hag makes confusing changes, indicating uncertainty about which players should be in the starting lineup or about his overall strategy. As they prepare to face Liverpool on Sunday, Ten Hag’s struggling team (with 24 games played in all competitions, 12 losses, 11 wins, and one draw) is far from ideal.
Varane is the latest to experience Ten Hag’s selection hokey-cokey. The winner of three La Ligas, four Champions Leagues and the 2018 World Cup began the season as the A-list defender whose header beat Wolves on the opening day. Yet, after an injury-interrupted period, in late October he was dropped for the 3-0 defeat by Manchester City and had to wait six weeks for a next start – Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League defeat by Bayern Munich that dumped United out of Europe.
In November, Ten Hag provided an explanation for Varane’s lack of playing time and Maguire’s improved performance, as he rose from being the fifth-choice center-back (behind Varane, Lisandro Martínez, Victor Lindelöf, and Luke Shaw) last season. Ten Hag mentioned that even Evans, a 35-year-old who was signed as a free agent, was ahead of Varane at the time. He stated, “Harry didn’t have much playing time, so I was pleased with Rapha’s performance. However, Harry is currently playing very well. There is competition within the team.”
Maguire’s comeback is more like a resurrection rather than a result of his manager’s frequently referenced internal competition. During the summer tour in New Jersey, Ten Hag removed him from his captaincy position on the first day. This setback was further compounded by McTominay being chosen to wear the armband for the final warm-up game against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas, even though Maguire was in the starting lineup and his successor, Bruno Fernandes, was not. If United had agreed to pay £7m to cover the difference in wages caused by the transfer, Maguire would have been playing for West Ham now.
McTominay is enjoying a similar Lazarus act. The Scot has become Ten Hag’s designated No 8 and is United’s top scorer despite, like Maguire, having been for sale in the close season. Now Ten Hag would instead countenance the exit of his former go-to midfielder, Casemiro, and Varane in January. And when the former returns from injury he will vie not (for the moment, anyway) with McTominay to be selected but with Amrabat and Kobbie Mainoo.
The state of flux in the attacking position remains unchanged. Rashford, who scored 30 goals in the 2022-23 season, has been replaced in the past two matches by Antony and Garnacho, who were both dropped by Ten Hag earlier in the season but are now back in favor. In the center-forward position, Rasmus Højlund, who has not scored in 12 Premier League games, was benched for the recent matches against Newcastle (which ended in a 1-0 loss) and Bournemouth (a 3-0 loss). Instead, Ten Hag chose to start Martial, who has only scored one goal in 13 appearances. However, Højlund was reinstated for the match against Chelsea (which resulted in a 2-1 win) and the 1-0 defeat against Bayern.
Martial was chosen to be the starting striker for both the Newcastle and Bournemouth matches, but he was taken off in the second half by Ten Hag. This happened twice, resulting in him being removed from the game midway. Later, it was revealed that Ten Hag wants to make this a permanent arrangement by allowing Martial to be sold next month.
The previous four outcomes – defeat, victory, defeat, defeat – provide insight into why Ten Hag is stuck in a constant cycle of advancement and demotion: “internal competition” becomes unnecessary when the 11 players selected for a match perform well and secure three points or advance to the next round of a cup.
In Ten Hag’s first campaign Varane, Casemiro and Rashford were as nailed-on first-choices as Maguire, McTominay, and Garnacho were for the bench, as third place and the Carabao Cup were secured along with a second trip to Wembley for June’s FA Cup final defeat by City. Now, though, it is all change. And with Casemiro proving more infirm this term his recruitment two summers ago at 30 on a contract of about £350,000 a week calls into question Ten Hag’s eye for a player. As does the fact that three of his other signings, Antony, Eriksen and Amrabat, are maybe – or maybe not – in favour depending on their manager’s fickle assessment of them.
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There are essentially two forms of “internal competition”. At City, Pep Guardiola’s highly efficient winning team is so well-built that even when key players like John Stones are absent, substitutes like Rico Lewis can seamlessly step in without a drop in performance. On the other hand, at United, Ten Hag’s constant rotation is driven by the urgent need to prevent the instability that permeates all levels of the club.
The Glazers have caused a lot of frustration for fans of Manchester United with their back-and-forth sale negotiations, which currently include a 25% stake going to Sir Jim Ratcliffe. This uncertainty is especially difficult for supporters who want the American owners to leave. Meanwhile, high-ranking executives like John Murtough, who serves as the football director, are in limbo as they wait to see if Ratcliffe, who will have control over football decisions, will keep them in their positions.
The struggling Ten Hag is working hard to bring stability to the team in order to secure his position. It is crucial to find a consistent strategy, and quickly. The intense atmosphere of Anfield at 4:30pm on Sunday is not an easy place to accomplish this. However, on the other hand, a victory and strong performance could greatly benefit him and his goal of moving past the constant changes in his team.
If Ratcliffe becomes a partial owner, he may use a well-known line from The Godfather to make an offer that Ten Hag cannot turn down, ultimately leading to his departure.
Source: theguardian.com
