The tough 21/22 Premier season is over for Manchester United and now it’s time for our new manager Erik ten Hag to step up and fill the voids created by the Red Devils’ players in the last season. We as fans cant hope for any silverware so fast. The 22/23 season is a kind of rebuilding phase for ETH. Let him take his time in rebuilding the Manchester United squad as he has some vision which other managers haven’t had so much in them. The Dutch manager has 6 1st team trophies under his name as Ajax manager.
He was also the first manager to take Ajax to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League after beating Real Madrid in 1997. We all know that these stats are somewhat irrelevant in a league like Eredivisie and to fight in the Premier league consistency is the key. But this was the man who took Ajax to that position as it was all PSV Eindhoven before the ETH era.
ETH will surely promote players and buy young midfielders and strikers for Manchester United.
Players like Rice/ Neves, Frenkie De Jong and Antony are linked with United in this transfer window Midfield is the main problem with United and it seems they have been suffering in this department for the past 3 or 4 years. We were the worst ‘Big Six’ clubs who have lost possession in the midfield for the maximum number of times. Fred who is never a DM was a forced one under Ole and Rangnick.
McTominay who has an average forward passing record was used in most of the matches. He needs to upgrade his skills otherwise I’m afraid lots of good competitors are there to replace him in that role. Replacement of Mata and Matic is inevitable and Man Utd should be having a busy summer.
With Frenkie de Jong, Bruno Fernandes and Donny van de Beek, things will start to cook under ETH. The way Arsenal and Chelsea have played by promoting their academy players was simply remarkable. Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka were the exceptions.
They were too close for UCL qualifications, but Tottenham had the last laugh. The current Barcelona midfielder may not be seen on the score sheet much but he is a genuine creator in the midfield.
The Academy can provide plenty of talent
No wonder why Chelsea’s academy is the best in England. All the young guns from Mason Mount to Gallagher have proved their worth. Now it’s our turn to do so under a promising manager. Hannibal Mejbri and James Garner can create havoc if they are on song.
The latter is the only boss in the midfield for Nottingham Forest in EFL. He can play both as No.6 and No.8. And coincidentally Forest has been promoted to Premier League for the first time in 23 years. So the decision is yet to be made that which club Garner will play for. United would seriously love him at Old Trafford.
Alejandro Garnacho is generally a very good left-winger and can also be a good addition next season as he has already proved to us why he should be selected.
Coming back to the striker Charlie McNeil can also be used as a backup striker for us. The unavailability of Greenwood is also a major blow for us.
The defenders are preferred by ETH for Manchester United.
Getting Jurrien Timber under at a very cheap rate and with Pau Torres (who is also linked to Man United). They will be just a crowning accomplishment for us. Both the centre backs are young and reasonable good for their respective clubs. We need a CB who will be agile and fast to react.
This season we have conceded 57 goals which is the worst-ever record. Maguire and Varane were simply nowhere to their best. Their respective price tags didn’t justify anything but only humiliation. Even Wolves and Crystal Palace’s defensive records were better than ours.
Rather than getting a costly striker, I would have gone for a modern right-back who can create more chances in the game. Since Ronaldo will be playing for United a backup striker is what we need. Investing more on CBs and a good RB is the need of the hour.
Our academy graduates like Brandon Williams who has played for the 1st team before moving out to Norwich City as a loanee in the 21/22 season can also be a good option if we don’t buy a right back. He can play in both the backs.
Every top club has more or less reasonable priced defenders who have really performed well like Ben White, Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea, Gabriel of Arsenal and Kurt Zouma, Craig Dawson of West Ham United. It’s high time we should start investing in the potential ones.
Is sweeper-keeper an issue in modern-day football?
Many of our fanbases had a raising eyebrows moment when we came to know that David de Gea was chosen over Dean Henderson under the ETH system. The English goalie was linked with Newcastle United on a loan spell. Many would have anticipated that he was perfect under our new manager.
Yes, he is definitely a good sweeper-keeper but his shot-stopping ability can never be matched with the Spaniard. He was also the saviour in the backline this season. ETH told in an interview that the goalie isn’t the main issue, United is back four and the midfield is.
He believes in David de Gea and we hope he can improve his weak points. Which are his forward passing techniques and his high claims. And I also agree that for good high claim records one needs to have sensible defenders who can maintain the coordination between the players well. Other clubs have Mendy, Alisson and Ramsdale as their goalkeeper. And they were simply in the best of forms both attacking and defensive wise.
