Erik ten Hag went with what he knew from Manchester United’s pre-season, and after failure towards Brighton, it’s time for a re-think.
The brutal 2-1 opening day loss at Old Trafford left the Dutchman with a slightly haunted look on his face, realizing he hasn’t received many choices after a quiet summer time.
Solely three gamers have been bought in so far within the form of Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia, and like their new teammates, all of them struggled towards the Seagulls.
Argentina worldwide Martinez confirmed moments of sophistication however Brighton’s aggressive strategy clearly received to him every now and then, whereas Eriksen was hamstrung from the beginning.
Ten Hag’s prime performer in preseason was Anthony Martial who seemed revitalised within the centre-forward berth after his Sevilla mortgage, however a knee drawback dominated him out of the match, with the supervisor opting to provide Eriksen the position.
The experiment backfired with the Dane struggling to get entangled, however as soon as he dropped again, issues began occurring, and that can probably be the case subsequent outing.
United journey to Eriksen’s former membership Brentford on Saturday, and the inventive midfielder shall be hoping to have one other massive impression on the Neighborhood Stadium, this time in his pure position.
The transfer shall be a probable necessity for Ten Hag, with midfield duo Fred and Scott McTominay singled out by the likes of Paul Scholes for dreadful performances towards Brighton.
“Scott McTominay was always trying to run with the ball, ridiculous,” Scholes said post-match. “The quality in the middle of the pitch was really poor.
“The quality in the middle of the pitch was nowhere near good enough but we’ve seen that for the last few years with these two players.
“With Fred and McTominay, he [Ten Hag] is going to have to go with just one of them but even one of them is probably too many.
“Fred gives the ball away all the time and McTominay is trying to run with the ball constantly and then gives it away. Pass it to your best players! It’s not that difficult. It’s criminal on a day like today.”
Sadly for Ten Hag although, he should go together with certainly one of them as a consequence of squad imbalance, however can refresh issues by including his former Ajax star Donny van de Beek to the fold.
Bruno Fernandes may properly make approach after a poor displaying towards Brighton through which he seemed removed from a Ten Hag participant, and the identical may very well be mentioned for Luke Shaw.
Each struggled with the system and their roles, leaving room for Malacia to come back in, and there may even be a return for the controversial Cristiano Ronaldo.
The wantaway star was a second half substitute within the opening recreation, however was nonetheless essentially the most harmful participant in purple, fashioning an opportunity for Marcus Rashford which ought to have gone in.
Rashford and Jadon Sancho each did not have any impression in Ten Hag’s first aggressive recreation, however after glimpses in pre-season, a personnel and formation refresh might carry the second wind each are crying out for.
How Man United may look towards Brentford
Gives Of The Weekend
Paddy Energy: Wager £5 through the talkSPORT EDGE app with Paddy Energy and get a £5 free guess – accessible to all clients* – CLAIM HERE
Bet365: Wager £10 Get £50 in Free Bets* – CLAIM HERE
Paddy Energy T&Cs: Place a £5 Sportsbook Wager by means of the talkSPORT EDGE app between the first and thirty first August. Get a £5 free guess on the subsequent Monday after your qualifying guess. T&C’s apply. 18+ Begambleaware.org
Bet365 T&Cs: Open account provide. Wager £10 & Get £50 in Free Bets for brand spanking new clients at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Wager Credit and can be found to be used upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, guess and cost technique exclusions apply. Returns exclude Wager Credit stake. Cut-off dates and T&Cs apply 18+ Begambleaware.org
