Thread by @EBL2017

Erik ten Hag is an *ELITE* manager. You name the facet of management, and he's elite at it, and there's no doubt about that.

Below, in this in-depth thread, I break down why Manchester United are on their way to be the next elite positional play team in world football.

THREAD!

Casemiro, Eriksen, Antony, Malacia, Lisandro Martinez… what’s the common denominator in ten Hag's signings? Technical quality.

United may be involved in lots of chaotic & transition-based games now but that won’t last. Ten Hag’s tactical intent & squad building is special.

Antony is a guy who may lack the physicality of the true elites in 1v1’s, in transition & to be a reliable penetrative goal threat but he’s near impossible to press. He’s one of the best dribblers I’ve ever seen whilst being a creative outlet.

He’ll allow United to control games

Everybody knows what Antony is now - a uniquely special dribbler who lacks lightening speed but can still dictate attacks and provide reliable output. That’s a top player, and that in tandem with the system he plays in is a perfect fit. United are on a special path under ten Hag.

Seriously, think about it. United build up in a variety of fluid shapes ranging from a 4-1, a 3-2, & a 3-1. Their settled attack can consist of a 4-1-5, a 3-2-5, or a 3-1-6. It's all fluid, but key components remain. The occupation of each zone remains.

The positional play is 🔝

The wide players receive in 1v1 situations out wide or in situations with players in close proximity so they can combine & there's compactness and numbers behind them so they can recycle if needs be too. Each key zone is occupied in the final third (both wings & the half spaces).

United can build play centrally or out wide, irrespective of how the opposition set up. Then, when play breaks down in the final third, that positional play in the final third and compactness behind that in defensive transition is conducive to counterpressing effectively.

Not only that, but ten Hag's settled pressing structure is similarly elite. United press in a 4-4-1-1 akin to Arsenal or City or a 4-3-3 akin to Liverpool where the wide players invert & the fullbacks back the press up.

This structure, in its entirety, is elite. No doubts there.

Then, when factoring in the fact that ten Hag is a top squad builder, a fierce man manager who commands the utmost respect in the dressing room, has proven he can handle unprecedented amounts of pressure (relative to his career) in his early days at Utd, then what can go wrong?

We've also seen excellent individual player development with guys like Rashford coming back to his old-self. You name the box, ten Hag ticks it. He's a complete manager and the best thing about it from a United perspective is he clearly has the backing of the board.

The players signed in the summer were all clearly his, and that's an excellent thing, and that applies to the players sold too. The board backed him over getting rid of star names like Pogba and Ronaldo. He's making this squad his own, and every elite project has that same story.

Guardiola made a statement with Joe Hart, Klopp did it with Benteke, Arteta did it with Ozil & Aubameyang. These guys may be elite tacticians but they're also elite leaders, & ten Hag is the same.

He handled the Ronaldo fiasco impeccably. This is his club now. He made his mark.

However, despite all of these elite facets in ten Hag's profile, the squad quality isn't on that level just yet, hence the inconsistent performance quality on the pitch. He needs time. It's his first season at the football club, so this should go without saying, really.

United don't reliably exert control on games on or off the ball yet because they're not good enough technically. This means that they regularly give the ball away when they have it but it also means that it's hard to press because they consistently lose the ball.

A staple behind any pressing team is top technical security in possession. Why? Well, think about it. If you lose possession in the build-up, you cannot press, you must recover and block the goal. If you lose possession in midfield, the same applies.

You must lose the ball high.

If you lose the ball high the entire team are already in a position where virtually every player is regularly behind the ball so the unit can press as a collective because of that. The ball is also simply closer to the opposition goal and further away from your own.

Pressing 101

These are pressing staples, and until United become good enough technically to reliably keep the ball & pin the opposition back, they won't exert true control on games because the opposition will have easy access to possession through United's own giveaways & disengaged pressing.

Even physically and psychologically it's tough for the players. How can a fullback like Dalot or Malacia/Shaw press as high as the opposition fullback when they're drained from constantly recovering due to possession breakdowns? That in itself breeds a passive & fatigue mindset.

But, as I say, the tactical intent is there (see below in 2nd half with narrow press). That's so clear, and given time to attract better players then success is inevitable.

And the thing is it's not like United need a massive rebuild, either.

It's closer to a City rebuild under Pep where he won the league in his 2nd season as opposed to a Klopp/Arteta rebuild where they had a much bigger job on their hands. The league quality was worse for Pep back then, but United can still accumulate a high points tally next season.

80+ points isn't out of the equation in ten Hag's second season, and that's because he has already done such a good job of rebuilding the team already, irrespective of short-term flaws. If I was a United fan, I wouldn't care for short-term results, much like Arsenal last season.

It seemed like top four was the be all and end all for Arteta at the end of last year but that was never a true representation of reality. It was disappointing, sure, but did it really matter in the long-run? No. Arsenal's process remained, and that's the most important aspect.

Ten Hag and United are the same. Forget top four and immediate success this season. Of course it all matters because short-term success is key for any football club and it could accelerate their long-term process, but the process is the process and ten Hag's process is *ELITE*.