Yikes, what a terrible start to the season and Erik ten Hag era for Manchester United! It is only halftime, but to be down 2-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion already?! What a disaster, and where to start in picking apart the Ten Hag debut? We’ll start up at the top, where the new manager benched Cristiano Ronaldo. With Anthony Martial out injured, Ten Hag has next to no options up top.
“As a striker, it can be Bruno, but most of the times it will be Christian Eriksen.” the Dutchman said in his pre-match interview, stating that Christian Eriksen would be most likely to play the Ronaldo position. (For part two of United news and notes from this match go here)
? “He started pre-season last week.”
Erik ten Hag explains why Cristiano Ronaldo only makes the bench today pic.twitter.com/HI0qyut5a4
โ Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 7, 2022
It’s not working out too well thus far. Ten Hag further explained the situation with CR7: โCristiano Ronaldo is working really hard to get in the right fitness levels, it will take timeโ
โHe started pre-season last weekโฆ so it depends on how quick he is progressingโ. Hope, for Ronaldo’s sake, his self-absorbed hold out was well worth it!
While the final third is an issue, of course, the bigger problem is the middle of the park. The McFred combination needed to be upgraded this summer. Period. They wasted too much time chasing Frenkie de Jong, and it looks like they’re not even going to get him.
This game is a shock reality for Erik ten Hag that no matter how tactically good he is, Fred and McTominay midfield will NEVER work.
Manchester United have NO midfield.
โ UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) August 7, 2022
This game is a shock reality for Erik ten Hag that no matter how tactically good he is, Fred and McTominay midfield will NEVER work.
Manchester United have NO midfield.
โ UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) August 7, 2022
Can’t argue against the observations of those two tweets. United know that the defensive, holding midfield is their top need this summer, (everyone knows that actually) but they have totally botched this transfer window.
Well, on to the second half now.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net)ย andย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ as well asย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He has regularly appeared inย WGN,ย Sports Illustratedย and theย Chicago Tribune,ย and heย co-hosts theย After Extra Time podcast, part ofย Edge of the Crowd Network.ย Follow him and the websiteย onย Twitterย andย Instagram.
