United issues: Ten Hag must be backed!

 The United result on Sunday was a much needed wake up call for all man united fans, pundits and staff . In this article i just wanted to highlight my opinions with what's gone wrong, where needs strengthening and why the United board must back Ten hag.

The striker situation.

The striker dilemma for Ten hag became evident on Sunday with Eriksen upfront as a false 9 a role that saw him coming deep to look for the ball. Eriksen dropped way too deep for my liking so deep that it left no threat or presence up front. One of the reasons for Eriksen dropping so deep was due to Uniteds lack of ability to progress the ball from out their own half. Mctominay and in particular Fred in midfield struggled to provide enough quality to withstand the brighton press and stay calm in possession. Brighton have to be commended for their incredible pressing... they showed what a incredibly well coached team can look like with everyone pulling in the right direction. United at times resorted to long direct balls forward into no mans land were there was no one up top.... It truly was embarrassing It was a hopeless first half performance from Man Utd.

Ronaldo was on the bench due to lack of fitness but as soon as he came on United had a focal point upfront someone giving the Brighton defence something to think about... with Eriksen up top the Brighton defence had next to nothing to think about ... no threat whatsoever. The presence of Ronaldo and his incredible movement even helped bring Rashford into the game who had an extremely quiet first half.

Ronaldo is 37 years old... Can Manchester United rely on a 37 year old? Many United fans will say " we have Martial" but how many chances has Martial had to prove himself? , is Martial a natural striker? does Martial have the character and personality to be a Manchester United player? When you look at Brighton ( United's opposition) And you see Danny Welbeck upfront a former United player causing absolute mayhem for Maguire and Martinez... his movement was fantastic and was crucial for the Brighton win.... 

Yes, Man united have had a 7.5m bid rejected for a 33 year old Marko Arnautovic... But is that enough ? its the same cycle that united keep repeating again and again. Older experienced strikers coming in to fill gaps late on desperately... There's no structure , no plan and  Ten hag cannot be blamed. The blame has to come higher up in the club hierarchy.

Mcfred

These two have took some stick over the years .... some warranted some unwarranted but the fact of the matter is they're not good enough. Mctominay was in a more advanced role on Sundays game .... but he lacks the penetration and creativity . United will definitely struggle to penetrate defences with him in their midfield. As for Fred his lack of composure on the ball was so evident... he was a pressing trigger for the Brighton team.... when he was on the ball it gave them confidence to press. For the first few minutes of the game Brighton were sussing man united out but as soon as they spotted weaknesses in the United defence they pressed every time..... to the point were United couldn't even get the ball out their own half. The possession numbers for United (which were significantly high in the early periods of the game... ultimately dropped ( due the success of the Brighton press) which effected the progression of the ball and the efficiency of United's overall attack.

United are crying out for at least 2 midfielders... De jong will not fix all United's problems they need a holding player badly.  Mctominay and Fred can stay but only as part of a rotation system. They effect Man Utd negatively both from an attacking perspective and also from a defensive perspective.

Lack of Compactness

The lack of compactness in midfield from United was absolute laughable.  On the second goal in particular .... we can argue about lack of tracking of runners from defenders etc but the ball cannot get out of the Brighton half so easily without a united player at least sticking a foot in. Fred pressing so carelessly... no one pressing with him no unity from the United players at all. No one with the desire to even commit a tactical foul. I worry for this united team. United are playing as if they had no preseason at all.... They're playing as if they just met.

Ten hag must be backed

We've seen just a few of United problems Ralf Rangnick made it very clear that United need virtually a whole team and was sacked because of his comments but he was right. I've highlighted here just a few positions that United need (2 midfielders 1 more progressive and another holding... and also a striker) This United team lacks quality , personality , character and fight. People talk about the captaincy issues but United's problems are way bigger than the captains armband.

Ten hag has to be given the license to bring his own players in. The Glazers simply have to spend money. Ten hag is a young, bright and energetic coach  with great ideas whose proven himself at an elite stage. If the board do not back him then Ten hag cannot be blamed  he is not a miracle worker. Look at some of the managers United have had over the last 10 years.... Van gaal , Mourinho and Moyes etc....  United have had some of the best managers to ever mange in the sport (Van gaal and Mourinho) .... they don't become bad managers overnight. Something is wrong at United and it cannot and certainly is not the managers fault. We cant keep blaming the managers the problem is higher up.

Gary Neville on sky sports called for the Glazers to sell the club due to the loss on Sunday. I have to agree but its a very unlikely scenario as United is a profitable business for them. Back the manager and have faith in the process... trust Ten hag.