Since the sacking of ole, the Manchester United fan base was divided into two wanting either Erik Ten Haag or Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager. A few weeks later and after all the negotiations, Manchester United officially announce Erik Ten Haag as their successive manager and has signed a contract for a 4-year deal. This is the first time the club has offered more than 3 year deal to a manager post Ferguson.
Many of the online fans wanted Erik as their new manager whilst almost all the ex-united players wanting Pochettino. Even the great man himself wanted Pochettino to take the hot seat. But, it was Ralf Ragnick who persuaded the board and choose Erik. Erik has promoted Go Ahead Eagles to the premier division after 17 years in his first managerial job.
From there, he went on to manage Bayern Munich II while Pep was managing the first team. Ajax appointed Erik as their manager in 2017 and he has won them 5 trophies in the span of four and half years. He is on the verge of winning the league this season. Ajax is known for playing the most attacking football in the league. They have scored a surplus amount of goals in his time. 580 goals in 210 games.
He also achieved the fastest manager to win 100 games in Eredivisie. He is known for developing talents from the academy and making players out of garbage. Delight, De Jong, Van de Beek, and Ziyech are some of the talents he nourished and spread their wings. He also revitalized the career of Tadic and Sebastian Haller. Haller was struggling for number at West Ham United. He started putting on a shift under Erik and he has been the main man since he joined.
Erik prefers a 4-3-3 formation by stacking up the players on the side and looking for a diagonal ball while attacking. Either this or they form a triangle with 2 centre back and no 6, with the help of either a full back or no 8 they come out of the press and proceed with the attack. They mainly focus on narrow passes and move the ball in the forward direction.
They even interchange positions to create space and thus allowing the player to pass fluidly. It is not typically a tiki-taka in which Pep plays but it is more of attractive football that Manchester United fans desperately need. Erik's defence is to win the ball high up the pitch. His back four plays a high line thus allowing the attackers to press the opponent in their own half. They press in a shape to cut the narrow passes to the midfield which forces the opponent to play side-ways and press the full-backs with the touchline as a second defender.
This extra man attacking press resulted in winning the ball high up the pitch, They don't waste any time after winning the ball. They look for a narrow pass or a diagonal pass to create a goal-scoring chance. Although, if the opponent manages to beat the press the opponent will catch Ajax with a lot of empty grass to run into especially with Ajax out of shape. This is where Goalkeeper comes in to sweep. Often Onana comes off the line to claim the through balls, He is one of the key players that Ajax has. Considering his skill in playing from the back, sweeping skills and a pretty decent shot-stopping. The type of keeper that Manchester United will need.
Arguments can be made saying that Erik does not have Premier League experience. But, neither did Pep or Klopp had but they proved and they changed one of the best leagues in the world into two horse race. Manchester United fans are absolutely happy with the appointment and many have praised Ralf's work rate with the board for landing him. They hope the is the one to take them to the promise land. Only time will tell us the truth.
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