The game plan of managerial lead Erik ten Hag is under scrutiny at Manchester United, the Ineos-powered football branch of the club. This comes after a less-than-ideal performance thus far in the season, leading to uncertainty about his future. Despite coming into the international break with a particularly unsatisfactory start, having only one win and two losses in the Premier League, there is an acknowledgement within the club that Ten Hag has been hampered by player injuries. However, there is also serious apprehension about how he is arranging the team’s formation.
The tactician, based in Netherlands, is currently under examination by the club’s football overseers Jim Ratcliffe, sporting director Dan Ashworth, and Jason Wilcox, the technical guide of the team, who is responsible for observing the playing style. The team’s flaws in the midfield and defence were evident in the 3-0 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday, and previously in the 2-1 upset by Brighton. Their single victory against Fulham, facilitated by a late goal from Joshua Zirkzee, seemed far from convincing.
The support for Ten Hag from Ashworth and Omar Berrada, the CEO, is unwavering, yet, the summer signee, who was favoured over other potentials, needs to prove his managerial prowess soon. In the preceding transfer window, he brought on board Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, and Manuel Ugarte. Due to a pre-season foot injury, Yoro won’t be on the field for at least a month. In another setback, Ugarte, who joined from Paris Saint-Germain for a hefty fee of £42m, is yet to gain match fitness.
Another dampener to Ten Hag’s strategies has been the unavailability of striker Rasmus Højlund. Coming off a hamstring injury, his return after the international break, bolstered by the comeback of left-back Luke Shaw from a calf injury, might provide a much-needed respite for the troubled United.
Tyrell Malacia, the understudy to Shaw at United, has remained off the field for more than a year due to a knee complication, but is expected to return within the forthcoming month. Victor Lindelöf, on the other hand, has been sidelined for the entire season owing to a problem yet to be identified.
After the interlude, United are scheduled to play nine matches in a span of approximately six weeks. They’ll be making a league visit to Southampton, welcoming Barnsley for the Carabao Cup, travelling to Crystal Palace for a league match, coming home to face FC Twente in the Europa League and Tottenham in the league. United will then venture out to play Porto in the Europa League, Aston Villa in a league match, host Brentford for a league match and finally travel to Fenerbahce for an away Europa League match.