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Manchester United deep dive: What can we expect in Erik ten Hag’s third season?
Since Sir Alex Ferguson left, no manager at Manchester United has lasted three seasons.
After a messy summer of searching, new owners INEOS eventually gave Erik ten Hag a shot at a third campaign.
It was an incredibly tumultuous and difficult second season for the former Ajax manager but a valuable FA Cup win over Manchester City may have saved his job and played a part in allowing him to continue the United project.
The avalanche of injuries, eighth-placed finish and inability to change tactics throughout the season despite obvious flaws in United's system upped the pressure and made it seem unlikely the Dutchman would continue as manager.
Make no mistake about it, United were far from a competent football team in 23/24.
Most of the games resembled a basketball match. Embracing a style that purposefully made games chaotic attempting to hit teams on the break with fast counters.
The problem with this plan though was that United conceded large swathes of space resulting in the opposition having many shots on goal, suffocating an injury-prone and ever-changing defence.
As the team was constantly changing with players on and off the injury table it never allowed the Red Devils to have a settled team, while playing games at a furious, unmanageable pace increased the risk of more injuries.
It shouldn't be forgotten that Ten Hag did have a very good first season.
The constant off-field issues he has dealt with during his tenure and the difficulties of last season were no doubt discussed before deciding on what direction United want to go in as they continue under new ownership.
They have also been active in the transfer market, with new signings looked at in an effort to enjoy a more stable and successful campaign.
What role will Leny Yoro play?
There is much anticipation around the signing of Leny Yoro as the defender was chased heavily by Real Madrid, who have an excellent track record of buying young talent and developing them into world-class players.
United can't claim they've been doing this themselves in recent times but Yoro feels like a bit of a statement signing from INEOS.
An aggressive approach in the transfer market and doing business early is something we haven’t seen under the Glazer ownership and it's rare for a player to turn the giants from Madrid down.
But Yoro isn't a player who is excellent now. He's someone who, under the right management, has the potential to become top level.
United were forced to field fourteen different centre-back pairings last season and will be looking to establish a settled duo as the Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez partnership was sorely missed last season.
The first choice centre-back is Martinez, and with Harry Maguire turning his form around this may be the partnership we see at the start of the season.
But it is largely an untested pairing that may not compliment each other well as both are aggressive front-footed defenders.
Yoro will receive minutes in a 60-plus game season and may be able to secure a starting spot as it goes on. It may be best to ease him into the Premier League slowly rather than thrust him straight into the starting eleven.
The French defender could partner Martinez or Maguire well who like to come out of the defensive line and push up aggressively on a forward, defending in a more combative nature.
In contrast, Yoro isn't a defender who gets his shorts muddy. His strength lies in anticipation and tracking a player's run, waiting for the right opportunity to nick and make a challenge.
Similarly to Varane, most of his defensive actions are in the box only when necessary.
In the below example, when Kylian Mbappe sets off to make his run, Yoro senses the danger and tracks him, waiting for the pass to be played and then using his strength to muscle the forward out of the way and make a challenge.
Yoro puts himself in the right situation before the danger occurs so when a forward latches onto the ball he doesn’t have to rush back and recover to make a challenge - it’s the type of defending that benefits from planning in advance.
In this situation, Yoro's full-back is caught out of position so he positions himself between the passer and winger running in behind not getting attracted to making a tackle on the passer.
He's comfortable covering wide channels as he slides in to tackle preventing the cross from coming in.
When forwards attempt to run in behind, Yoro tracks them so as the ball gets played, he already knows what's going to happen as he's one step ahead.
This will bode well vs attackers who run in behind with their pace, or wingers in the Premier League who exploit space in behind full-backs.
Think of the games vs Aston Villa last season. United won both but Ollie Watkins gave United's defence a torrid time.
In Yoro, United have a defender who can track runs at the crucial time but they wouldn't want him to make as many defensive actions as their back line did last season.
If the Old Trafford club were looking for their Raphael Varane replacement, Yoro's passing in terms of progressing the ball up the pitch and building out from the back is better.
Not to say his ability to evade pressure and distribute is at the level of Martinez but he's capable of taking a touch and beating players before finding a teammate.
His long passing may be better than his short and, while not his best trait, it’s something to build on as United would want to have two defenders who can pass out from the back and begin attacks rather than solely relying on Martinez.
With Yoro getting injured in pre-season it may accelerate a move for Matthijs de Ligt. It will be interesting to see whether the young defender has a season where he slowly becomes a starter or looks to get as many minutes under his belt, adapt to England and cement his place in the long-term.
How about Joshua Zirkzee?
Similar to Yoro, the signing of Joshua Zirkzee may not be one where we see the Dutch striker start straight away. Another arrival means the pressure will be lifted off Rasmus Hojlund to produce as a goal scorer.
Ten Hag may opt to play both up front or Zirkzee behind Hojlund with Bruno Fernandes out wide.
Signed from Thiago Motta’s excellent Bologna side, Zirkzee excels at link-up play and is the complete centre forward. He isn't a striker who just scores goals, he's crucial in build-up and compliments other attackers.
Hojlund can focus on occupying defenders up the pitch whilst Zirkzee drops deep.
Zirkzee is brilliant at dragging a centre-back out of position even if it is receiving the ball in his half, turning and playing in another forward into the space he's created by moving someone out.
It’s a frequent sight to see other attackers make a run off Zirkzee whenever he receives in anticipation of being played in by the Dutch striker. Other attackers like Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho can benefit from this hugely.
He is an asset to an attack at both the beginning and end of a move - as opposed to just being able to finish tidily when played in behind. He will be crucial at linking the middle and final third.
Normally young strikers with potential are fast, skilful and raw. You have to refine their decision-making skills but Zirkzee excels at this brilliantly and could be crucial in letting United's other attackers, like Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, thrive.
As a defender gets touch-tight, Zirkzee uses this to his advantage receiving with his back to goal before linking up wide or centrally and then making a run into the box.
Barring perhaps Fernandes, Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo, United seriously lack technical players. Zirkzee is a forward who can finish but has the technical capacity to improve United's attack without scoring.
The club currently have eight attackers competing for four spots. Fernandes is the lynchpin which leaves the rest battling for the others.
Competition for places is healthy and with more games than ever it feels as if Ten Hag is building an attack with different options and depth.
Though it may not be apparent where Yoro and Zirkzee fit in the starting eleven straight away, it is a positive to secure signings in the squad that were chased by other top clubs.
What else needs to improve?
Based on last season there is a lot to improve on.
United have been low scorers under Ten Hag with just 57 last season, just five more goals than relegated Luton.
The attack was thwarted due to the constant changes in playing style in response to a catalogue of injuries. Early into the season, the attacking principles were scrapped to favour a more direct, long-ball heavy approach.
It didn't feel as though there was a formulated pattern of play to create chances in this period, mainly relying on big players to produce moments (Garnacho’s overhead kick vs Everton, Fernandes winners vs Burnley and Fulham).
Ten Hag insisted in the press conferences that, due to the injuries, it was much tougher for them to build out from the back and create chances. That resulted in games where we would see goalkeeper Andre Onana hoof the ball long and the attack more spontaneously than controlled.
Just after January, Ten Hag changed the game plan again, opting to play games more chaotically, United scored more but left themselves vulnerable.
The City Cup final win displayed that with everyone back. When United opt to build moves patiently, controlling the ball, they are a much better team.
The Champions League game vs Copenhagen was further evidence of this and an example of what can be achieved when Ten Hag went back to the structure which worked for him.
The attackers in Rashford or Garnacho would drop deeper to be options to pass to, with an inverted full-back (Dalot) in midfield. As Copenhagen would shift over to mark Rashford, with McTominay and Eriksen covered off in midfield, the extra player in Dalot in behind opened up spaces wide.
As Copenhagen's press was moved over to one side, it let McTominay make the big switch.
Barring another injury crisis, and with United opting for the style of play we saw in the FA Cup final, the attack will be much improved.
The main issue Ten Hag must address from last season is the structure out of possession. It was far too easy to create chances and find space.
Without the ball in his first season, United were effective in a narrow structure as players picked up the nearest man to them - squeezing the centre and forcing teams wide.
However, last season, teams had done their homework as they would move players around advanced or wide to create gaps in United's press.
Compare the image above with the staggered one below, Casemiro has gone to press Udogie and next to him, Maddison is free with Sarr advanced and Porro wide.
This occurred time and time again, as teams would find varying ways to manipulate United’s structure out of possession. This time it’s Brighton pushing their centre-backs as wide as possible.
As Rashford goes to press Van Hecke, it leaves Mahmoud Dahoud free to pass to in the middle.
Things were complicated further when, in certain games, the attack was instructed to press while not backed up by the midfield or defence.
As United's attack did so, Mainoo and Scott McTominay marked Endo and Mac Allister. Mainoo pushes up to mark Endo but because the attack is advanced it results in an easy out ball to Van Dijk who plays it to Mac Allister.
Whether it is fully embracing a high press as they did in games vs Aston Villa and Chelsea or dropping back into a mid-block, this is one area that must change.
Do further signings need to be made?
At the time of writing, moves are being pursued for De Ligt and Noussar Mazraoui.
This is INEOS's first window and it seems as though they're determined to make a statement.
PSR rules mean there will have to be players who go out in order to bring players in but an area they have to look at is a partner for Kobbie Mainoo.
There have been rumours of interest in Manuel Ugarte. With an ageing Casemiro - combined with Mason Mount having only completed 14 games - you can understand why.
Ugarte is a player though who, while aggressive and strong in the tackle, isn't technically good enough to marshal the midfield next to Mainoo.
If United's ball progression is to be improved a number six is required who can break attacks up in a less aggressive manner than Casemiro. Ugarte is similarly tenacious in his defensive approach rather than calm - this can result in rash decisions.
There are things he does better than Casemiro but not well enough to be the midfield signing that will likely start 30+ games.
The addition in this area must be able to control and dictate the tempo of games similar to how Eriksen did in Ten Hag's first season.
The team would vastly improve with someone who breaks up attacks, can cover wide spaces, is a good ball progressor and can compliment Mainoo.
The volatile transfer market indicates this won't be straightforward forward, complicated further by United trying to sell players on high wages.
It’s the beginning of a new era for Manchester United but that doesn’t mean things will improve straight away.
There is still much work to be done both on and off the pitch for United to get anywhere close to the dominant side they once were.
Whether INEOS and Ten Hag are the right match to bring success back to Old Trafford remains to be seen.
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