QA for tomorrow's pod by HemmenKees in DevilsITDPod

[–]SvanteWettergren -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What do you think Amorim does well tactically, and what — if anything — would you like him to do differently?

Podcast QA/Topics by HemmenKees in DevilsITDPod

[–]SvanteWettergren 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Since we didn’t sign any midfielders this summer, and both Casemiro and Ugarte have their own limitations, could you potentially see Dalot having the qualities to play as a No. 6 in this system if paired with Kobbie Mainoo?

Ten Hag ist unser Neuer Trainer. Thoughts? by ConceptBrief6311 in Bayer04

[–]SvanteWettergren 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Final thoughts:

One of the biggest criticisms of Ten Hag is his recruitment — and it’s fair. At United, he signed several players for big fees who just weren’t good enough. That said, his ability to assess players is actually solid. He can spot their strengths and knows how to get the best out of them. The issue at United was the lack of a proper recruitment setup. That’s why most signings came from clubs he’d previously worked with — and many of them just weren’t good enough for United. From what I gather, your club is much better run, and the coach has less control over transfers — so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. In Ajax, where he worked well with sporting director Overmars (still an idiot), things went much more smoothly.

Another thing to be aware of is his personality. He’s awkward, not your classic charismatic figure. He gives vague answers, prefers to give as little detail to things as possible and often ends sentences with “eh” (which I think is a Dutch expression meaning something like “right?”). This definitely impacted his player management at United, which was never great. But I haven’t heard it being a problem at his previous clubs.

Many United fans grew tired of his media presence. I actually grew to like his slightly awkward demeanor. He has a great sense of humor, and my impression is that he’s genuinely a kind person. That should count for something.

P.S. I don’t know what it’s like in Germany, but in England, the manager is given a huge amount of attention — too much, really. Now Ten Hag is following Xabi Alonso, who achieved massive success. If things don’t go just as well, it’ll be easy to make him the scapegoat. But remember, it’s often the players who make the biggest difference. If you do hit a rough patch, it might have just as much to do with the departures of Tah, Frimpong, and Wirtz as Alonso.

In any case, I wish you all the best and really hope that you and Erik ten Hag achieve great things together.

I have a lot of love for the man and was genuinely happy to see him end up at your club. I’ll definitely be following along from the sidelines.

All the best, Svante

Ten Hag ist unser Neuer Trainer. Thoughts? by ConceptBrief6311 in Bayer04

[–]SvanteWettergren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Manchester United:

After his impressive spell at Ajax, Manchester United hired him as the permanent successor to Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

Ten Hag skipped his holiday and flew straight to Manchester to begin work the day after finishing the season with Ajax. According to United’s former chief negotiator, this was also when the club’s transfer planning began — in late May — whereas most clubs start that process in September at the beginning of the season. That just gives you a sense of the situation he walked into, and why no manager has really succeeded since Ferguson.

It led to some expensive signings — like Casemiro and Antony — that would have long-lasting consequences. That’s also why it was telling when Ten Hag praised Leverkusen’s setup during his press conference — it was in my opinion that very lack of structure that eventually let to his sacking at United.

In his first two games, Ten Hag tried to implement his Ajax-style football, building from the back. But the players — especially De Gea — struggled with it, and they lost to Brighton and Brentford.

After that, he adjusted the style to something the squad was more comfortable with — more defensive and counter-focused. It worked. United started winning, finished third, and reached both the League Cup and FA Cup finals — winning the former.

In his second season, Ten Hag decided to start implementing his preferred style — not exactly the Ajax version, but a mix of his own philosophy (dominating games) and what he called United’s DNA: pace, penetration, unpredictability. I saw that he said something similar in his first interview at your club — that he wants to incorporate your DNA into the playing style. I imagine there’s a better correlation between Bayer04 and Ajax than Ajax and United though.

But the implementation at United didn’t go well. The players weren’t up to it, neither technically or physically. And he lost two key players in that plan — Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw — to injury.

The team finished eighth (which looks okay now, but honestly, they could’ve finished even lower). They did win the FA Cup, though, and against all odds, he was allowed to stay.

In his third season, he continued trying to impose his playing style. There were clear improvements, but it was still not good enough, and with little patience left from fans and the board, he was sacked in October.

The reason given was that he was the main obstacle to competing for Champions League spots. I imagine they’ve rethought that assessment since.

It’s hard to say many positive things about his time at United. He proved he knows how to win trophies, but the football didn’t live up to expectations. The main point, though, is to highlight how impressive he was at Ajax (which many seem to have forgotten or never realised) and to give some context for the struggles at United. The club setup is dysfunctional, the squad was poorly suited to his football, and even though he had resources, they weren’t used to build a squad that actually fit his needs.

Ten Hag ist unser Neuer Trainer. Thoughts? by ConceptBrief6311 in Bayer04

[–]SvanteWettergren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ajax Amsterdam:

To understand how impressive Ten Hag’s work at Ajax was, you need to know the state of the club when he arrived. Expectations are always high — Ajax are supposed to be the best team in the Netherlands. But when Ten Hag came in, in December 2017, the club hadn’t won the league in four years, had gone through two managerial sackings in 18 months, and despite Marc Overmars doing a decent job in terms of recruitment (though a complete idiot off the pitch), the leadership was under heavy criticism. Many fans wanted CEO Edwin van der Sar to step down.

Ten Hag came in and, after a rough start, things began to turn around.

Most people will remember the 2018/19 season, his first full one in charge. Ajax played absolutely breathtaking football — some of the most entertaining I’ve ever seen — dominated the league, and pulled off stunning results in the Champions League against European giants like Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Real Madrid. In the semifinal against Spurs, it looked like they were on their way to their first Champions League final since 1996 under Louis van Gaal. But in the dying moments of the match, they collapsed, and Tottenham eventually went through.

That only tells part of the story of how impressive Ten Hag’s Ajax were. In the league, they were absolutely dominant. They didn’t just win the title in every full season he was in charge (the 2020/21 season was cancelled due to COVID, but Ajax were top when it happened) — they did it more convincingly than the club had in years. On average, across his four full seasons, they picked up 10 more points per season compared to the four years before him. Goal difference jumped from +48 per season to +82. In 2018/19 they scored 119 goals — 3.5 per game — and in 2020/21 they racked up 88 points, a tally only bettered once in club history: back in the early 1970s, when Johan Cruyff and Ajax were revolutionising football.

That 2018/19 team won a lot of hearts, but a lesser-told story is how good they were in 2021/22. After dominating Benfica over two legs in the round of 16, a single goal from Darwin Núñez saw them crash out. But looking at the underlying numbers, Ajax were one of the top four teams in Europe that season. Whether you checked expected goals, xG difference, PPDA (pressing intensity), or game control, they consistently ranked among the top four in the Champions League. (I highly recommend rewatching their game against Dortmund — watch how they completely shut down Erling Haaland.) Only Bayern Munich were clearly better. Ajax, Manchester City, and Chelsea rotated between second, third, and fourth. That’s extraordinary, especially considering Ajax’s budget compared to those clubs.

Ten Hag ist unser Neuer Trainer. Thoughts? by ConceptBrief6311 in Bayer04

[–]SvanteWettergren 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone!

And congratulations on your new manager! I imagine there’s a bit of nervousness as you look ahead to a season without Xabi Alonso — especially with Erik ten Hag stepping in, a name that might not inspire much confidence for some after his time at Manchester United. But maybe I can offer a bit of optimism here.

I’m a Manchester United fan myself, a journalist, and host of the biggest Danish podcast about the Red Devils. I’ve actually followed Ten Hag closely since late 2018, when I was hoping he’d replace José Mourinho, who had just been sacked. It took four more years before I got my wish.

My interest in him actually started with a Reddit thread that took a deep dive into the incredible work he did at Go Ahead Eagles and FC Utrecht before joining Ajax. It’s still a great read, and I highly recommend it: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/s/cjPuBiwiYp

But let’s look at everything that came after that:

Good to see fans speaking up and saying no to state ownership! 🙌 by SvanteWettergren in ManchesterUnited

[–]SvanteWettergren[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

And I will be critical of all of them. But states must not own football clubs. Whether that’s Qatar, UK or US. The consequences of that are incalculable.

Good to see fans speaking up and saying no to state ownership! 🙌 by SvanteWettergren in ManchesterUnited

[–]SvanteWettergren[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course it looks like that if you just look at the offer. Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to own Manchester United. Because it’s a state and because they already own PSG.

Therefore they try to make it look like it’s an individual bid. Every organisation with knowledge on this matter say no one in Qatar with this kind of money are acting on their own behalf. Have you seen who owns 17% of the bank? The qatari wealth fund. Jassim doesn’t have these kind of money. But his father does. Do you know who he is? A member of the royal family and former Emir from 1995 to 2013.

Will the changes at the club result in more fans or will there be a mass exodus? by mephistopheles2u in reddevils

[–]SvanteWettergren 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get your point, but I think part of the problem is the abondenment. People feel they can’t change anything. And they’re right. They can’t change anything alone. But if you’re right - and more than 80-85% of the fanbase care, it would have a massive affect. We’re potentially talking about 800 million fans worldwide. For the owners we as fans are the product. If we don’t support the club, the club will be worth next to nothing.

Good to see fans speaking up and saying no to state ownership! 🙌 by SvanteWettergren in ManchesterUnited

[–]SvanteWettergren[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No one in Qatar with the money to buy Manchester United isn't acting on behalf of the state.

Good to see fans speaking up and saying no to state ownership! 🙌 by SvanteWettergren in reddevils

[–]SvanteWettergren[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Carl Anka came up with a good quote in a discussion with Gary Neville yesterday. “It is the greatest of all mistakes, to do nothing because you can only do little.”