 VERTERE NOVAM PAGINAM

by Robert Mizzi

One could probably write a whole dissertation analysing what went wrong last season. Every United supporter will have his/her version on how Manchester United failed to live up to the expectations and the return of Ronaldo did not go exactly according to plan.

The title of this contribution is a literal translation of ‘turn a new page’ into Latin. Those who know me well know that I have a certain fascination with Latin and pretend to be conversant (I am not) by signing off my blog contributions and my articles in the Echoes with Numquam Moribimur (We never die).

A very quick review of last season before I literally turn the page and start looking forward to the forthcoming season. Ole started the season with 3 important acquisitions that had us all excited. Following the arrival of Sancho (one year later than planned) and Varane, the sensational return of CR7 into the fold had us buzzing with excitement. As the season settled in, however, the cracks started to show. The style of play was not at all convincing and both collectively and on an individual level, the team was not getting the desired results and Ole was clearly not in a position to continue leading United and by the end of November he was out. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the debacle against Watford, but the writing had been on the wall for some time. Personally, I think Ole could have been a good assistant to a proven manager, but he burnt himself out by taking the hot seat and managing the primadonnas with an amicable approach. I have already opined on the fact that I do not believe that his assistants were up to scratch and did not help out when the going got tough.

It was evident, in my opinion, that there was turmoil behind the scenes and that the virus (or viruses) that Mourinho had referred to were still wreaking havoc in the United dressing room and training grounds. Anyone who has played football at any level will know that a group of fairly good players with an excellent attitude and hunger can achieve more than a bunch of well-paid primadonnas who feel that they can throw their toys out of the pram whenever things do not go their way. In football terms, they threw Ole under the proverbial bus.

I do not have any doubt at all that Ole was doing his utmost to succeed but apart from

lacking in what many refer to as tactical nous, he eventually lost the dressing room as well. And if there was ever a need for proof that the troubles at our beloved club ran deeper that what we as supporters see on the screens and when we visit OT, the arrival of Ralf Rangnick proved this.

It was thought that Ralf could steady the ship and get us into the top 4 by the end of the season but we all know what happened. Ralf failed to make an impact and it became abundantly clear that the players were not on board with what he was proposing on the training grounds. It later transpired that not even the board that appointed him backed him up during the January transfer window. What ensued was a dismal end to the season and I was personally looking forward to the end of the season as early as February. If there is one positive that came out of Ralf Rangnick’s stint as United interim manager it was that he exposed the players and also, more fundamentally, the flaws in how our beloved club is managed. There are some supporters that argue that his role as consultant was in effect taken away from him as some people that matter thought that he had said a bit too much about the mismanagement of the club. Seems like some people do not like to be criticized!

Moving on – Nova Pagina. Erik Ten Hag (EtH) is the new manager of Manchester United. In my opinion, he has signed up for the toughest job in the world. An article in The Athletic dated 13 July 2022 had the following heading “Ten Hag’s greatest challenge will be getting buy-in from everyone around Manchester United”.

The article refers to the main challenges that he will face in the coming months, and hopefully years. I do not think that anyone questions his ability as a football coach but managing Manchester United is not only about managing a group of players and trying to get the best out of them. It is much, much more. The journalist states that EtH is using this pre-season tour to get to grips with the unique tinderbox that is United’s environment.

In the same article, United are referred to as a club working from the lowest base in its Premier League history, taking some steps forward but always at risk of hopscotching back. I do not think one can really argue with such a statement, as tough as it sounds.

Reference is made to transfer movement from rivals above and around United in the table and that the mood around the club could be rather negative, especially when one sees the same saga in the transfer market repeating itself over and over again. One would think that the club is not really learning from past mistakes.

And yet, there is a quiet optimism around Ten Hag and the upcoming season. I like the term quiet optimism. That’s the way it should be.

Understandably, the United players would like to draw a line under the misery of 202122 and appear to have fully bought into Ten Hag’s methods. The Dutchman’s interest in Ajax players/alumni hints at a future United squad that will play differently from the teams of previous years. Most United supporters are hoping that play differently equates to play better football, which is not a difficult task given the quality displayed in the recent past!

Ten Hag is the first United manager to take a hands-on approach leading daily training sessions since 2014 and the days of David Moyes. The devil is in the detail the saying goes, and the extra tactical details Ten Hag is imparting to his team seem to be getting the buy-in from the fans, and the players, at least in these early days!

“Ten Hag has a plan for United; let’s work to make it happen” appears to be the soft motto. from as many people enraptured within United’s environment as well. This means that apart from his coaching skills, EtH must be able to manage the expectations that the United fan base will have as soon as the team gets a few positive results. More importantly, EtH must be able to manage the intricacies that happen behind the scenes at Manchester United. The financial aspects and the social media channels are important, but they cannot continue to dictate how our beloved club operates strategically and functionally. It will take a brave man to stand up to the Board and the people taking decisions and tell them that things need to be done differently going forward. I am hoping that EtH is not only a good manager, which I believe he is, but also a brave man that stands by his principles and does what is good for the football team.

To conclude, EtH is in my opinion the right man to take United in the right direction. Whether he will succeed or not depends on many factors, but the critical success factor is in my opinion that he is completely in charge of which players are brought in and how the club operates. We cannot repeat the same mistakes of the past 10 years. Not learning from our mistakes would be setting up EtH to fail.

To end on a positive note, I think that the best thing that could happen to EtH is that Paul Pogba has ended our misery and left United. The Paul Pogba case study should be used as an example for bad management for future generations. He was not only allowed to get away for free after 5 years of mediocrity on a stratospheric salary, but he was also culpable of throwing managers under the bus and be a bad influence on up‑and‑coming youngsters like Rashford and Greenwood. I have a lot of friends who support Juve and are having a dig at United regarding Pogba but all I can say is that I am relieved that he is playing for Juve next season. Now that he is no longer a United player I can say it openly - Mourinho was right…#virus.