Aheed Abrar
Paul Scholes credits Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for tweaking his style of play
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has praised Erik ten Hag for changing his style of play after the Red Devils’ disappointing start to the season. Since then, the Old Trafford side have won four games in a row.
Arsenal visited the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday. The Gunners came to Manchester with a perfect record in the first five fixtures. However, United were ready to hand the North London side their first loss of the campaign.
Speaking to Premier League TV (h/t Manchester Evening News), Scholes lauded the Dutch manager for tweaking his system after the initial setback. The former Red Devil does not feel the current crop of players are suited to the former Ajax boss’ footballing ideas.
“These players now are probably not suited to the way he wants to play, but he’s found a way to win games with this group of players – now, why would you change and go back to something that didn’t really work at the start of the season?
“He’s found a way of playing football on the counter-attack with this group of players – why change that?”
In Ten Hag’s first two competitive fixtures in the Old Trafford side’s dugout, United tried to play more with the ball, keeping a hold of it and trying to build up slowly. We lost against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.
Ten Hag has adapted
However, against Liverpool, the Dutch manager let go of his rigidity. The Red Devils played on the counter against the Merseysiders and came out with three points in the end. Since then, we have won every single game.
Scholes, who played at United for 18 seasons, understands how certain managers can be adamant about playing a certain way. However, he feels Ten Hag needs to be given credit for being flexible about his philosophy.
“We talk about philosophies all the time, don’t we? These managers are stubborn. Arteta will be stubborn, Guardiola will be stubborn, Jurgen Klopp will be stubborn; but this man – you have to give him credit because he’s gone away, really from what he wants to do.”
A difference can be seen in our style of play after the two losses. David de Gea was expected to play from out the back in those fixtures and struggled a lot. However, now, it seems he is not compelled to play short.
Similarly, the team is now set up for the counter-attack. The options for the midfield pivot at United at the moment are not known for being great at keeping hold of the ball. Thus, our passing is evidently quicker.
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And with Marcus Rashford leading the line, the Red Devils are trying to play in behind defences instead of trying to break down the opposition with intricate passing. Hopefully, United’s winning run continues against Crystal Palace on 11 September.
