Erik ten Hag has given some rather damning quotes when asked if he will ever replicate the football he showed for Dutch side Ajax.
The Manchester United boss is under pressure after a poor start to the season which has seen the club lose seven games in all competitions already.
When Erik ten Hag was appointed manager of United there was seemingly an unwritten promise that he would bring the style of football he showed in Holland.
However, after 18 months that has not been the case and the 53-year-old has been asked whether he will ever be able to replicate that style of play.
In the aftermath of the defeat at Old Trafford, the concern from the fanbase was that there was no discernible play style and United looked lost.
“Never. We will never play that football,” Ten Hag admitted to tv station Viaplay, The Mail report, “Because those were different players. This is also not why I came here. We are playing different football than I showed at Ajax because I have to because I can’t play the same way.
“The players decide how you play. Ajax has a very typical and characteristic style of play, with Manchester United I will always show different football, I did so last year as well. We play much more direct football here because I have the players for that here.”
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It’s certainly an honest admission and the brutal answer from Ten Hag perhaps sums up the plight the club are currently in.
United’s lack of style
No matter who has been appointed at Old Trafford in the past decade, there has not been a consistent attractive, style of play implemented by any manager.
As Pep Guardiola put it after the game, the treble winners are all aligned on what and who they want but the Red Devils are not.
Despite the amount of backing the manager has had, there is no sporting director to question the Dutchman’s signings, it’s the blind leading the blind at Old Trafford.
