The five stages of Manchester United’s season.
With the devastating FA Cup loss to Manchester City, which turns the final page in the 22/23 chapter of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at United, we take a look back at the red devils season as a whole and analyse the successes and failures of the campaign.
Belief
Ten Hag’s arrival at United instantly transformed the outlook of the club. With torrid results and club atmosphere towards the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure, the club was left hurtling towards a black hole that just seemed to be getting deeper and deeper.
Not only was the management of the club not good enough, but after years of protection, the players were being exposed for their lack of quality too. This exemplified by the hugely unpopular ownership of the club, which overshadowed all the problems on the pitch.
Therefore, when the former Ajax boss arrived at Old Trafford, it finally felt like a change of era for United fans.
Official, confirmed. Erik ten Hag has been appointed as new Manchester United manager. He’s the man for the new era. 🚨🇳🇱 #MUFC
Official statement by Manchester United & Ajax confirms the agreement completed and signed. pic.twitter.com/vIWlJOzLiE
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 21, 2022
Obviously, the ownership issues still loomed around the club, but Ten Hag and his new coaching team with Steve McClaren and Mitchel van der Gaag, helped bring a fresh impetus and new identity to United.
Despite this, everyone knew Ten Hag needed signings. There was too many players incapable of living up to the pride and meaning stored within that United jersey.
With Christian Eriksen, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Antony all joining the club in the summer, this instilled great hope and optimism for the season ahead.
In recent years, United have been heavily criticised for their poor recruitment and overspending. Although the latter part of this didn’t seem to change, the smart recruitment of players like Malacia and Eriksen was a positive change from the inefficient and embarrassing recruitment of years prior.
Subsequently, this also improved the atmosphere around the club.
In addition, pre-season, was instrumental to this as well.
Although its widely known you shouldn’t read into pre-season performances, something that United fans in particular should know after former manager Louis van Gaal’s flawless first friendlies, fans couldn’t help themselves. With the ‘success’ in the Bangkok Century cup, beating Liverpool in the process, this gave some fans unrealistic expectations.
Subsequently, misery occurred just weeks after.
Misery
After such high hopes following on from a successful pre-season, all belief was shattered when United faced Brighton and Brentford.
The theatre of dreams was bouncing, welcoming their new leader. However, a Pascal Gross brace cemented a 2-1 defeat for the red devils.
The following week, United were humiliated at the hands of Brentford in a 4-0 drubbing.
As a result, the optimism collapsed; but Ten Hag didn’t.
To set a precedent and a statement, Ten Hag made the players run, but did it with them to command respect.
Erik ten Hag put the #mufc players through a brutal training session today in more than 30C heat. Ten Hag made each player run 13.8km. Collectively, Brentford’s players ran 13.8km more than United, who covered 95.6km between them #mulive [@hirstclass]
— utdreport (@utdreport) August 14, 2022
A run wouldn’t strike everyone as the way to salvage the dire situation of sitting rock bottom of the Premier League after two games, but clearly the Dutch coach knew what he was doing.
United next faced Liverpool at Old Trafford, this is where everything changed.
Resurgence
After two defeats in a row, Ten Hag adapted. This made all the difference.
A resurgent United side fired out the blocks to beat Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
This was monumental to creating the momentum which United embodied for the rest of the season.
After this, United went onto pick up three wins in a row, including a 3-1 victory over league leaders Arsenal.
However, a 6-3 humbling at the Etihad, illustrated to Ten Hag that there was still a lot of work to be done.
With five wins from six in their final games before the World Cup, United were in good form.
Upon the completion of the World Cup, United returned in even better form.
Ten Hag’s men won seven games in a row before drawing to Crystal Palace and losing to Arsenal.
Despite this, the month of February was to become the pinnacle of United’s season.
A huge two-legged tie against Barcelona and a Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.
Success
At the Camp Nou, United earnt a 2-2 draw in a brilliant game, which illustrated the huge progress in performances since Ten Hag’s arrival.
In the reverse leg in Manchester, Fred put in a phenomenal performance which included scoring the equaliser, before Antony’s sublime finish saw United storm past Barcelona.
Just three days later, United overcame Eddie Howe’s Newcastle in a 2-0 victory, earning United their first trophy in just under six years.
Although the Carabao Cup isn’t the most prestigious trophy, the failures of previous managers illustrate the difficulties of winning trophies and thus such a triumph should not be understated.
Completion
After success in the Carabao Cup, Ten Hag’s focus moved to securing top four in the Premier League and attempting to win the Europa League and FA Cup.
In the Premier League, he did just so. United finished third, four points ahead of fourth placed Newcastle.
However, a 7-0 humiliation at the hands of biggest rivals Liverpool was a game that will never be forgotten.
Ultimately, after such a torrid start to the campaign, third is a great result for Ten Hag and his men.
In the Europa League, it wasn’t as successful.
United were drawn against six time Europa League winners Sevilla.
Sevilla were struggling in La Liga, but always thrived in this competition.
A first leg collapse saw United throw a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Old Trafford. The following week, United completely fell apart. A 3-0 thrashing saw Ten Hag’s team completely out fought, outperformed and most importantly, beaten.
A day to forget for the Dutch manager.
In the FA Cup, with fortune against Watford and penalties against Brighton, United earnt their place in the final. They faced league champions Manchester City in the first Manchester derby cup final.
However, the blue of Manchester were just too strong for United, with Ilkay Gundogan’s brace securing City a 2-1 victory over their rivals at Wembley.
This ended Ten Hag’s first year at the club.
Therefore, twelve months into Ten Hag’s tenure at the club and most would argue its been a successful first season. If you offered the majority of fans top four and winning the league cup before the season, they’d have bitten your hand off. This isn’t to suggest there wasn’t disappointment though.
The most concerning elements of the season was three individual defeats.
The 6-3 loss to Manchester City
The 7-0 loss to Liverpool
The 3-0 loss to Sevilla
Despite the monumental impact Ten Hag and his new coaches have had upon their arrival at the club, these three performances showed the former Ajax boss that there’s still a lot of progress needed to be made.
The 6-3 defeat came earlier into his tenure so is less of a concern, but the 7-0 defeat was just a week on from winning the Carabao Cup. In addition, the manor of the defeat to Sevilla was so poor with a terrible performance from the United players.
Subsequently, these performances, particularly the 7-0, illustrated that the players still have that ability to collapse and give in which will be a huge concern for Ten Hag as he looks to establish a strongminded team, who can properly challenge for all trophies.
Ultimately, securing third place in the Premier League, a League Cup win, getting to the FA Cup final and losing in the quarter finals of the Europa League is a strong season for United on the pitch.
Ranking United’s 22/23 signings
1st – Lisandro Martinez – The Argentinian centre half has been an absolute rock since he arrived from Ajax. He’s a fearless defender who’s been willing to put his whole body on the line. Until his injury, Martinez formed a fantastic partnership with Raphael Varane, which was instrumental to David de Gea’s golden glove win.
Lisandro Martínez to Manchester United, here we go! Full agreement in place between Man United and Ajax for package up to €55m. Lisandro will sign until 2027, documents now approved. 🚨🔴 #MUFC
Deal done – meeting in Amsterday on Wednesday was the key step. Ten Hag, big factor. pic.twitter.com/qyYskmgNMU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 15, 2022
2nd – Casemiro – Upon his arrival, the five time Champions League winner completely revolutionised United’s midfield and how it operated. He’s become one of the first names on the team sheet, providing proper protection for the back four. His two suspensions have prevented him from being United’s best signing this year.
3rd – Christian Eriksen – Until his injury, Eriksen was brilliant for United. Some big games passed him by, but his ability and quality on the ball was pivotal in United’s fluidity when transitioning through midfield. Unfortunately, Andy Carroll’s horror tackle side lined the Dane for months and Eriksen hasn’t been as good since returning.
4th – Tyrell Malacia – Despite signing as a backup, Malacia has lived up to his duties when required and provided good competition for Shaw when the Englishman hasn’t played, or has been needed in central defence.
5th – Antony – The Brazilian winger has shown glimpses of real quality, scoring several beautiful long range curlers. However, for an £80m price tag, Antony hasn’t shown enough consistency to finish higher in this list.
6th – Marcel Sabitzer – The Austrian joined the club in January as a result of Eriksen’s injury. He was a necessary addition providing good energy and quality at times. However, he couldn’t quite nail the midfield position down in his performances and gradually featured less with Eriksen’s return and his own injuries.
7th – Wout Weghorst – With Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure and Antony Martial’s consistent injuries, Weghorst was a needed signing. However, the Dutch striker failed to score the goals he was signed for. In his six month loan, Weghorst scored just two goals in 31 appearances. He brought great energy and pressing, with exceptional work off the ball, but failed at the fundamental of being a striker and thus sits bottom of this list.
Ronaldo and Ownership issues
The last part to note in United’s 22/23 season, was the major event of Ronaldo’s departure and the ongoing sale of the club.
With Ronaldo’s ground-breaking interview with Piers Morgan, leading to his inevitable departure at the club, Ten Hag had a huge job to deal with the whole situation. The Dutch coach dealt with the Ronaldo issue spectacularly, remaining professional, but not giving into the ego of the Portuguese. Ultimately, United improved after the mutual termination of his contract.
Similarly, Ten Hag has had to deal with a potential sale of the club constantly looming, but never being complete. This isn’t an easy situation to deal with especially in planning future signings, but the former Ajax manager has dealt with questions and queries in press conferences well.
Overview
Ultimately,
Manchester United’s 22/23 season on and off the pitch has been a success. They would have been better off without the Ronaldo and ownership issue, but have not let it affect their performances on the pitch.
Ten Hag will now be looking ahead to the summer to bring in the right signings for his side to win more trophies next season.