Erik ten Hag has several problems at Manchester United, but the biggest of all is one he has been criticised for by Ruud Gullit years ago.
This season has been awful for Manchester United, with performances being even worse than the results have suggested.
Erik ten Hag from minute one this campaign has watched his side carved open and full of gaps in midfield.
The result has seen Andre Onana faced with an increasingly jaw-dropping tally of shots which is only matched by some of the worst sides in the division.
But despite this going on all season long, Ten Hag seems to have no intention of solving this midfield problem.
Now, it’s become clear why, as it’s reemerged that this was an issue his Ajax side once faced too, as Ruud Gullit slammed his team back in 2019.
What Ruud Gullit said about Erik ten Hag’s style in 2019
Back when Ten Hag was the Ajax boss, in 2019, he faced a panel on Duch TV channel Ziggo Sport which saw Ruud Gullit slam the style of play at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
“The annoying part about Ajax”, the legendary midfielder began to explain.
“Especially in transition, I’ve seen it against Bayern Munich, I’ve already seen it many times before, at the moment they’re taking a lot of risks.
“Especially in midfield and all of a sudden you get ridiculous counters. If it gets intercepted, they can just run all the way through.
“You think, ‘you’re taking so much risk’, because you want to press. But then [the opposition] can also run straight through the midfield.
“There has to be one player in the middle who thinks ‘what if?’. Yeah, he always secures the midfield [Man City’s Fernandinho]. Frenkie de Jong is playing well but you still need someone next to him.”
To this, Ten Hag responded, “The way we play, those are the risks we have already calculated, and I agree with you, you have to be positioned correctly.”
Erik ten Hag shows why Manchester United should have patience with him
For all the faults we’ve seen so clearly this season, Ten Hag, like Gullit said needs a proper defensive midfielder for his system to work. This is why United have been so exposed this campaign with Casemiro on his last legs.
In his sit down with Gullit, Ten Hag also emphasised the need for a midfielder to sit deep, something we’ve not seen this season.
“No that can never happen”, Ten Hag explained about both holding midfielders being too high up the pitch.
But he also explains that ball retention is also a massive part of how he wants his side to play.
“Well if you lose the ball there [first phase of play], every team gets killed.”
He then explained that with his style of play, when things aren’t going well, then you are “extra vulnerable”, but when it’s going well “you are able to impose your will on your opponents”, as we’ve seen at times this season.
After this, as Gullit soon agreed with Ten Hag, it’s clear that to make this system work, United needed to strengthen in the defensive midfield spot.
With Kobbie Mainoo as the ‘De Jong’ of this team, it leaves a more defensive-minded player needed.
A player like Amadou Onana or Martin Zubimendi would be absolutely perfect and could make a difference for the entire team.
Let’s hope Ten Hag gets the backing he needs this summer.