How can Erik ten Hag rebuild Manchester United?

The manager and his club are currently on a marauding run.

Ever since Erik ten Hag took over Manchester United's, he has spilt opinion on how can he rebuild a broken Man Utd. On 23rd August, shades of glory zipped past all Manchester United fans. Erik ten Hag had led their team to a memorable win against Liverpool in the Premier League.

For all United fans, it's fair to say that the Dutchman's Manchester United rebuild has well and truly begun. These fans have seen their Red Devils face defeat at Old Trafford against Liverpool many a times in the last four years. But, a motivated United turned up to finally end their recent wretched record against the Reds.

This win obviously deflected attention from the main issue at the club - the owners! Now, it's very easy for the #GlazersOut army to keep coming up with rallies and ideas of "Empty Old Trafford". This was something which was planned for the Liverpool game too, but obviously, didn't work out as planned. In the upcoming games, United went on a marauding run and only suffered one defeat. That too, was a controversial one in the UEFA Europa League (against Real Sociedad).

The challenge in front of the manager

So, the first incredible block Erik ten Hag has to tackle at his job at a broken Manchester United is the club's owners themselves. Many great managers have come and gone and they have said some thing about the owners, that is common.

It's time for changes to happen and the time for it to begin is now! This won't be overnight, it will rather be a tiring, tedious procedure that could take years. But, it has to start somewhere!

If you look at United's market value realistically, no billionaire would consider buying the club at such a premium. This logic goes out of the window when it's a consortium, which will have its own drawbacks too. But, what fans want, is an assurance. If ever someone dares to attempt a hostile takeover like the Glazers did, the first and foremost criteria for them should be that they love and breathe Manchester United through and through.

They should promise the fans that they would not just use the club's marketability to fill their own pockets. Furthermore, they should rather bring out a proper fan share scheme to help grow together with the community and with the club.

Erik ten Hag will have a major role to play amid all of this chaos. United fans have entrusted their support in this one man who they think could bring back glory days at Old Trafford.

Now, let's discuss what ten Hag brings to the table in footballing terms. How can he execute his vision at the club considering his philosophy of the beautiful game.

Erik ten Hag's philosophy

We're sure most of the United fans have read and know everything about ten Hag. But, there are a lot of things that meet the eye with this incredible Dutch manager. The way he built Ajax in his vision is commendable. It is a great example of how a footballing institution should run.

Typically speaking, ten Hag has a decided tactic and formation. He plays a fluid 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3 formation. These formations depend on whether his team is defending or attacking respectively, with extreme importance given to full-backs.

Erik ten Hag is influenced by Pep Guardiola in terms of positional play. He has mixed that style up with the German way of playing pressing football up front.

Another important aspect of ten Hag's philosophy is the central midfield position. This is something the manager has concentrated on in his rebuild. He trains his central-midfielders to exploit open gaps in their opponents' midfield. The Dutchman does that with the use of full-backs on either sides in order to make positive forward passes in critical positions that lead to goals.

Ten Hag's defensive shape is typical with two central-defenders. They play a crucial role in starting build-up play followed by the full-backs. The full-backs have options everywhere on the field. They can make inside passes to central midfielders, who then run with the ball to make cross-field or direct passes to the wingers. The full-backs then make overlapping runs to create more space and give wingers multiple options. The wingers can then decide building up further or making cross-field long passes or simply crossing directly into the box.

This outsmarts defensive tactics of opponents, who anticipate play to continue on the other side of the field.

Manchester United's rebuild will truly be successful once this is perfectly implemented.

Decoding each player's role in ten Hag's 4-2-3-1 formation

The Dutchman has been trying to implement a 4-2-3-1 formation in his rebuild at United. It's fair to say that they still need specialists in multiple positions in order for his vision to bear fruit.

United are expected to start with David De Gea as the goalkeeper. Tyrel Malacia, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martínez and Diogo Dalot should be the four defenders. Antony, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho might form part of the midfield and winger positions. Marcus Rashford shall be the regular striker with Cristiano Ronaldo often making cameo appearances.

It is a typical 4-2-3-1 that United should field with the back four mentioned above. Eriksen and Casemiro slotted in the defensive midfield positions, will link with each of their side's wing-backs. Antony, Fernandes and Sancho will form the attacking three with Rashford making important runs to create space for attacking opportunities.

It took Ten Hag three weeks to see his ideal formation bear fruit, and it did, that too against their fiercest rival.

Positions to rebuild

Diogo Dalot plays one of the most crucial roles in ten Hag's system. He still has a lot to improve in terms of his composure on the ball. Nevertheless, he's doing well. But what if he's out of form? Or injured? An addition to the position will be of help to United. Why? In the match against Sheriff, ten Hag replaced Dalot with Luke Shaw and switched Malacia to right-back. The more options, the better!

There are some incredible right-backs that could do the job for ten Hag at United. One of them is his former player Sergino Dest, who matches the criteria to be an ideal candidate.

Then there's Norwich City's Max Aarons, who could be a pretty straightforward transfer for United if they push hard in winter. Denzel Dumfries too, was linked with United constantly in summer. Adding to the list, If ten Hag wants to solidify his rebuild at United with someone who has proper Premier League experience, there's Tino Livramento from Southampton who could do the job in that position.

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The Liverpool game: Start of the rebuild?

Defence

Raphael Varane made some incredible tackles to break Liverpool's momentum at the right times in the game. He forged a strong partnership with his new defensive partner Lisandro Martínez, who was simply sensational on the night. Varane's presence of mind and expertise in anticipation for the opponents' next move was clearly visible against Liverpool as he proved to be one of United's best players that evening.

Both Varane and Martinez have shown what difference one gameweek makes with proper coaching and direction.

Tyrel Malacia had his first proper league encounter with Liverpool. It's fair to say he was one of the best performers on the pitch.

The left-back kept Mohamed Salah quiet for almost the entire game and also contributed incredibly well to United's attacking set-pieces. United finally have a full-back who can cross!

Midfield

Talking about the two midfielders in ten Hag's 4-2-3-1 formation, Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen. McTominay has been under pressure since the start of the season. Now, with the signing of Casemiro as part of Erik Ten Hag's Man Utd rebuild, the Scottish midfielder surely would have started considering his future at the club. However, against Liverpool, McTominay showed what he was capable of. He was calm and not afraid to carry the ball forward.

There are obviously multiple technicalities that he needs to improve considering he may warm the bench when Casemiro starts for United.

But, on the night against Liverpool, the Scotsman did what ten Hag asked of him. He was fearless and carried the ball well before making adventurous passes to the forwards.

Alongside McTominay, Christian Eriksen was his usual incredible self. Eriksen slotted in the area between attacking and defensive midfield, providing Bruno Fernandes with ample space to venture forward before resetting the formation and marshalling himself into attacking positions from time to time. The way Eriksen didn't panic in the build-up to Jadon Sancho's goal proved why United signed him in the first place.

The Offensive Third

Bruno Fernandes, himself, played the role of United's metronome in the game against Liverpool. The Portuguese midfielder didn't make a single mistake in the first half that saw him perform to the levels at which United fans know he can. His vision and inter-play with Eriksen was a treat to watch and only time will tell how he could take his game to the next level once Casemiro fits in to ten Hag's system.

Fernandes played attacking majority of the time with Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga forming the three in 4-2-3-1 formation.

Jadon Sancho came up with probably his best performance for United against Liverpool. He was seen everywhere when United were attacking. Sancho displayed incredible composure for the goal he scored, something which fans will remember from his Borussia Dortmund days. The way in which he confused Liverpool's defence time and again shows what a systematic change can do to a player's confidence.

Elanga formed the final three of the attacking midfield against Liverpool and he should have scored a goal for his effort that hit the post in a 1v1 with Alisson. The Swedish star ran circles around Trent Alexander-Arnold and many would feel his half-time substitution was unfair. However, this is also one of the areas in which United are trying to upgrade.

In short, there are lots of areas the Red Devils are still lacking in and they need reinforcements in alignment with ten Hag's vision of attacking football.

But, the early signs are that questions on how can ten Hag rebuild a broken Man Utd, are being answered.

The resurrection ahead

Speaking about an upgrade, Ten Hag's former player, Antony from Ajax has already made a move to the Red Devils. The lad even scored on his debut against Arsenal. He will be key to define their rebuild. Antony is tailor-made for ten Hag's system as he can easily feature for United as a winger and an out-and-out striker.

Cody Gakpo was another name continuously talked about with regards to United transfers this summer. The PSV winger has been pushing hard for a move and there is no doubt that ten Hag needs an upgrade and additional flair in the wingers' position as part of his rebuild.

Marcus Rashford played as a sole striker against Liverpool and came up with a performance to remember for a long time. He scored a goal and also interchanged his position from time to time as has been his habit for quite some time now. Rashford scored the second goal for United against Liverpool, but ten Hag already should have major transfer plans for his ideal striker. In winter or next summer, a new face might be there at United!

A striker is pivotal for ten Hag's system to work with United being linked with many names in the summer transfer window. As of now, the goals have been coming, but a more aggressive approach (like it was in the past) would be suitable.

Multiple outlets had linked United to strikers like Joao Felix, Matheus Cunha, Alvaro Morata, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Raul de Tomas, Christopher Nkunku, Victor Osimhen and even Jamie Vardy.

Well, obviously the media have a tendency to go overboard with United's transfer news. But a couple of players like Christopher Nkunku and Victor Osimhen could well be great options to properly fit into ten Hag's plans.

Conclusion

How can Erik ten Hag rebuild a broken Man Utd?

This is going to be the most asked question throughout the 2021-22 season.

To be honest, there is no direct answer to this as of now.

But the way the Red Devils won against Liverpool and continued to build on it in the upcoming games, there is no doubt the tactician is well underway in his ambition to define a new era at Old Trafford.