My Hopes and Expectations From The 2022/23 Season

Enough has been said about Manchester United's 2021/22 season, from scathing articles about the underwhelming Ralf Rangnick tenure to the training ground bust-ups between the players. We can all agree that this was probably United's worst season in a very long time, and this is considering the fact that we all saw the meltdown that came in Jose's final season, Moyes just not being good enough to carry out a job of this scale, and Louis Van Gaal's football that put almost everyone to sleep. Add to this the fanfare that surrounded the Red Devils at the beginning of the season, having just finished second in the league to which they added Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane, and Cristiano Ronaldo, and it becomes evident just how bad the season had to go to be called the worst season of the Premier League era.

It still happened, and after all the disappointments, there might just be light at the end of the tunnel for the Old Trafford faithful. There has been a big overhaul at the boardroom level, with CEO Ed Woodward, chief scout Jim Lawlor, and head of global scouting Marcel Bout having departed the club one after the other. The responsibility to rebuild the team now falls into the hands of new CEO Richard Arnold and Football Director John Murtough, with the exciting Dutch manager Erik ten Hag set to take the helm from the 2022/23 season.

So this article is me penning down what are my expectations for next season, and what I hope can happen over the first year of Ten Hag's reign at Manchester United.

1. Squad Harmony

Despite how it ended, I think the one thing most United fans can agree upon is that under Ole in the 2020/21 season, the squad was genuinely likable. The players seemed to play for each other and the manager, and there weren't many (if any) reports of disharmony amongst the squad. Things changed, however, and we end the subsequent season with a pool of players who seemingly don't like each other, don't play for each other, have routinely critiqued each other and the captain, and downed tools under testing circumstances. It came as no surprise to anyone, hence, that the fans also started noticing this through what was happening on the pitch and developed a strong disliking towards most members of the squad. Even the likes of Bruno and Cristiano, who seemed unhate-able at the beginning of the season, have taken pelters from the fans.

The first thing, I hope, that happens next season is that Erik ten Hag is able to improve the squad harmony and make the team likable again. The rebuild is going to be a long one, and it will not be perfect - United are going to lose games they shouldn't and will undoubtedly go through patches of poor form. The way to keep the fans from getting frustrated during such periods, is having a squad that doesn't regularly leak stuff to the media, isn't filled with incompatible characters, and most importantly feels they are playing as a collective towards a common goal will help Ten Hag a lot. The fans have to do their part too, they need to be patient and understand that the process is going to be an arduous one. But having a squad of players they like, who they can see are really trying to play with the pride that should come while donning the Manchester United shirt, will help the fans stay patient and supportive during the inevitable tumultuous times.

I really hope Erik ten Hag can change the mood around Old Trafford, both on and off the pitch, next season.

2. Patterns of play during Build-up, Progression, and Chance Creation

This is a half expectation and a half hope, for me. While it is definitely possible for a team to start showing principles of play during the three phases quite quickly under a new manager (as happened under Bruno Lage or Conte), I do not think there are enough players (barely three, to be completely honest) in the current squad who are good enough to do the things Ten Hag would ideally want, which makes this a challenging task.

Note: Here's a great tweet from Jamie explaining what Ten Hag's team would require to do:

📌 Erik ten Hag to Manchester United [thread]:
- ten Hag's Principles of Play at Ajax
- Strengths and Complexities of the System
- Suitability for the Premier League and United's Squad pic.twitter.com/tfJO3paxDN

— Jamie Scott (@JamiescottUV) March 22, 2022

However, with a full pre-season and the right signings, I do hope we start seeing at least some semblance of patterns during the three phases of play. For this to come to fruition, there needs to be a significant improvement from many players, as they need to be drilled and taught about repeatable movements and situations by the coaching staff. I'm not an expert on this, so I am not sure how quickly this can be done or at what point of the season we start noticing these patterns, but what I do hope is that our players stop looking clueless when they have the ball as they have looked in almost every game this season. We have all seen what Erik ten Hag's Ajax teams have looked like at the very best - quick, direct, and expansive; almost suffocating opposition teams into surrendering possession - and I hope the Dutchman can start setting the foundations for that right from pre-season.

3. A Change in Approach Towards Transfers

Credit: Daily Mail

Manchester United's lack of acumen in the transfer market is pretty well known in the footballing universe. For the £903m (net) spent on players during the past 10 seasons, there are very few signings that can be called 'successful'. Under Ed Woodward's reign, the club has often chased big money signings without thinking about how they actually fit into a system or will they even play in their preferred role. The last true defensive midfielder they signed was Nemanja Matic, and have as a consequence tried to shoehorn Herrera, Fred, and McTominay (amongst others) into that role, which all of them have pretty much failed at. 

With a new boardroom staff, a manager who comes from a club that operates under a particular set of guidelines, and an accomplished consultant in Ralf Rangnick, I expect there to be a shift in the way Manchester United approach transfers. There have already been reports of John Murtough handling transfers and payments in a better way than there were handled in the past, but what I really want to see is the club prioritizing the right profiles of players, profiles that can fulfill specific roles and responsibilities, instead of dwelling on superstar players that are signed more for their public image. This would mean signing the right defensive midfielder instead of chasing Declan Rice the entire summer only to be priced out at the end and having to once again go into next season with Scott McTominay and Fred as defensive options.

This just isn't limited to incomings, though. United need to start letting players go at the right time, instead of giving them new contracts (re Bailly, Martial, Mata) for the sake of preserving their rapidly declining market value and stockpiling sub-par talent. We also need to make faster and smarter decisions on the futures of players who seemingly don't fit Ten Hag's system, like Aaron Wan-Bissaka and David de Gea. Decisions on the futures of unhappy players, Dean Henderson, for example, also need to be made efficiently. Timely exits for players mean that the club can recuperate money on those sales which can be added to the transfer funds and also help save the massive wages most of the players are on.

United cannot go on throwing money on players who don't fit the requirements of the team and it is high time that they start getting it right. The Red Devils have already missed out on two available and high-quality midfielders in Aurélien Tchouaméni and Boubacar Kamara, so this summer will be a good test for the new regime to prove their capability in the market.

4. The Bruno Fernandes Conundrum

After a blockbuster start to his Old Trafford career, Fernandes' stocks have come crashing down as the 21/22 season came to its end. Despite ending the season with 12 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, not a bad return for a midfielder by any stretch of the imagination, Bruno has been a victim of a lot of criticism this season, most importantly, from United fans themselves.

His lack of control over his emotions, going to the ground over the slightest contact, and most famously 'giving the ball away a lot' are some traits that have gotten the fans extremely frustrated. These aren't new facets to his game - they were a part of his game last season too - but his inability to keep himself together when the team was under stressful situations and his instinct to rely on 'hero-ball' when things aren't going his way has come to the fore as fans have started to look past his goals and assist numbers.

It remains to be seen if Erik ten Hag is a fan of the Portuguese, especially because the dynamic is going to be a little different under the Dutchman. Donny Van de Beek, an alumnus of the famous Ajax squad that reached the Champions League semifinal and someone who has been sidelined throughout his time in Manchester, is now a genuine and credible candidate to play in the number 10 role behind the striker under Ten Hag. This means Bruno no longer is the bonafide starter he has been and can easily be replaced by a player who already understands Ten Hag's system's requirements to an exceptional level.

Having just signed a new contract in 2022, the situation isn't as dire or urgent as it seems. Nevertheless, under Ten Hag, Bruno's position is under threat for the first time in his time at Old Trafford. He can either learn and adjust to the Ten Hag's system - which would definitely mean he will be taking his game to a whole new level - or risk losing his place to another very talented midfielder in Donny Van de Beek. 

There's also a scenario in which Bruno impresses Ten Hag and plays well in that spot while Donny is used in a deeper role. Whatever happens, I expect us to have an answer (even if temporary) by the conclusion of the 2022/23 season.

5. The End of Dressing Room Leaks

Another big issue that both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick have had to deal with is the consistent dressing room leaks to media outlets and journalists. Premature lineup releases, stories about the morale and mood of players, news about bust-ups and friction amongst certain sects of players - the season has been muddled by these constant leaks that have apparently been coming from a group of players who believe that they have been wrongly sidelined from the squad, only to be recursively distanced from playing time even more because of their actions.

Such characters do not help any dressing room, and if Erik ten Hag decides that they don't have a future at the club, they need to be promptly removed from the squad. This will perhaps be one of the most important tasks on Ten Hag's to-do list since even though this is something intangible, something fans may not be able to pinpoint a source for, it is something they can certainly sense. A lot of times, it becomes evident to the supporters when 'something doesn't seem right'. There is one player this season, who has particularly been excluded from any first-team minutes after certain allegations about dressing room leaks surfaced against him, which seem quite accurate given the fact that the 'competitor' for his spot has been quite terrible. It therefore seemed to be a conscious decision from the management and/or the club to not give him game time and the player now looks set to leave Old Trafford in the summer.

While there's no telling if the leaks will completely stop once such players are gone, this is something Ten Hag will need to force out of the club if he wants to maintain a good atmosphere in the dressing room. The players need to know such actions will not be tolerated, and, like Sir Alex Ferguson, Ten Hag will need to be backed by the board to be able to rule with an iron fist to axe such issues permanently.

Conclusion

As we look forward to a new beginning for the red half of Manchester, these were some of my hopes/expectations for the inaugural season of Erik ten Hag's reign. There are reasons to be excited about for United fans, and if appropriately backed, the Dutchman is definitely a manager who can bring the taste of trophies back to Carrington. As fans, let's exercise patience and give him the time and support he needs to build a team in his image.

Here's to a much better 2022/23 season!

🤳 A word from the boss! 🔴#MUFC || #WelcomeErik pic.twitter.com/pGuSasCW5i

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 23, 2022