Amid all the change at Manchester United since Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed his deal to acquire control of the club, there was a sense of deja vu as Erik ten Hag stood in front of a cluster of people thrusting cameras and microphones in his face.
In the tunnel of the Williams-Brice Stadium, as warm rain fell from the black skies outside, Ten Hag spoke about how Jadon Sancho’s trial as a false nine could continue into the Premier League campaign because the striker acquired in the summer may need time to get up to speed in England.
Ten Hag was in a similar position last year, when Sancho had first been selected up top on a tour to the United States. At that stage the manager was waiting for Rasmus Hojlund’s back issue to clear up. This time, Joshua Zirkzee’s arrival has been delayed by his involvement at the European Championship.
When the competitive action started last season, Ten Hag actually chose Marcus Rashford at centre-forward for the opening two games before reverting to Anthony Martial and then welcoming Hojlund. On this occasion he volunteered Bruno Fernandes as an option, as he was in the FA Cup final. Rashford, Ten Hag said, is better off the left, and it seems obvious he will resist as much as possible shifting the player from his favoured role.
Accommodating his players’ views would be a tweak to Ten Hag’s style of management, but in keeping with how the new football leadership team view coaching. The Dutchman is still very much in control, but he appears open to adaptation after a season when United finishing eighth left his job in jeopardy.
Sancho’s re-emergence to a credible choice echoes that. Ten Hag refused to say if Sancho had apologised for the social media post that triggered his exile last season — contrition was a crucial point of contention when it all kicked off — which suggests there has simply been a truce called instead. Whether than can blossom into something more is far from certain, but the line being drawn at least means Ten Hag has an extra player compared to last season’s squad.
Sancho certainly seemed to be following Ten Hag’s instructions off the ball against Liverpool and Real Betis, demonstrating good application to pressing and falling back into the 4-2-4 defensive shape when opponents had possession. He slid left, while Scott McTominay and Mason Mount in successive games rose from the No 10 spot to move to the right of Sancho, with the wingers level either side. It was the system that worked to excellent effect against Manchester City at Wembley.
Sancho runs away from Diogo Jota during United’s friendly against Liverpool (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
In February, during his first media appearances, Ratcliffe said the INEOS approach is that the football executive set a style for the club to which the head coach aligns, but Ten Hag’s fingerprints remain all over his team. In practice, the attempt for a consistent “game model” to sustain beyond individual managers is a more collaborative process. Ten Hag would not accept having tactics pushed on him, and he makes all decisions on selections, but there have been conversations with directors about what happens on the pitch. This is a shift from the previous regime.
Ten Hag has had daily talks about training with Sir Dave Brailsford, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, while chief executive Omar Berrada was also in the U.S.. That communication is vital to strengthen the relationships which seemed so fragile at the end of last season, and the public show of solidarity feels important to secure buy-in from players, too.
The uncertainty over Ten Hag’s position crept into performances back in the spring, as it did when Ralf Rangnick was interim manager, but United’s football leaders are giving visible messaging in support of the Dutchman now.
In San Diego, Ashworth walked out of the Snapdragon Stadium with his arm round Ten Hag’s shoulders, in view of players still milling around. Tom Heaton was speaking to his wife, while McTominay laughed with his girlfriend.
Heaton explained his thoughts when speaking earlier at the team hotel, the SLS Beverley Hills. “He’s the manager of Manchester United, he’s in charge, he’s taking us forward — there’s no more thought about it from the players because why would there be?” he said. “The club extended his contract, we’ve got fresh staff here, there’s a slightly new direction. That’s all it is really. The rest is down for us to deliver performances.”
Ten Hag surveys the scene at SoFi Stadium (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Changing the atmosphere around training has been on the agenda for those in charge of the club, adding moments of levity where appropriate, and there was a touch of that during the open session when Ten Hag called over the winners of each small-sided game for a group photograph, manhandling his players into place.
Later, Ruud van Nistelrooy oversaw a game of rock, paper, scissors between Ethan Wheatley and Will Fish to determine whose team had the ball first in a game. It somehow went on for seven rounds, to some mirth from those watching, with Wheatley eventually triumphing paper over rock.
Stick still replaces carrot at other times, though, with losing players required to do press-ups as punishment.
A major factor in the fresh feel to the coaching is Van Nistelrooy.
Although Ten Hag did not previously know his compatriot, the manager thought about options and made the recommendation when it became clear a reshuffle was required. Van Nistelrooy, who won the Dutch Cup as PSV Eindhoven manager, has since impressed directors with his presence, communication skills and knowledge of the game.
He has been giving tips to attackers on shooting — notably striding onto the pitch during a break in play of one small-sided game to impart advice to McTominay, who had twice struck the near post with shots either side of scoring into the far corner — but his detail on defensive structure is there, too.
“I sort of grew up idolising Ruud and the way he used to play,” said Jonny Evans. “I got a bit of a chance when I was a youth-team player to see him play when he was coming to the end of his United career. I might have trained with him once or twice when he was coming back from injury. It is good to have someone of that calibre and respect in the squad.”
Van Nistelrooy at training UCLA (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Evans said Van Nistelrooy has mentioned his defensive acumen. “After he left United he had a spell when he went to Spain and he was talking about when he was under (Manuel) Pellegrini and diehard defensive coaches,” he said. “He learned a lot and he saw real value in it. He’s probably himself quite obsessed about defensive structure, as a striker. I’m sure that was always quite interesting (to work out) where he could score his goals.”
Heaton also spent time with Van Nistelrooy when he was a player at United.
“I was always his go-to keeper for shooting,” he said. “If that was a goal there, he’d always say he had four squares so I was almost irrelevant as a goalie. It wouldn’t matter where I was, he’d always have it in his mind that it was on him about where he was on the pitch. He’d be hitting one of those four squares and he used to hit in early — like a dart — and you just couldn’t save it. He was the best I’ve worked with.
“It was so good to see him. And he’s been brilliant. His level of detail is superb. You’d be forgiven for thinking: ‘He’s a United legend coming in, is he just a face for it?’ But I’ve been in a couple of meetings and he’s been outstanding.”
Rene Hake left his job in charge of Go Ahead Eagles to join United, and has assumed many of the responsibilities Mitchell van der Gaag used to oversee, such as scheduling and session-planning. He could be heard shouting demands when to press and when to stay compact during a drill.
Hake has also made his presence felt (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Some continuity remains. “In terms of taking training and the sessions, it’s more or less the same,” said Christian Eriksen. “It’s the same manager so a lot of the training is similar. But they are just two more Dutch people!”
Eriksen can be forgiven for neglecting Jelle ten Rouwelaar given his focus is the goalkeepers. Rouwelaar’s challenge is to improve United’s passing out from the back, and his drills have centred on getting the goalkeepers to think quickly and clearly in difficult circumstances.
“I thought we did it quite well last year in the first phase, but progressing from there, a little bit higher and through the pitch, was probably the next step for us this year,” Heaton said. “Going from that first phase through to the second and then beyond that.
“Early impressions have been excellent, actually. I had a few phone calls about (Ten Rouwelaar), specifically to say what a good person he is. I actually received phone calls about that, which I have to say in football is pretty rare.”
Ten Rouwelaar at SoFi Stadium (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
A third former head coach arrived on the fifth day of the tour when Andreas Georgson flew in. Georgson left Lillestrom to take the lead on set-piece coaching and individual development at United, and he was involved in his first training session the day after his arrival.
Darren Fletcher appears invigorated by the tweak to his own role. No longer technical director, with Wilcox taking that title, he is freer to commit to training sessions and has been getting stuck in to playing with the current group, offering pointers as the drills go on. There was the sweet sight of him chasing his 17-year-old son Jack during one of the sessions.
Others youngsters have had good tours, too, especially Toby Collyer and Harry Amass, aided by Dave Hughes, academy lead coach, being in the U.S.. The idea to have an academy coach on the tour came from Ten Hag given the large number of youngsters travelling, and Fletcher and Travis Binnion decided Hughes was the best fit.
Amass, the 17-year-old left-back, is expected to continue the season with United but there is a decision to be made on Collyer, 20. Ten Hag really rates the midfielder but will weigh up whether to organise a loan or keep him in-house to develop and potentially see senior competitive football.
Amass impressed on the tour (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Steve McClaren’s exit to take charge of Jamaica was surprising, but a parting of the ways was on the cards given his switch from assistant manager to senior first-team coach. He stayed behind to take care of the returning Euro 2024 and Copa players at Carrington but, having intended to see how his role would work in practice, decided he would like to take the opportunity in the Caribbean.
Inevitably, United’s sessions at the Wallis Annenberg Stadium at UCLA were a major attraction but, other than the open workout on the first Friday, they were able to train largely in secret due to high hedges and tarpaulin covers fixed over railings.
Security guards did, though, have to tell some enthusiastic fans to stop recording when they tried to sneak a peak under the bottom edges while perched on steps down to the undergound carpark.
Fans could get a better glimpse of the players as they walked to the dressing rooms, with dozens waiting in the high heat every day to ask for signatures and autographs. Harry Maguire was excellent for stopping, but those who did not were sometimes on the end of a verbal volley.
The tour is as much about connecting with supporters and strengthening commercial ties as the football, and to this end United stole a march on Arsenal to hire the new COSM facility, an immersive video experience over the road from the SoFi Stadium on the afternoon of the friendly there. Berrada and Collette Roche, the chief operating officer, chatted to fans.
There is an acknowledgement from the football leadership that flying to the U.S. is not the ideal preparation from a purely sporting point of view, but is clearly part of the fabric of a major modern club. Still, streamlining the trip compared to last year’s crisscrossing across the country — with a game in Houston sandwiched in between stops on the east coast and west coast — made for a much better experience for staff and players.
Instead, United stayed in Los Angeles for the entire trip, only flying in and out of San Diego and then to Columbia, South Carolina on the way home, meaning a shorter flight back to Manchester. United took off at midnight after the Liverpool game and landed back in the UK at midday local time.
“Yes, 100 per cent,” said Eriksen when asked if this tour was more suited to performance. “It’s different being at a base and travelling less to the games.
“Last year there were a lot of flights in between, short trips for one or two days in this city and then the next one. We need to really slow down and acclimatise because it’s a different environment, different place to train, different hotel. It did feel like a lot of stuff was going on in a very short period.”
Eriksen signs an autograph at UCLA (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Being in central Los Angeles rather than on the outskirts of San Diego, as last year, meant the players had more variety to enjoy downtime. They had Monday off, and variously played golf, went shopping on Rodeo Drive and to the beach.
Kobbie Mainoo was in LA on holiday and visited the team as they trained for the final time at UCLA on Friday. Separately, he trained at Red Bull’s performance centre in Santa Monica with former United coach Robin Thorpe. Mainoo went there last summer and subsequently had a fine season. The facility has previously been used by Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Neymar.
There has been some tension, though. The injuries to Hojlund and, in particular Leny Yoro, cast a cloud over the trip.
United were determined to keep the extent of Yoro’s injury under wraps, even after he was seen on crutches at the team hotel on the Sunday after the Arsenal friendly when he suffered a fractured metatarsal. Yoro is regarded as the shining symbol of the new ownership, so his absence, which the club expect to extend to around three months, punctures the optimism significantly. Only after Yoro was videoed on crutches and wearing a protective boot, and reports emerged, did United communicate the prognosis.
Attempting to keep his injury secret was also in part due to ongoing negotiations for other targets. Bayern Munich knowing there is more pressure to recruit a centre-back affects United’s bargaining position over Matthijs de Ligt, for instance.
United tried to avoid injuries by managing loads, using sweat patches to measure fluid loss during sessions — thus tailoring refuelling — and by installing an ice bath next to the roof-top swimming pool at the team hotel.
Ten Hag will be reunited with several major players on returning to Carrington. Lisandro Martinez, Alejandro Garnacho, Luke Shaw, Mainoo, Fernandes, Zirkzee and Diogo Dalot are all back, and the manager will use this week to decide whether any is ready to be thrust straight into the action in Saturday’s Community Shield fixture against Manchester City at Wembley.
GO DEEPER
What Ten Hag said in pre-season press conference – and what he might have meant
(Top photo: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
