Gary Neville suggests radical formation change for Erik ten Hag, names 10 Man United stars who would benefit

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Erik ten Hag has survived being sacked at Manchester United by the skin of his teeth but he remains under intense scrutiny.

Manchester United have made their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign under the Dutchman this season.

The club’s hierarchy met in London on Tuesday where Erik ten Hag‘s future was supposedly a talking point, but there has been no suggestion that he will be sacked.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe gave Ten Hag two games to turn things around after the alarming 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, and he led United to back-to-back draws away at Porto and Aston Villa.

There are as many as 10 potential Ten Hag replacements that Ineos could consider, but he looks set to stay in charge when United host Brentford next Saturday.

Gary Neville suggests new Man United formation

The biggest criticism during Ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford is the lack of a clear style of play. Now in his third year in charge, there is still a lot of confusion around United’s identity under Ten Hag.

There was hope that Ten Hag would bring the energetic pressing and high-intensity style of play from his Ajax side over to Manchester, but it has not been quite that simple.

Speaking on The Overlap, United legend Gary Neville has now suggested a formation change which he thinks would suit Ten Hag’s squad perfectly.

“I’ve got the answer,” said Neville. “I can’t understand why he has not gone to three at the back.

“Seriously, if ever there was a team where you didn’t have a pair of centre-halves who could play together then it’s that group.

“There’s six of them there – there’s Yoro, Lindelof, Maguire, Martinez, De Ligt and Jonny Evans.

“My view is that if you look at Martinez, he’s perfect for a left centre-back in a three. Harry has played in a three many, many times in his career.

“De Ligt is someone who I think needs other people around him.

“I said at the start of the season, if ever there was a team that looked like [would suit a back three]. Dalot, Mazraoui, Shaw, Malacia – they all look like wing-backs. They all look like three centre-backs and look like they need extra protection.”

Neville suggests that a change to a back three would suit United’s entire defensive department, including all six centre-backs and the four full-backs.

Will Erik ten Hag overhaul his tactics?

Neville does make a lot of sense with his argument about United’s defence – after witnessing so many individual errors this season a back three could be very beneficial.

But it would require Ten Hag to go back to the drawing board and start from square one. He has been trying to implement his four-at-the-back system for the past two seasons and after being heavily backed over the summer, he now has the right personnel.

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There should be no excuses for Ten Hag getting the best out of this set of players given that he was so involved in recruiting most of them.

Even with his job under intense scrutiny, it is hard to picture Ten Hag giving up on his “process” to make a huge change to his formation.

There have been signs of the defence improving under Ten Hag this season – the bigger issue is now the severe lack of goals.