Perhaps the start of Erik ten Hag’s demise at Manchester United can be traced back to the summer of 2023.
In particular, the one comment he made during that year’s pre-season tour.
The Dutchman’s impressive debut season in the Manchester United dugout had been built largely upon a rock-solid backline – David de Gea won the Premier League’s Golden Glove, remember? – the ruthlessness of a career-best Marcus Rashford, and their ability to strangle the opposition with controlled spells of possession.
But, as Erik ten Hag would explain shortly after securing a fine third-place finish, that was not an approach he planned to stick with.
“We want to be the best transition team in the world,” Ten Hag said shortly after a 2-0 victory over Arsenal in New Jersey. “We want to do it in the United way.
“And we want to be really successful in that particular style.”
Ruben Amorim can succeed where Erik ten Hag failed at Manchester United
Sacked 15 months on, an FA Cup trophy not enough to distract from a dismal Premier League campaign and a horrific start to 2024/25, it’s fair to say Ten Hag was not exactly ‘successful’ in his attempts to shift away from an approach which served him well during happier times at Old Trafford.
In fact, the more Man United gravitated towards Ten Hag’s ‘transitional’ style, the worse they became. The less control they had in matches. The easier they were to play against. The more vulnerable they looked.
A Golden Glove-winning backline gave way to one which let in 58 goals in 38 matches. Casemiro’s Man United decline was nothing short of remarkable, too. One of many who struggled in a Ten Hag system which served only to undermine his player’s strengths and expose their weaknesses.
But as the Manchester United supporters were treated to a tantalising glimpse into what life might hold under Ruben Amorim, it was tempting to wonder if the 39-year-old Portuguese might actually look to perfect Ten Hag’s ideals and smooth out those rough edges rather than rip up the blueprint and start again.
There are, of course, a few key differences between Amorim and Ten Hag. One being, of course, that Amorim is likely to set Man United up with a new three-at-the-back formation. But an admiration for fast transitions is something the two certainly seem to share.
That Man City demolition was not exactly trademark Amorim-ball – he said at full-time that he doesn’t tend to set up his team to have so little possession – but the way Sporting snapped into tackles before unleashing Viktor Gyokeres in behind was presumably the sort of thing Erik ten Hag had in mind when he planned to make Man United ‘the best transition team in the world’.
Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon destroyed Man City in transition
Only five seconds past between Sporting winning the ball back in their own half and Viktor Gyokeres squandering a one-on-one at the other on Tuesday night. It is not difficult to imagine Manuel Ugarte and Rasmus Hojlund combining in similar circumstances; the former doing the dirty work and the latter galloping into those wide open spaces.
Gyokeres would not let City off the hook the next time he raced onto a well-placed through ball behind Pep Guardiola’s backline.
The goal which gave the hosts the lead for the first time on the night, meanwhile, saw Sporting move with a fluency, a confidence and a ruthlessness so often lacking at Man United.
Baiting City into a high press, Sporting then passed the ball around their opponents quickly before Pedro Goncalves drifted in from the wing and played in Maximilian Araujo to finish.
This was transitional football at it’s most devastatingly effective.
“Ruben has a tactical flexibility. He bases it on the opponent, particularly in Europe. He always considers the weaknesses of the opponent,” former Benfica B coach Joao Nuno Fonseca tells Sky Sports, Amorim tailoring his gameplan to stun Man City but still maintaining of the core principles that have underpinned his remarkable success.
“He plays a high defensive line most of the time and is good on transitions. It is still a positive game idea based around ball possession. This arrogance in the playing style is very positive for young players because they have this no-fear mentality.
“That is key.”
Erik ten Hag failed badly in his attempts to make Man United an elite transitional outfit, instead leaving their defensive exposed, their midfield overran, and their attack often reliant upon individual brilliance.
But if Ruben Amorim can get the pressing structure right, if he can add some much-needed patterns to United’s attacking play, perhaps the Red Devils will eventually become the benchmark for transition teams the world over after all.
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