Erik ten Hag has brought Manchester United back on track after years of decline. Photo: Reuters/David Klein. Manchester United fans should be worried about their manager Eric ten Hague: Real Madrid will be looking for a new manager soon.
They are always looking. And now it would be nice to strike. Because given the evasiveness, the endless pushing of deadlines, the chronic indecision of the Glazers' comically clumsy attempt to sell the club, the United manager has no clear idea of his transfer budget.
He has yet to properly plan for the opening of the transfer window next month. For a man like him, this must be more than unpleasant. And if it lasts much longer, it will be quite in his nature to be poached by another club in tune with his ambitions, where the future is seen as something more than just getting the highest possible sale price.
If you want a hint of Ten Hag's lynx-eyed approach, there was a moment at the very end of Manchester United's victory over Bournemouth that spoke volumes. The ball broke through to substitute Scott McTominay in the Bournemouth area. He had time to strike, time to add some icing to the cake of the away win that propelled his team to Champions League qualification level. But his effort was tame, flopping unconvincingly into the chest of goalkeeper Neto. To almost everyone at Vitality Stadium, it seemed like an unimportant addition to the game, just one of those things. But not Ten Hag.
He went berserk on the touchline, yelling furiously at the midfielder, hinting at how he was supposed to shoot. Which was obvious, judging by the way the hands were rushing about, with much more power and precision. Not to mention, at a time when his team was leading and opponents never looked like they were going to score — with guaranteed Premier League survival, Gary O'Neal's team seemed to be on the beach already. ; and there are many beaches in Bournemouth.
However, Ten Hag didn't accept that excuse: the game could have been won, the points could have been scored, but it was a mistake that needed to be corrected.
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" I was surprised by it" admitted man of the match Casemiro after the game when asked about the Dutchman. "He is never satisfied, always demanding more from us"
And Casemiro has seen many top managers close up. Many of them are perfectionists. But this is the way of Ten Hag: he brings simmering discontent to everything that is less than perfection. Take his assessment of how his team played.
"I was very satisfied, very good game" he said, before adding a critical caveat: "During the first 25 minutes"
However, during the next 65 minutes, when Bruno Fernandes and Anthony competed in an unofficial competition to see who will most often pass to an opposing player, he was less enthusiastic. Much less enthusiasm. And over the next few days, before the last two league games, he will tell the players how they need to keep improving, how they need to raise their standards.
He sets an example; his own focus is absolute. When asked if he knew that Liverpool would lose the match against Aston Villa in a minute, thus giving qualification to the Champions League, he looked at the interlocutor with withering contempt.
"It doesn't matter" he said, obviously taken aback by the very idea of paying attention to what others were doing. "We are in the lead, it depends only on us. We don't need to look back. It has nothing to do with any other team, only we and our opponent on this day are important. Owners don't help Ten Hag strive for excellence
For United fans, that's manna. Ten years after the great obsessive Sir Alex Ferguson retired, their club has finally found someone as determined as the Scot to raise the standard. Ten Hag delivered. He looks like a person who is finally able to raise a cudgel that has long been decrepit from complacency.
Not that the owners of United helped him in his quest for excellence. He is more than aware, having worked at Carrington for almost a year, of the shortcomings in his team: for example, despite the best efforts of a player to rupture his lungs, he is not going to win the title if his back is Forward — Wout Weghorst.
He knows he needs some serious reinforcements when the transfer window opens. Whether he can strike as he pleases depends entirely on his employers. And their greedy incompetence must be driving him crazy.
This would be the final legacy of the Glazers' miserable possession: to let one smart meeting they made go elsewhere in desperation.
Casemiro told Manchester United he would fix them and he kept his word 
celebrates his goal against Bournemouth. Photo: Getty Images/Adrian Dennis Bournemouth v Manchester United 2022-23 match summary.
Sam Dean at Vitality Stadium
Casemiro has already endured the humiliation of playing in the Europa League for one full season and that is certainly insulting enough. Such competitions are a personal affront to players of the stature of the Brazilian, with his five Champions League medals at home, and he played here as if nothing could be worse than returning to the continent's second tournament. p>
The 31-year-old has done as much as any other player this season to bring Manchester United back to the top of European football and, in the absence of an ailing Marcus Rashford, he's taken it to the next level again. Not only in the usual way — those tough tackles and accurate passes have been a constant feature of United's campaign — but also with a Champions League-level winning goal.
It was a performance of cunning, leadership and foresight from the United midfielder. His overhead win was the highlight of the win at Bournemouth, but the lead and solidity that followed proved just as important.
"He continues to amaze us" said Erik ten Hag, United manager. "He is such a brilliant footballer. Fighter. He keeps the team together. We know him for very good organization, positioning, foresight, intercepting a lot of balls and winning duels. But also in possession for its transmission, its distribution and its completion. Just a great footballer."
To be clear, Casemiro wasn't the only one pushing United even closer to securing a place in the top four. He needed the help of Rafael Varane, another player with a clear Champions League spot, and the much-maligned David De Gea at United. The clean sheet was De Gea's 17th of the season, guaranteeing him a Golden Glove award.
David 17- De Gea's clean sheet guarantees him the Golden Glove. Photo: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
At the start of that campaign, after a humiliating defeat at Brentford in the same light green kit United wore here, Casemiro texted his agent: «Tell them I'll make things right.» Of course, he can't say he did it until Champions League football is officially guaranteed, but now United are on the cusp of Liverpool's draw against Aston Villa.
United have 69 points in their two remaining games. Liverpool played one more game and scored 66. This means that Ten Hag's team only needs one point in their upcoming matches against Chelsea and Fulham. It is important to note that both of these games will take place at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag insisted that he was not briefed on developments at Anfield during the match. "It doesn't matter" He said. “I've been saying for weeks now that it's not about our opponents. We are leading, it depends only on us. We have everything in hand, and we do not need to look back."
With Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandez in control from midfield, United completely dominated the opening trades. Casemiro's goal was scored just nine minutes later when he charged into the rear of the Bournemouth defenders. Eriksen's cut-off pass landed on the Brazilian and he spun in the air to convert it with power.
Is this the goal you expected from Casemiro? "No" Ten Hag smiled. "But where we put a lot of emphasis and practice a lot is in the movements in the last third. The movement is excellent. The touch from Christian is great and the finish brilliant."
Bournemouth, who was already safe and had nothing to play but pride, continued to create his fair share of chances. However, in this case, De Gea proved unshakable, as he turned down Dominic Solanka, David Brooks and, in the last minutes, Kieffer Moore.
Throughout this, Casemiro has been patrolling the midfield and in charge of his teammates. If he wasn't shouting out directions to Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he was filling in for the right-back after United's attack. When he was not throwing passes to the wingers, he returned the ball, challenging him in midfield.
The quality of his game is evidenced by the fact that Casemiro landed more shots, won more duels. and recovered the ball more times than any other player on the field. "Maybe we should put him forward" joked De Gea.
For Bournemouth, the disappointment of a rightful loss will be overshadowed by the joy of having Brooks back in the starting XI. In October 2021, the Welsh playmaker was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma, his first start in 598 days.
"People hear my story but don't know how difficult it was for me to even train with the boys" Brooks said. “Coming back after such a break is really difficult. There is nothing better than being on the pitch."
Bournemouth vs Manchester United lineups 2022-23
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