“God decides my future,” Anthony said in an interview last week when he was still an Ajax player. But, you know, an £86m bid from one of the world’s richest clubs doesn’t hurt either. Simple intuition warns us to be cautious. All the red flags are present and correct given what we know about United, and particularly United in the transfer market, and particularly United in the transfer market in the final week of the window after a poor start to the season. The sense of urgency and panic. The hugely inflated fee for a 22-year-old forward who has never scored more than nine league goals in a season. The fact that he was recognized not through an exhaustive empirical analysis and scouting process but because the new manager knows him from Ajax. The mechanics of Anthony’s transfer are emblematic of United’s many dysfunctions. The player himself, though: Well, this has a weird feel to it. Antony may well go straight into United’s squad for Sunday’s game against Arsenal and the irony is that he is joining a quite different club to the one that rekindled their efforts to sign him a fortnight ago. Three consecutive wins have shed new light on Erik ten Hag’s work and their 1-0 win at Leicester on Thursday night was perhaps the most telling sign yet that something extremely interesting is in store. The big thing was how United had possession. Christian Eriksen dropped so deep that he played as a third center midfielder at times. Full-backs Malacia and Diogo Dalot went up high, but not out wide. Instead they occupied more central positions, almost similar to where a No 8 would operate. It’s a ploy that Pep Guardiola has often sought to implement and it serves a dual purpose. First, if you lose possession, you are in a better position to prevent a possible counter-attack. Second, it gives your wingmen more room to roam and attack. And here, perhaps, comes Antonis. Manchester United’s preferred line-ups in 2021-22 (left) and 2022-23 (right) based on league starts. Players on both sides are in bold. The expectation is that Antony, a left-footer, will slot in on the right, a long-standing problem position for United. He dribbles with speed, cuts in for the cross or shot, presses with energy and “grinta”: an Italian term that Ten Hag loves to use for players with toughness, guts, a will to fight and win at all costs. Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, will move to the left. Marcus Rashford can also operate there or challenge Anthony Martial at centre-forward. Bruno Fernandes may sit behind the front three, although in the long term the Ten Hag may have plans to revive Donny van de Beek’s career. I am waiting. Did we miss anyone? Cristiano Ronaldo was benched after the defeat at Brentford and Ten Haag plans to build a team without him. Photo: James Williamson/AMA/Getty Images Oh yes. Having tried and failed to leave the club, Ronaldo was benched from the game against Brentford. (It’s also worth remembering that he lost a child five months ago and has every excuse to be distracted.) And yet Antony’s arrival is perhaps the clearest signal yet that Ten Hag intends to build a team without him. : fast, mobile, unpredictable and with multiple threats from multiple angles. That in itself is a quietly revolutionary development: ill-advised signing of the club’s star player a year ago after a season in which he scored 18 league goals. And it is a measure of the remarkable turnaround that has taken place in just one summer. The best of our sports journalism from the last seven days and a heads-up of the weekend’s action Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. This was United’s first line-up from last season, based on the most starts in the league. De Gea? Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Maguire, Shaw? Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo. Only four are still on the side. The entire defense has been replaced. Scott McTominay will soon make way for Casemiro. David de Gea is almost certain to be replaced once a suitable replacement becomes available. Which leaves only Sancho and Fernandes. “I wanted to change the whole team,” ten Haag grumbled after the 4-0 collapse at Brentford. Well, it’s almost there. This was a process that even Alex Ferguson took years not months to implement, looking not just for talent but for character, players who would fight for each other, players who could play to a plan. What Ten Hag are attempting here – and this sounds like an exaggeration – is one of the most daring acts of major surgery seen at one of Europe’s top clubs in such a short time. There is no guarantee that it will work. The hour of judgment is somewhat distant. All three of United’s recent wins have come against teams content to make the run at them. It remains to be seen how they will cope with teams against them, with Europa League football, how long they will be content to sit on the sidelines without making a fuss, how long they can keep throwing good money after bad. It’s an ambitious plan. It’s a flawed design. It may even be a doomed plan. But it is, at least, a plan.
title: “Antony S Arrival Marks A Bold Turnaround For Manchester United Manchester United Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-30” author: “Julie Wickstrom”
“God decides my future,” Anthony said in an interview last week when he was still an Ajax player. But, you know, an £86m bid from one of the world’s richest clubs doesn’t hurt either. Simple intuition warns us to be cautious. All the red flags are present and correct given what we know about United, and particularly United in the transfer market, and particularly United in the transfer market in the final week of the window after a poor start to the season. The sense of urgency and panic. The hugely inflated fee for a 22-year-old forward who has never scored more than nine league goals in a season. The fact that he was recognized not through an exhaustive empirical analysis and scouting process but because the new manager knows him from Ajax. The mechanics of Anthony’s transfer are emblematic of United’s many dysfunctions. The player himself, though: Well, this has a weird feel to it. Antony may well go straight into United’s squad for Sunday’s game against Arsenal and the irony is that he is joining a quite different club to the one that rekindled their efforts to sign him a fortnight ago. Three consecutive wins have shed new light on Erik ten Hag’s work and their 1-0 win at Leicester on Thursday night was perhaps the most telling sign yet that something extremely interesting is in store. The big thing was how United had possession. Christian Eriksen dropped so deep that he played as a third center midfielder at times. Full-backs Malacia and Diogo Dalot went up high, but not out wide. Instead they occupied more central positions, almost similar to where a No 8 would operate. It’s a ploy that Pep Guardiola has often sought to implement and it serves a dual purpose. First, if you lose possession, you are in a better position to prevent a possible counter-attack. Second, it gives your wingmen more room to roam and attack. And here, perhaps, comes Antonis. Manchester United’s preferred line-ups in 2021-22 (left) and 2022-23 (right) based on league starts. Players on both sides are in bold. The expectation is that Antony, a left-footer, will slot in on the right, a long-standing problem position for United. He dribbles with speed, cuts in for the cross or shot, presses with energy and “grinta”: an Italian term that Ten Hag loves to use for players with toughness, guts, a will to fight and win at all costs. Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, will move to the left. Marcus Rashford can also operate there or challenge Anthony Martial at centre-forward. Bruno Fernandes may sit behind the front three, although in the long term the Ten Hag may have plans to revive Donny van de Beek’s career. I am waiting. Did we miss anyone? Cristiano Ronaldo was benched after the defeat at Brentford and Ten Haag plans to build a team without him. Photo: James Williamson/AMA/Getty Images Oh yes. Having tried and failed to leave the club, Ronaldo was benched from the game against Brentford. (It’s also worth remembering that he lost a child five months ago and has every excuse to be distracted.) And yet Antony’s arrival is perhaps the clearest signal yet that Ten Hag intends to build a team without him. : fast, mobile, unpredictable and with multiple threats from multiple angles. That in itself is a quietly revolutionary development: ill-advised signing of the club’s star player a year ago after a season in which he scored 18 league goals. And it is a measure of the remarkable turnaround that has taken place in just one summer. The best of our sports journalism from the last seven days and a heads-up of the weekend’s action Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. This was United’s first line-up from last season, based on the most starts in the league. De Gea? Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Maguire, Shaw? Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo. Only four are still on the side. The entire defense has been replaced. Scott McTominay will soon make way for Casemiro. David de Gea is almost certain to be replaced once a suitable replacement becomes available. Which leaves only Sancho and Fernandes. “I wanted to change the whole team,” ten Haag grumbled after the 4-0 collapse at Brentford. Well, it’s almost there. This was a process that even Alex Ferguson took years not months to implement, looking not just for talent but for character, players who would fight for each other, players who could play to a plan. What Ten Hag are attempting here – and this sounds like an exaggeration – is one of the most daring acts of major surgery seen at one of Europe’s top clubs in such a short time. There is no guarantee that it will work. The hour of judgment is somewhat distant. All three of United’s recent wins have come against teams content to make the run at them. It remains to be seen how they will cope with teams against them, with Europa League football, how long they will be content to sit on the sidelines without making a fuss, how long they can keep throwing good money after bad. It’s an ambitious plan. It’s a flawed design. It may even be a doomed plan. But it is, at least, a plan.
title: “Antony S Arrival Marks A Bold Turnaround For Manchester United Manchester United Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-27” author: “Taryn Leonard”
“God decides my future,” Anthony said in an interview last week when he was still an Ajax player. But, you know, an £86m bid from one of the world’s richest clubs doesn’t hurt either. Simple intuition warns us to be cautious. All the red flags are present and correct given what we know about United, and particularly United in the transfer market, and particularly United in the transfer market in the final week of the window after a poor start to the season. The sense of urgency and panic. The hugely inflated fee for a 22-year-old forward who has never scored more than nine league goals in a season. The fact that he was recognized not through an exhaustive empirical analysis and scouting process but because the new manager knows him from Ajax. The mechanics of Anthony’s transfer are emblematic of United’s many dysfunctions. The player himself, though: Well, this has a weird feel to it. Antony may well go straight into United’s squad for Sunday’s game against Arsenal and the irony is that he is joining a quite different club to the one that rekindled their efforts to sign him a fortnight ago. Three consecutive wins have shed new light on Erik ten Hag’s work and their 1-0 win at Leicester on Thursday night was perhaps the most telling sign yet that something extremely interesting is in store. The big thing was how United had possession. Christian Eriksen dropped so deep that he played as a third center midfielder at times. Full-backs Malacia and Diogo Dalot went up high, but not out wide. Instead they occupied more central positions, almost similar to where a No 8 would operate. It’s a ploy that Pep Guardiola has often sought to implement and it serves a dual purpose. First, if you lose possession, you are in a better position to prevent a possible counter-attack. Second, it gives your wingmen more room to roam and attack. And here, perhaps, comes Antonis. Manchester United’s preferred line-ups in 2021-22 (left) and 2022-23 (right) based on league starts. Players on both sides are in bold. The expectation is that Antony, a left-footer, will slot in on the right, a long-standing problem position for United. He dribbles with speed, cuts in for the cross or shot, presses with energy and “grinta”: an Italian term that Ten Hag loves to use for players with toughness, guts, a will to fight and win at all costs. Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, will move to the left. Marcus Rashford can also operate there or challenge Anthony Martial at centre-forward. Bruno Fernandes may sit behind the front three, although in the long term the Ten Hag may have plans to revive Donny van de Beek’s career. I am waiting. Did we miss anyone? Cristiano Ronaldo was benched after the defeat at Brentford and Ten Haag plans to build a team without him. Photo: James Williamson/AMA/Getty Images Oh yes. Having tried and failed to leave the club, Ronaldo was benched from the game against Brentford. (It’s also worth remembering that he lost a child five months ago and has every excuse to be distracted.) And yet Antony’s arrival is perhaps the clearest signal yet that Ten Hag intends to build a team without him. : fast, mobile, unpredictable and with multiple threats from multiple angles. That in itself is a quietly revolutionary development: ill-advised signing of the club’s star player a year ago after a season in which he scored 18 league goals. And it is a measure of the remarkable turnaround that has taken place in just one summer. The best of our sports journalism from the last seven days and a heads-up of the weekend’s action Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. This was United’s first line-up from last season, based on the most starts in the league. De Gea? Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Maguire, Shaw? Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo. Only four are still on the side. The entire defense has been replaced. Scott McTominay will soon make way for Casemiro. David de Gea is almost certain to be replaced once a suitable replacement becomes available. Which leaves only Sancho and Fernandes. “I wanted to change the whole team,” ten Haag grumbled after the 4-0 collapse at Brentford. Well, it’s almost there. This was a process that even Alex Ferguson took years not months to implement, looking not just for talent but for character, players who would fight for each other, players who could play to a plan. What Ten Hag are attempting here – and this sounds like an exaggeration – is one of the most daring acts of major surgery seen at one of Europe’s top clubs in such a short time. There is no guarantee that it will work. The hour of judgment is somewhat distant. All three of United’s recent wins have come against teams content to make the run at them. It remains to be seen how they will cope with teams against them, with Europa League football, how long they will be content to sit on the sidelines without making a fuss, how long they can keep throwing good money after bad. It’s an ambitious plan. It’s a flawed design. It may even be a doomed plan. But it is, at least, a plan.
title: “Antony S Arrival Marks A Bold Turnaround For Manchester United Manchester United Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-03” author: “Carlos Fulmer”
“God decides my future,” Anthony said in an interview last week when he was still an Ajax player. But, you know, an £86m bid from one of the world’s richest clubs doesn’t hurt either. Simple intuition warns us to be cautious. All the red flags are present and correct given what we know about United, and particularly United in the transfer market, and particularly United in the transfer market in the final week of the window after a poor start to the season. The sense of urgency and panic. The hugely inflated fee for a 22-year-old forward who has never scored more than nine league goals in a season. The fact that he was recognized not through an exhaustive empirical analysis and scouting process but because the new manager knows him from Ajax. The mechanics of Anthony’s transfer are emblematic of United’s many dysfunctions. The player himself, though: Well, this has a weird feel to it. Antony may well go straight into United’s squad for Sunday’s game against Arsenal and the irony is that he is joining a quite different club to the one that rekindled their efforts to sign him a fortnight ago. Three consecutive wins have shed new light on Erik ten Hag’s work and their 1-0 win at Leicester on Thursday night was perhaps the most telling sign yet that something extremely interesting is in store. The big thing was how United had possession. Christian Eriksen dropped so deep that he played as a third center midfielder at times. Full-backs Malacia and Diogo Dalot went up high, but not out wide. Instead they occupied more central positions, almost similar to where a No 8 would operate. It’s a ploy that Pep Guardiola has often sought to implement and it serves a dual purpose. First, if you lose possession, you are in a better position to prevent a possible counter-attack. Second, it gives your wingmen more room to roam and attack. And here, perhaps, comes Antonis. Manchester United’s preferred line-ups in 2021-22 (left) and 2022-23 (right) based on league starts. Players on both sides are in bold. The expectation is that Antony, a left-footer, will slot in on the right, a long-standing problem position for United. He dribbles with speed, cuts in for the cross or shot, presses with energy and “grinta”: an Italian term that Ten Hag loves to use for players with toughness, guts, a will to fight and win at all costs. Jadon Sancho, meanwhile, will move to the left. Marcus Rashford can also operate there or challenge Anthony Martial at centre-forward. Bruno Fernandes may sit behind the front three, although in the long term the Ten Hag may have plans to revive Donny van de Beek’s career. I am waiting. Did we miss anyone? Cristiano Ronaldo was benched after the defeat at Brentford and Ten Haag plans to build a team without him. Photo: James Williamson/AMA/Getty Images Oh yes. Having tried and failed to leave the club, Ronaldo was benched from the game against Brentford. (It’s also worth remembering that he lost a child five months ago and has every excuse to be distracted.) And yet Antony’s arrival is perhaps the clearest signal yet that Ten Hag intends to build a team without him. : fast, mobile, unpredictable and with multiple threats from multiple angles. That in itself is a quietly revolutionary development: ill-advised signing of the club’s star player a year ago after a season in which he scored 18 league goals. And it is a measure of the remarkable turnaround that has taken place in just one summer. The best of our sports journalism from the last seven days and a heads-up of the weekend’s action Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. This was United’s first line-up from last season, based on the most starts in the league. De Gea? Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Maguire, Shaw? Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo. Only four are still on the side. The entire defense has been replaced. Scott McTominay will soon make way for Casemiro. David de Gea is almost certain to be replaced once a suitable replacement becomes available. Which leaves only Sancho and Fernandes. “I wanted to change the whole team,” ten Haag grumbled after the 4-0 collapse at Brentford. Well, it’s almost there. This was a process that even Alex Ferguson took years not months to implement, looking not just for talent but for character, players who would fight for each other, players who could play to a plan. What Ten Hag are attempting here – and this sounds like an exaggeration – is one of the most daring acts of major surgery seen at one of Europe’s top clubs in such a short time. There is no guarantee that it will work. The hour of judgment is somewhat distant. All three of United’s recent wins have come against teams content to make the run at them. It remains to be seen how they will cope with teams against them, with Europa League football, how long they will be content to sit on the sidelines without making a fuss, how long they can keep throwing good money after bad. It’s an ambitious plan. It’s a flawed design. It may even be a doomed plan. But it is, at least, a plan.
