Manchester United are back. And I, for one, am not shocked.
I said at Erik ten Hag’s arrival that he was the guy who was going to turn things around for the Old Trafford giants.
And with his team just one win away from breaking the club’s six-year trophy drought, I doubt that you would disagree with me now.
Sunday’s League Cup final against Newcastle seems a foregone conclusion too with Red Devils ace Marcus Rashford in unstoppable form and Magpies’ flagging momentum.
🗓️ 26.02.23@ManUtd 🆚 @NUFC #EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/V23zWPDoxP
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) February 1, 2023
And with United only five points off leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, still alive in the FA Cup after Thursday night’s Europa League last-16 playoff showdown with Barcelona, anything is possible.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 23, 2023
But before I get the unusually-quiet United fans’ mouthing off again, let’s talk about what Ten Hag has done to get them here.
FOOTBALL FIRST
As a fan of the Dutch school of football, Ten Hag’s philosophy is a great place to start.
There is an old video that did the rounds on the internet earlier this season of him as a young laaitie asking the great Johan Cruyff questions on a TV show.
13-year-old Erik ten Hag talking how to manage players with Dutch legend Johan Cruyff pic.twitter.com/7KBSGrYl7m
— ᗷIᒪᒪ ᖇIᑕᕮ 🎙![CDATA[]]>📻 (@billrice23) February 23, 2023
And you could tell just by the way he looked at his idol that he was taking every world to heart.
For manne like his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who have learnt the Cruyff way, how you think and live the game is the most important thing.
So first things first, Ten Hag got back to basics. His squad began eating together, cut back on the social-media activity and got their head in the game.
The team became the focus and pretty soon the manne who didn’t smaak all of that were smoked out.
Obviously, the biggest queen bee of them all, Cristiano Ronaldo, was first to pak his tassies.
And United haven’t looked back.
The best part of this being his first season, though, is that whether they go on and win more than one or more trophies or even come up empty-handed won’t make a difference.
🗣 "The confidence is much higher, we believe the process we are through is the right one."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 24, 2023
Bruno Fernandes reveals what has changed at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag pic.twitter.com/g6cIyIQYSh
Time is on his side, but Ten Hag has made a blistering start to making United look like a serious team and club again.
MZANSI MAGIC
I can’t begin to tell you what a success Benni McCarthy has been.
After impressing while giving a demonstration to one of the youth teams, Ten Hag offered him a job with the first team and put him in charge of his attacking players.
And it has worked like a bomb.
Things clicked for Marcus Rashford, with eight goals in 19 games before going to the World Cup with England already eclipsing his five in the whole of last season.
But since coming back from his three strikes in Qatar, he’s been aan’ie brand with 16 in 17 matches.
Orlando Pirates striker Ndumiso Mabena has expressed his pride in ex-teammate Benni McCarthy, who is now striker coach at Manchester United.
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) February 23, 2023
It's believed McCarthy is behind the resurgence of Marcus Rashford, who has a career-best 24 goals so far this season.#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/umsYkKWCIo
Jadon Sancho has also been going to Benni for sessions and it’s paying off for him too after a troubled season.
If Anthony Martial can stay fit, Ten Hag will have one of the most feared attacks in the very near future.
A quick sidenote on Benni. Apart from landing a dream job with the club he supports, it’s great to see him just getting down to his work.
Here in South Africa, as the face of his team, I just felt he didn’t handle himself well when a struggling team well.
But a smiling Benni brings so much energy to his club. And that’s what has got United firing in the 18-area.
MIDFIELD DOMINANCE
One area United have sukkelled to sort out big time in recent times was central midfield - especially the defensive role.
Ask any United fan and they will tell you Scott McTominay and Fred are nowhere near good enough to help the Red Devils compete at the top of the game.
But the arrival of Christian Eriksen (who could miss the rest of the season with a long-term injury) and Casemiro has changed all of that.
When Eriksen is fit, United have one of the best in the business.
His vision made him more suited to a role higher up the pitch before his heart problem, but his passing range has come to the fore, with his deeper role giving United more control in the central areas.
What he lacks in presence, though, has been provided by Casemiro, who is a master of the dark arts and the Brazilian has wowed with his allround action skills.