Man Utd - Newcastle: Ten Hag's first impression?
After the plan with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fell through, Man Utd made a risky decision. They appointed Ralf Rangnick as interim coach for six months to wait for a new leader to take over the team. It was Ten Hag, who accepted to leave Ajax after five years of work to take over the ruins at Old Trafford.
So far, that decision of Man Utd has reaped the first results. The victory over Barca in the knockout round of the Champions League shows that the "Red Devils" are ready to regain the image of a big team. But Ten Hag probably didn't want to be like Solskjer - receiving compliments and leaving without a title. Defeating Newcastle and winning the League Cup is the best way for the Dutch coach to open a new era for the 20-time champion of England.
It will be Man Utd's first title since 2017, when they won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho. But what Man Utd is looking for in the position of head coach is not someone who can help them win a few titles and then leave. The Old Trafford team has always been looking for a successor to Alex Ferguson since parting with this former coach 10 years ago. One person can bring the club back to its golden age and stability to continue to elevate its influence in the world.
The image of Ten Hag having dinner with Ferguson on February 21 made Man Utd fans believe that the Dutch coach was suitable for that task. In 1999, Ferguson also defeated Newcastle in the FA Cup final in the journey to win the historic treble - the most illustrious feat of his career.
"Football is always a story of victory and glory. We deserve to be in the final and have a chance to win the title. The whole team has to do everything to bring the Cup back to Manchester. You can feel it. We see the waiting from Man Utd fans and we will do our best to bring glory to them," Ten Hag said.
Not only winning Barca, Man Utd prepared well for the match in many ways. They have only lost one of their last 18 matches in all competitions. The "Red Devils" still have the opportunity to compete in all four competitions they attend when they reach the fifth round of the FA Cup, the eighth round of the Champions League and are eight points behind Arsenal in the Premier League.
In terms of force, Man Utd will not have the trio of Christian Eriksen, Donny van de Beek and Anthony Martial. The most ominous case with Ten Hag is the injury of Marcus Rashford. The striker who has scored 24 goals this season was hurt in the win against Barca. But according to many sources, Rashford is still capable of starting at Wembley.
In contrast, although they have only lost two matches in the Premier League this season, Newcastle have not won the last four matches, the latest being a 0-2 defeat against Liverpool. In these four matches, "Chicken" only scored two goals, two matches failed. As a result, Newcastle was occupied by Tottenham in fourth place in the English Premier League.
Newcastle must overcome eight consecutive defeats at Wembley if they want to be crowned. The last time they won here was in the FA Cup final in 1955. Eddie Howe has the opportunity to become the first English manager to win the League Cup since Steve McClaren, who led Middlesbrough to the title in 2003-2004. .
"I don't feel the players are burdened because the club hasn't won trophies in 54 years. Even that is the motivation for them. Before this tournament started, we told the players that the club was the club. I've been waiting for the title for a long time and I think they all understand. I think Newcastle did a good job of turning that into a driving force to go to the final, "Howe shared.
The biggest problem with Newcastle lies in the goalkeeper position when Nick Pope is suspended, Emil Krafth is injured and Martin Dubravka is not eligible to play due to playing when he was loaned to Man Utd in the first half of the season. This forced Howe to use former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius.
