At the end of a training session in which Marcus Rashford delivered a reminder of his scoring touch, Ruud van Nistelrooy received a hero’s welcome, and Rene Hake and Jelle ten Rouwelaar gave a hint to what kind of Manchester United coaches they are, Erik ten Hag held a meeting.
In a small stand opposite a larger one that housed supporters at UCLA’s Wallis Annenberg Stadium, the United manager was joined by Sir Dave Brailsford, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox for a debrief about what had just gone on.
Ten Hag having immediate conversations about coaching players is a tangible sign of how the INEOS regime differs from previous ways of working. Previously, a United manager stood at a distance from the club’s executives on the finer details of football.
GO DEEPERInside Ten Hag's Manchester United reprieve: Tuchel, De Zerbi and the key meetingsTen Hag undoubtedly appreciated elements of that, having confidence in his expertise to not require interference, but clearly there was scope for greater support. That is the aim of Brailsford installing Ashworth as sporting director and Wilcox as technical director, who will each stay close to the team and offer opinions. All three coming out to the United States suggests they are starting as they mean to go on.
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Just as importantly, their presence also provides balm to any ruptures caused at the end of last season when INEOS explored potential replacements. Going from an apparent split to a renewed union and finding success will need everyone to come together. That requires dialogue and understanding.
Even though Ten Hag has stayed, there is an undeniable sense of freshness on the staff and that was clear in Los Angeles as United held an open training session ahead of the game with Arsenal on Saturday night.
Van Nistelrooy — who scored 150 goals in 219 appearances for United — once again wearing the United crest resulted in a low hum of his first name echoing into the blue skies above as fans showed their appreciation. Van Nistelrooy also made lots of noise, shouting instructions from the side of the pitch during two sets of training games. He wanted energy.
Van Nistelrooy was a busy presence at Manchester United training (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Hake had a presence also, laying out what was expected from each of the drills and making corrections.
They came across very much as two equals. Hake is expected to pick up the responsibility Mitchell van der Gaag had for setting schedules and the mechanics of sessions. What Brailsford wanted, in addition, is a positive atmosphere in training. That was there at UCLA: plenty of intensity, action, and communication.
The players were split into three teams of eight, divided into yellow, orange and black bibs, with the first exercise seeing one team trying to pass through the opposition, who were sat in two rows to stay compact. Those in possession attempted to create gaps by rotating the ball. Maxi Oyedele fired a pass through the first line that drew admiring gasps from the crowd.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Leny Yoro and Hannibal Mejbri are put through their paces (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
The second game was more dynamic, a counter-attack setup with the players encouraged to make runs out wide, get crosses in, and play at a fast pace. Van Nistelrooy whistled when it was time for the teams to rotate. It was the second session of the day, but the speed remained high to the end.
Rashford, in particular, was super sharp. In one move in the first game, he glided past James Scanlon and slotted a left-foot finish into the back of the net. On another occasion, in the second game, he outmuscled his opponent, accelerated away, and scored again. He seemed strong and switched on, afterwards smiling as he signed autographs for fans.
Scott McTominay had his shooting boots on, too, snapping finishes on more than one occasion. Jadon Sancho scored one goal that had the same finesse as his goal against Liverpool in Ten Hag’s debut campaign.
Some goals from #MUFC training yesterday.
Rashford nutmeg, Casemiro chip, Amad ripper.
Updates on friendly v Arsenal later. pic.twitter.com/sTQjJjFabL
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) July 27, 2024
There were other moments for the crowd to cheer. Amad scored a screamer after dancing through challenges. Antony twice found the net off his right foot, as if determined to show he is effective on his weaker side.
To begin, the goalkeepers did their own thing with Ten Rouwelaar, their work showing a clear focus on controlling the ball with their feet.
Dermot Mee and Andre Onana worked heavily on footwork (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Tom Heaton gave an insight into how the Dutchman, who has replaced Richard Hartis, likes to work.
“I’ve really enjoyed the sessions, they are different, he works more on cognitive basic calls, where it’s making you think quite a bit,” Heaton said. “So on my first warm-up day, he and I went out for half an hour and it was a lot of opposites.
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“So there’d be a blue cone, a yellow cone, and it was a case of doing the opposite — if he shouts blue you have to go to yellow. Then he passed me the ball and if he said right, it’d be left, and then the progression would be left, left, but the first one wouldn’t be an opposite and the second one would be an opposite.”
INEOS is doing the opposite of what came before in many aspects, but by sticking with Ten Hag, there is continuity and it felt telling that the loudest cheer from those watching was reserved for the manager as he walked off the pitch as the last man.
(Top photos: Erik ten Hag and Marcus Rashford; by Getty Images)
Laurie Whitwell worked for the Daily Mail from 2010, covering midlands football for the last five years, including Leicester’s remarkable Premier League triumph. Whitwell was nominated for sports scoop of the year at the 2019 SJAs for breaking Wayne Rooney’s move to DC United. He will be reporting on Manchester United for The Athletic. Follow Laurie on Twitter @lauriewhitwell
