Manchester United are fast becoming the big boys of the Premier League in name only and not for what they are producing on the pitch. Old Trafford does not carry the same fear factor that once forced its visitors to crumble before they had even exited the tunnel.
Certainly Saturday’s opponents Brentford will be eager to get on that pitch and go to work as quickly as possible, hopeful of extending their record-breaking run of early goals to exact even more misery on Erik ten Hag and his players.
It is no exaggeration to say the first blow could be struck in the coin toss. Harry Maguire is sidelined for United and he is the one you would have wanted going up for that first header when Brentford attempt what has become their trademark blistering start.
Thomas Frank’s team scored after 22 seconds against Manchester City, 23 against Tottenham, 37 against West Ham and 75 against Wolves, who also conceded within 32 seconds of kick-off when a Brentford sucker-punch made it 3-2 in that 5-2 victory.
It’s fast, it’s furious, and it’s no fluke. In football, every restart can be seen as a set-piece and nobody embraces this idea more than Brentford, to the extent they consider kick-offs as opportunistic as corners and free-kicks.
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United face the challenge of combating Brentford’s fast starts
Thomas Frank is bound to be talked up as a potential successor to Ten Hag should the Bees spring a surprise
Yoane Wissa scored after just 22 seconds against Manchester City in Brentford’s quickest start yet
Opposing analysts must fret whenever Christian Norgaard wins one of those coin tosses because they know their team will be in immediate danger.
Read More
All eyes are on Thomas Frank as a Manchester United audition awaits this weekend
There have been slight variations applied in Brentford’s approach from week to week, depending on who they are facing, but all of their kick-off routines have followed a similar set of rules.
It starts with a pass being played backwards, usually to the goalkeeper Mark Flekken. He takes a second so Brentford’s outfielders have time to push themselves up the pitch in preparation for the long ball that’s coming. We’ve seen how Flekken has targeted finding 6ft 6in full back Kristoffer Ajer, who rushes into the final third in readiness to try to head it down into a central area.
If I was an analyst at United, I’d be telling Ten Hag to make sure that our best header of the ball – in Saturday’s case Jonny Evans – temporarily starts the match on his flank. That way, when Ajer flies forward into that space, he is there to contest it with him.
Whether or not Brentford win that first header, their players are primed to win the second ball, pouncing on it with greater gusto than any of their opponents. They don’t all occupy the same space. They spread out so that when one wins possession, he has passing options all around him, including on the wings. By keeping that width, they have an outlet for crosses, knowing there will be at least three bodies waiting in the box for those deliveries.
The execution has been extraordinary, with Frank’s forwards producing fantastic finishes, not least Bryan Mbuemo with two volleys. Graham Taylor, my boss at Aston Villa, was the most meticulous manager I ever encountered with set-pieces and we had our own plan for kick-offs, too.
Taylor told us to kick the ball into touch, as close to the corner flag as possible, so that the entire team could push up the pitch. With one of their men taking the throw-in, the idea was we would have the numerical advantage to win the ball back in a dangerous area.
Having a plan from kick-off is nothing new. But Brentford do it better than anyone and are proud of that fact, repeatedly punishing their opponents’ failure to take the sensible option which would be clearing the danger at the first opportunity.
Kristoffer Ajer – who stands at 6ft 6in – is often used to win the ball high up the pitch after kick-offs
Jonny Evans (No 35) is United’s best header of a ball and should be used to counteract the threat of Ajer
I’m confident Frank would succeed in charge of any club and if Brentford win on Saturday, he is bound to be talked up as an obvious candidate to take over from Ten Hag if United decide to go in a different direction.
In their 0-0 draw at Villa, Ten Hag was in front of a six-man firing squad sitting in the stands in Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sir David Brailsford, chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, and Sir Alex Ferguson.
He’s been handed a stay of execution. But just like deciding who kicks off, Ten Hag’s own future could come down to a flip of the coin on Saturday. If it comes down on the right side, he could get a nice run going to get himself out of trouble. If it falls on the wrong side, defeat by Brentford could be it for him as United boss.
