One of Erik ten Hag’s most underrated assets is his ability to control the hospital pass. He managed Cristiano Ronaldo’s decline near-faultlessly and effectively stripped Harry Maguire of the captaincy without officially doing so.
It is a good gauge of a coach’s qualities when they are able to make use of the furniture they have inherited. Consider Mikel Arteta with Granit Xhaka, Pep Guardiola with Nicolas Otamendi and Divock Origi’s reinvention under Jurgen Klopp.
Figures at United acknowledged in the summer Martial would be a challenge for Ten Hag. The challenge has been more to do with his agility than his ability in a season Martial has sustained five separate injuries and missed 32 games.
Ten Hag has said United are a better side with Martial starting. He has stressed that so repeatedly he must believe it even if many supporters don’t. Rather than scorn an unsellable talent who has outstayed his welcome, Ten Hag has maximised Martial (when available) whilst also planning for life without him.
The same applies to Fred, filmed in conversation with the Fulham coach Marco Silva outside Old Trafford on Sunday. Intermediaries have proposed a Fred transfer to Fulham, conscious United have planned to sell a midfielder to part-finance the arrival of a new one.
Fred, 30 and approaching the fifth anniversary of his move to United, is out of contract next year and he has started the fewest games in a season since his first with the club in 2018-19. The Brazilian is an asset both sellable and playable.
He could have been credited with two assists against Fulham. The second was one for the aesthetes; a line-breaker so admirable it trumped Bruno Fernandes’s dinked finish.
One sensed Fred would come in for Christian Eriksen and that he would not be paired with Scott McTominay. Ten Hag has not started those two in the same XI since the opening weekend defeat to Brighton, a sensible strategy that has consigned an axis synonymous with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to the past.
Fred and Casemiro may start together at Wembley
Fred’s run-out was not just rotation-related ahead of the FA Cup final. He started in the 2-1 defeat of Manchester City in January, lined up in both legs against Barcelona, the League Cup final and away at Liverpool.
Granted, Eriksen was absent for four of those contests but he started against City as Fred was accommodated in midfield with Casemiro. It is the only time all season Eriksen has been deployed as the No.10 for United.
Every manager has a war story to tell from the Etihad and Ten Hag naively selected Eriksen and McTominay back in October, having delayed Casemiro’s integration. United were 4-0 down to City at the interval and trailed 6-1 after 64 minutes.
At Wembley, Casemiro and Fred would be the logical duo to pit against City’s midfield that John Stones now steps into. Eriksen’s prudence in possession cannot be underestimated yet Ten Hag dropped him against an intense Brighton earlier this month.
McTominay was given the runaround at the Etihad
Eriksen lasted only 62 minutes against the Seagulls in the semi-final last month. He was fatigued after Sevilla gave him the run-around less than 70 hours earlier and United had a Sunday night fixture at West Ham three days on from their defeat in Sussex.
United’s Europa League ejection has spared them of a midweek final in Budapest, a blessing in Cup final week. As flaky a focal point as Martial is, Marcus Rashford is at his optimum off the left and the best equipped to trouble Kyle Walker.
Walker waxed lyrical to confidants about how electric a teenage Rashford was in England training. United fashioned three presentable opportunities in the first half against City at Old Trafford with Eriksen behind Martial and Rashford lurking on Walker’s shoulder.
The City defence that day featured Joao Cancelo, his last appearance for the club before he was jettisoned. Pep Guardiola publicly claimed last month Walker was incapable of playing in City’s new formation. Now Walker is.
City have evolved since their derby collapse, sparked by a contentious equaliser by Fernandes. They start four defenders yet shape-shift to a back three when in possession and Stones has been a revelation in midfield. Stones was not in the squad at Old Trafford four months ago.
So there is a danger Ten Hag has already shown his hand. United’s 4-2-3-1 formation has been sacrosanct all season and they do not have the defensive personnel to imitate City’s approach. A mischievous headline writer would have reacted to Sunday’s team news against Fulham with ‘Harry Maguire ruled out of FA Cup final start’. Ten Hag might have experimented had Lisandro Martinez not fractured his metatarsal.
So the adjustment may come further forward. Alejandro Garnacho is too raw to start an FA Cup final and Antony remains a doubt. Jadon Sancho has started the last four games and improved since he switched to the right but there would be reservations about retaining him against his former club. Sancho’s downward spiral this term began with his failure to shield Tyrell Malacia against Phil Foden eight months ago.
Ever since Victor Lindelof caressed the ball into the Wembley net in the semi-final, the assumption has been Fernandes will shift to the flank for the final. Fernandes started there against City in January.
Fernandes will almost certainly captain United at Wembley
Fernandes has played wide eight times and has had a significant impact in all of them. Even when United lost 1-0 at West Ham, Rashford and Antony hit the upright from balls supplied by Fernandes.
Fernandes has operated on the right and the left and which side will have a major bearing on United’s approach. If he is on the right, then Rashford is almost certainly on the left and Martial at the tip of the arrow.
With Fernandes moving infield and Eriksen adept at switching roles in-game, United have flexible personnel to counter City’s fluidity. Luke Shaw’s excellence at centre half is useful and he started there when United neutered Erling Haaland in their home win.
In his Sunday Times column, Wayne Rooney suggested United “cheat a bit” by playing Martial and Rashford as split strikers in a 4-4-2, absolved from defending and primed to counter-attack. It is an idealistic notion against the best team in the game.
Rooney also recommended United line up without any wingers. Ten Hag will not be short of game-changing options with Garnacho, Antony and Sancho all possible substitutes at Wembley but they have a shortage in midfield with Marcel Sabitzer injured and Ten Hag has to play the percentages as well.
Calling upon McTominay would be reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson ending Ji-sung Park’s exile for the decisive derby in April 2012. Park had not played in 46 days and he never played for United again. McTominay, a starter on only 16 occasions this term, will have gone 56 days without a start come Cup final day.
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