Grass Length Could Scupper Erik Ten Hag's Plans For 'Total Football'

Erik ten Hag has a lot of things to worry about at Manchester United, but the ability to have the grass the length he was probably wasn't one he expected to encounter.

After a campaign that saw them finish sixth place in the league, well off top four and a distance away from the top two that should be measured in worlds rather than miles, United have a lot to fix in the summer.

Top of his to do list is add a couple of midfielders to his squad, after the losses of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic, with Frenkie de Jong top of his wishlist, and the Barcelona star is even being asked about the possible move.

Ten Hag has to fix the playing style of the team, especially as they barely seemed to have one last season, and the manager has given a number of requests to the club to help in.

However, according to the Sun, one of those conditions to help the team play 'total football' is to have the grass 1.5 cm long, but the new manager is likely to find out that's not possible.

Will the grass be too long at United's Carrington training ground? Image: Alamy

The report claims that the Dutchman wanted to replicate the length of the grass he had at Ajax for the pitches at the Carrington Training Ground, as well as the Old Trafford pitch.

Ground staff at the club feel that it's too short for conditions in Manchester and that the cold weather could stop the grass from surviving the winter months.

That means that they'll have to leave the grass 0.5 cm longer than Ten Haag ideally would want it, and could make a difference to how his team play.

If the 52-year-old does need to complain about the length of the grass then he will be in fine company with the Premier League's finest managers.

Ten Hag wants to replicate his Ajax training at United. Image: Alamy

Pep Guardiola blamed the 'not perfect' grass at Selhurst Park for his side's draw with Crystal Palace back in March this year, in what could have been a crucial game.

Fans were quick to mock his excuse, bringing up the fact that Palace had beaten Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium earlier in the season, when surely the grass was perfect.

Obviously the City boss doesn't have a monopoly on moaning, and he was actually beaten by rival Jurgen Klopp as the 'moaner of the season.'

The German has also been known to blame the pitch on certain occasions, and did bring up the issue ahead of their Champions League final loss to Real Madrid a few weeks ago.

Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United, Premier League, Ajax

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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