A photo of Manchester United's analysis team sitting in the upper stands at Camp Nou has recently caught the attention of fans. A team of eight coaches and analysts watched the game from a high level and analysed useful data to help Manchester United boss Ten Hag and the sideline coaching staff make tactical adjustments.
Some people simply say "8 analysts", which is a wrong judgment, there are only 5 analysts in the photo, the other two are goalkeeping coaches, and the other is Manchester United's technical director and famous Darren Fletcher. It is worth mentioning that among Manchester United's analysts is a Japanese Kaita Hasegava.
The other 4 are Luke Wright, Luke Lazenby, Kevin Keij and Tom Green. Among them, Kane Kaye was an analyst in Ten Hag during his time at Ajax, responsible for collating video and data during matches, and transmitting information to the coach's dugout on the sidelines in a timely manner.
The data collected by the team will also be fed into United's central database at Carrington's training ground, overseen by the club's head of first-team analysis, Paul Brand, which Ten Hag can call in to prepare players for future matches.
Goalkeeper coach Richard Hatties sits next to Fletcher, along with another goalkeeper coach Craig Mawson sitting on the far side, tasked with helping De Gea analyse his performances and improve his ability to play and participate in the team's organisation.
In fact, such equipment is a normal configuration in the Premier League and even in major European league clubs. Manchester United director of football John Murtaugh sees improving the level of the analytical department as one of the club's priorities, as the Red Devils are behind Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester City in this regard. As a result, United has recruited a number of new analysts and also strengthened their data science department, managed by director Dominic Jordan, which is more focused on scouting and recruitment.
During Manchester United's training session on Wednesday, a drone also hovered over Carrington to film the players' training ahead of the second leg of the Europa League with Barca. Today, this is a routine practice in Carrington, which allows analysts to see the practice from above, after all, Carrington does not have the towering grandstand of Camp Nou, which can hold 90,000 people.
So Ten Hag has contributed to United's resurgence this season, but not the only one. In addition to analyzing the team, the coaching staff around him are also unsung heroes. Striker coach Benny McCarthy is seen as a key player in helping the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and others regain form, with the legendary South African goalscorer supporting United from an early age.
McCarthy once kicked United out of the knockout stages of the Champions League while playing for Porto, creating the treble for which Mourinho is famous. He then moved to the Premier League, playing for Blackburn Rovers and West Ham, so he knew the Premier League.
Like Ten Hag, McCarthy was a former Ajax player and therefore knew Dutch football culture well, so after his agent recommended him to United last summer, an agreement was quickly reached and McCarthy agreed to work as a striker coach without even asking how much his salary was.
Signing autographs for fans outside Old Trafford last weekend, someone thanked McCarthy for his contribution to the team, repliing: "Thank you, that's the manager's credit, it's the manager." The fan said that the medal was half yours, and McCarthy laughed: "I just put Marcus in the right place."