No country compares to America for its sizeable portions but Manchester United’s attention to detail on nutrition will ensure none of the players are tempted by a Denny’s.
Omar Meziane, the head chef hired from the FA in January, is already hugely popular with the players, who have noted the improved quality of food since he joined United.
Psychologically, Meziane’s menus have provided a fillip for the players on tour when their schedule consists of being ferried from the hotel to the training pitch or a stadium.
Meziane is still listed as a consultant to the England Cricket Board and travelled with the Test team to Pakistan in November and December. He is one of two chefs and two nutritionists on the United tour. Meziane travels to every game while the secondary chef is rotated between three others.
Meziane always travels ahead of the squad by one day to ensure the food is at the highest standard ahead of their arrival. Sir Alex Ferguson partly Ƅłɑмєd United’s defeat in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome on the food served at the hotel.
United manager Erik ten Hag has been meticulous in devising United’s programme for building up the players’ fitness ahead of the new season. The club have taken an individualised approach so each player has their own bespoke nutrition strategy.
Meziane has introduced increased variety in the players’ meals with an emphasis on freshness and higher-quality ingredients. The live cooking stations have proven to be popular and encourage players to sample certain foods they might otherwise eschew.
Cuisines from different territories were introduced to the canteen at Carrington last year while when United go abroad local food and cuisines are incorporated into the menus so the players have the option to embrace the culture despite being restricted to a hotel.
During the season, the menu a day before a game will be modified to provide dishes of high carbohydrates and high proteins. Those menus are decided weeks in advance.
Double sessions are often a theme of pre-season and United did some at Carrington before flying to New York for the first leg of their tour. Ten Hag has overseen only one so far in the States, which was at Pingry School in New Jersey on Friday.
United have invested more in ιɴjυɾу prevention techniques on Ten Hag’s watch. The day after a match, there will be an updated assessment of the players’ workload for the last day, week and month thɾօυɢҺout the season, with input from the sports scientists. That informs selection decisions and in-game changes, such as Christian Eriksen’s regular withdrawals around the hour mark.
Figures at United believe greater investment in medical, physiotherapy and nutritional staff is starting to pay dividєɴԀs. The intensity of training has increased under Ten Hag, so any fringe player promoted to first-team training has to be robust enough to handle the rigours.
Recovery sessions are vital to determining how vulnerable to ιɴjυɾу a player may be. Players are sometimes reluctant to declare an issue but United can place sensors on muscles that give them a reading on its level of fatigue.
The sports scientists were moved into the upper level of the main building at Carrington to foster a more collegiate working environment so staff can interact and communicate more quickly. The sports scientists are based in the same corridor as the match analysts, coaches and Ten Hag, whose office is adjoined to the coaches’ office. They have a communal area replete with a Subbuteo table as they mull over tactics.
In the parallel corridor is the director of data science Dominic Jordan’s team, as well as recruitment and scouting. Jordan is such a die-hard United fan he walked from Stretford for his job interview at Old Trafford. There is not always consistent agreement and one Carrington source said staff are challenged.
Ten Hag is consulted on every detail of United’s schedule, and a club source said “there’s nothing he doesn’t notice”. Ten Hag picked the base of Basking Ridge in New Jersey as it is so secluded it avoided the usual hullabaloo at the team hotel on tours.
United’s commercial itinerary is built around Ten Hag’s requests. United played five games on their last two Stateside tours and had six under Louis van Gaal in 2014. Under Ten Hag, that has been trimmed to three, with an under-21 team selected to face Wrexham in San Diego.
Although the days of United donning suits to travel for matches єɴԀed with the Covid-19 pandemic, Ten Hag still insists on a strict dress code. Players and staff have to wear the correct training kit or leisurewear, right down to the colour of socks. Ten Hag quickly clocks any violations.
United’s tour is also shorter as the Nations League and internationals were held well into mid-June. With a World Cup staged in the middle of a campaign that United played 62 games, Ten Hag wanted to give the players a proper break and manage their load to ensure they are physically and mentally prepared for a tougher season.
