28 October 2023 , 20:32
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Time will tell whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s grand plan for Manchester United includes retaining Erik ten Hag as manager.
But the one thing that you can be sure of is that Britain’s richest man will have his own ideas about how to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe might be a United fan whose imagination was caught by the Busby Babes as a kid, but he is also a hard-nosed businessman who will demand plenty of bang for his buck once he takes his place in the boardroom.
And while Ten Hag may have laid a decent foundation by qualifying for the Champions League and winning the Carabao Cup last season, those achievements only papered over the cracks that appeared in two of United’s biggest games.
A 6-3 hammering by Manchester City was bad enough. But to them suffer an even more chastening defeat at the hands of Liverpool later in the season was the kind of thing that only materialises in the worst nightmares of every United supporter.
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There was a time when being so heavily beaten by your fiercest rivals would have proved fatal for the manager of a big club.
Losing 7-0 at Anfield was historic. It will never be forgotten by the fans of either club. The pain may eventually ease, but there will always be a permanent scar as a nasty reminder. The first Manchester derby of the season is a massive game for Ten Hag.
Changes are afoot at Old Trafford with the news that the deal which gives Ratcliffe a 25 percent stake in his boyhood club comes with an agreement that his INEOS team will shape United’s footballing future.
Ten Hag’s team have won their last three games after being beaten in four of their opening eight Premier League games and losing to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray in the Champions League. A result against the champions would be another stepping stone.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is close to securing a 25 per cent stake in United (PA Wire/PA Images)But the one thing Ten Hag can’t afford is for his team to suffer another big-game mauling in front of a worldwide audience that will be measured in billions. Ratcliffe, as United’s new king-maker, might not be quite as forgiving as the Glazer family if it all gets messy.
There have been suggestions that the 71-year-old has already been questioning some of the transfer fees the club has paid in recent years.
United have burned through £1.5 billion on new players since Sir Alex Ferguson retired a decade ago and Ten Hag has accounted for about £400 million of that outlay. Are they really any better?
It’s a little too early in the season to make that judgement - but the clock is now starting to tick following Ratcliffe’s decision to work alongside the Glazer family.
Erik ten Hag is struggling to get a tune out of his Man Utd side (Getty Images)The very fact that he appears to have got his way on deciding how to move the club forward on the pitch suggests he feels there is plenty of room for improvement. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.
The Glazer family were able to rely on Sir Alex’s managerial class to keep United at the top of the game in the first eight years of their reign.
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Since 2013, there has been a revolving door into the manager’s office and you can be sure that the big question Ratcliffe will now be asking is whether his Ten Hag is a good fit for his INEOS team to work with.
It might suit Ratcliffe’s PR team for them to claim his decision to spend a fortune on his favourite club is driven by emotion. This is a man whose business savvy means he would never allow his heart to rule his head.
Ratcliffe will want to see a return on his investment, in terms of both cups and cash. A derby against the best team in Europe is the chance for Erik ten Hag to prove he can deliver.