12 November 2023 , 08:25
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If I was Erik Ten Hag, I’d be looking over my shoulder pretty nervously, with the news that Jim Ratcliffe is close to finalising his purchase of a quarter of the shares in Manchester United.
Absolutely no way is he going to spend well over a billion quid - and spend another £250m or so on rebuilding the stadium - unless he gets a direct influence over the sporting side of the club. And by influence, I mean the people he has appointed recently to look after his company, Ineos’s, sporting interests. You look at his head guys in Jean-Claude Blanc and Dave Brailsford, and they are both seriously big hitters.
My point is simple. You don’t appoint people like them on huge salaries to oversee your sports operations, and then sit idly by and watch the jewel in your sporting crown - as Manchester United will ultimately be - fall apart.
Things have been seriously wrong at Old Trafford for many years. Even before Alex Ferguson left, he was paper over the growing cracks to keep the team winning. Since then, they have become what I call one of those ‘chasing’ clubs.
By that I mean, they’re always chasing the flavour of the month, on the pitch and off it. They are always looking for short term hits rather than a long term plan. So they appoint the likes of Van Gaal, Mourinho and now ten Hag, even when there were far better managers out there.
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And it’s the same with players. The recruitment has been woeful, and the fact is, Ten Hag has to take a lot of blame for that. They’ve gone for the experienced campaigners - just as they did with managers like Mourinho - and it didn’t work. Casemiro anyone? Can someone explain to me how you can pay £70m for a midfielder who was almost 31, when the selling club Real Madrid thought his legs had gone?
Erik ten Hag remains under pressure at Manchester United (Getty Images)