Sir Jim Ratcliffe will seek to steer a series of changes at Manchester United after being given control of football operations after purchasing a 25 per cent stake in the club from the Glazer family.
Here Telegraph Sport looks at some of the early challenges the Oldham-born Ineos billionaire and his team faced at Old Trafford.
Solving the problem of constant recruitment
Sir David Brailsford, Ineos’ sporting director and the man behind British Cycling’s phenomenal success at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, has been tasked with overseeing United’s football operations amid an expected overhaul of its recruitment department. Ratcliffe and his closest advisers believe that an inconsistent, second-rate, disorganized transfer policy in the decade since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement has been a major factor – if not the only problem – behind the team’s persistent struggles.
They are in talks with a number of sporting directors, including former Spurs and Monaco man Paul Mitchell and Crystal Palace’s Dougie Freedman, and may look to bring in more than one recruiter to remedy a worrying situation that has been going on for years. waste and confused thinking.
United’s current director of football, John Murtough, expects to be part of any transition process under Ineos, but it remains to be seen whether his responsibilities will be downgraded and redefined or moved elsewhere. Erik ten Hag has publicly stated that he still expects to have a say in United’s transfer policy, given the veto over signings written into his contract. But the club’s decision to allow the manager so much say over transfers, and a largely parochial approach to signing players with an Eredivisie background and/or pre-existing relationship with the Dutchman, looks increasingly misguided and a repeat of some of the failures of the transfer window looks like. The reign of Louis van Gaal. How much impact Ineos can make in the January transfer window could be affected by the speed at which the Premier League approves the deal, as delays in recent weeks have already caused vital time to be lost.
A new CEO is appointed
Richard Arnold left last month ahead of the impending arrival of Ineos, leaving United in need of a new chief executive. Patrick Stewart, the club’s legal counsel, is taking on the role on an interim basis, with Arnold offering temporary support until the end of the month, but United must find the right man for the job. Former Juventus CEO Jean-Claude Blanc, who now holds the same role at Ineos Sport, competes hard and has experience of running a big club and building a new stadium. Blanc played a key role in the construction of the Italian club’s 40,000-capacity Allianz Stadium, which opened in 2011. The Glazers are expected to have a say in the identity of the new man but Ratcliffe hopes an ally will be brought into the role.
Solving the Sancho dilemma
Ratcliffe could be put on an early collision course with Ten Hag if he tries to force the United manager, who has been in exile for more than three months after effectively accusing the Dutchman of lying about the reasons for his absence on social media, to bring back Sancho. Against Arsenal on 3 September. United’s new minority shareholder must establish whether there is a realistic chance of a rapprochement, but the club has so far stood by Ten Hag’s stance and has publicly and privately called for full support for Sancho to show genuine remorse and be reinstated. He needs to make an apology.
At the moment, it still appears to be in all parties’ interests to move away from Old Trafford in the January transfer window, but a deal between Ratcliffe and the Glazers could face an early test if an offer is made for the England winger. What if Ratcliffe accepts a deal to remove Sancho, who the Americans, still in majority control, deem financially unviable? United fans will hope that the communication and agreements between the parties are solid enough that such scenarios do not occur. Anything less would be ridiculous.
Juventus and Borussia Dortmund are also among the clubs following Sancho’s situation closely. Saudi Arabia could renew interest following a late and unsuccessful summer approach from Al Ettifaq, managed by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, but it is thought Sancho would prefer to remain in Europe at this stage of his career.
getting rid of dead wood
Sancho is not the only player facing an uncertain future in January, which Ineos may consider putting an early sign of their intentions going forward. Anthony Martial is somehow approaching his ninth year as a United player and there is no way he can improve quickly enough. Sergio Reguilón has a break clause in his loan contract and there is a possibility that the left-back could return to Spurs. Beyond that, Ineos will need to make a decision on centre-back Raphaël Varane, who was sidelined by Ten Hag until the latest injury crisis and is thought to be a player attracting interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Brailsford’s achievements in cycling were built around a fierce team ethos, meticulous planning and his “marginal gains” philosophy (the theory that even a one per cent improvement in a number of small areas can yield a huge cumulative benefit). “It only takes one bad apple in a group and it can ruin the whole dynamic,” he once said. “Ideally, you don’t want people to be robots, and you want mavericks to have unique personalities, but if they’re being disruptive, self-centered, or too damaging in a team environment, take them out.”
United have been talking for years about rooting out abusive, wandering and substandard players from their squad, but have rarely backed up that rhetoric with a brutal cull; instead, he stockpiled players well beyond their expiration dates and paid the price even more than before. One. Will this eventually change?
Testing Ten Witch
After an encouraging debut season, the wheels started turning as Ten Hag ended United’s six-year trophy wait, made some big decisions, particularly around Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire, and restored some order and discipline after inheriting a toxic mess. Get out this season. Injuries have not helped but many of Ten Hag’s signings have underperformed and there are serious concerns that the Dutchman, recruited in part for his coaching abilities, has developed little, has no discernible player identity and is still lacking work in the squad. Their morals and discipline and game management are very naive.
All these problems were reflected in a series of poor results and dismal performances. Ten Hag was said to be admired when Ineos attended Old Trafford and Carrington for a series of presentations in March, but recent months have not reflected well on the manager and Ratcliffe’s arrival is likely to intensify interest.
Solving the injury epidemic
“Ineos will look at everything; no stone will be left unturned,” a source said, and that will include United’s serious injury record this season. Murtough said in October that the club had launched an internal investigation to determine why so many players were experiencing problems and whether any patterns existed that warranted changes in their approach to improving injury prevention in the future.
The devoted program and rapid recovery since last season have been obvious factors; United are not the only Premier League club to face injury problems. However, there were concerns that Ten Hag’s high-intensity training sessions between matches were not helping matters at times. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola recently spoke of the Premier League and European champions training relatively less and emphasizing recovery to prevent his team from being decimated by injury. “If we train, we won’t have any players left for the next match,” he said.
Navigating UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules
UEFA regulations prohibit one person from controlling more than one club competing in Europe. So Ratcliffe must find a way to convince European football’s governing body that he does not have “decisive influence” on the decision-making processes at his French club United or Nice, or face the risk of either of them being banned from Europe.
Brighton owner Tony Bloom faced a similar situation and was forced to reduce his ownership stake in Union Saint-Gilloise in the summer so that both the Belgian club and their Premier League rivals could compete in the Europa League this season.
The Glazers are understood to be aware of the potential conflict and it is hard to believe that Ratcliffe, who also owns Swiss Super League side Lausanne-Sport, does not have a plan to resolve any issues to meet UEFA requirements.
Nice currently sit second in Ligue 1, five points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, and are currently on track to qualify for the Champions League. Lausanne is ranked 10th in Switzerland’s best rankings.
Plans are being prepared for Old Trafford
In addition to the purchase price, an additional £245 million will be provided by Ratcliffe as phased investment in infrastructure requirements. While the cost of redeveloping and expanding Old Trafford (or building an entirely new stadium on the surrounding land) is estimated to be between £800 million and £2 billion, a quarter of a billion would barely scratch the surface when it comes to needs. He was neglected by the Glazers for too long.
The Old Trafford project was effectively put on hold last year as United’s “strategic review” dragged on, but fans will – quite rightly – want to know what the plan is for the stadium going forward with Ratcliffe in the squad. It has been almost 18 months since a survey asking supporters for their views was sent out as part of the consultation process and there is no time to waste.