Football Digest: Man Utd urged to give Ten Hag time he needs
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is edging closer to purchasing a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United for £1.3billion, inheriting total sporting control from the Glazer family in the process. And his first big appointment has become clear amid the disastrous start to Erik ten Hag’s second season as manager.
Sir Jim and his INEOS team reportedly highly rate Ten Hag, joining figures throughout United who maintain the belief he is taking the club in the right direction.
Sacking Ten Hag won’t guarantee improvement. The reward after dismissing David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is proof of that.
As much as people like to point the blame at the manager, the real issue lies within how the club operates compared to its biggest rivals.
United are seemingly the only Premier League giant without an elite sporting director who ultimately has control of recruitment.
The Glazers – unbothered about United’s sporting success as long as the commercial revenue flows – are happy to leave the football operations to Richard Arnold and John Murtough.
But Sir Jim’s reported plan to replace both with sporting figures he trusts says it all. United are not operating at an elite level because they don’t have elite people pulling the strings.
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That will change under Sir Jim and INEOS. The 71-year-old businessman’s priority must be a new sporting director to support Ten Hag.
The Dutchman receiving free reign over his signings was refreshing at first, with millions of fans buying into his philosophy from the get-go after the worst league season in United’s history.
But 18 months after his arrival, you could probably only count Ten Hag’s successful signings with one hand. Considering he’s made 14, that’s not great.
Ten Hag should have a significant say in the club’s transfer business. Of course, he should.
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But he also needs an experienced head next to him who can talk him out of making players like Antony the second-most-expensive player in United’s history.
Instead, an experienced sporting director could table three alternatives cheaper than the £85million United splashed on a winger, realistically, not even worth half of that fee.
Paul Mitchell, Michael Edwards, Julian Ward and Dan Ashworth have all been linked with replacing Murtough as the head of United’s recruitment.
All are enticing options with a track record to suggest they would be an upgrade. Whether Ten Hag accepts such a significant change is another debate altogether.
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