by In the normal scheme of things, at a normal club in normal times, Manchester United’s games this week against Bayern Munich and Liverpool would have been painted as two that could save – or sink – Erik ten Hag’s job.
But United are, at the moment, far from a normal club.
And Ten Hag stormed down the Old Trafford tunnel, his mood as dark as the skies after the capitulation of his side to Bournemouth on Saturday, his thoughts will be turning towards a week that could expect, in normal circumstances, to decide his fate.
One prominent pundit, Danny Murphy, responded after what was widely regarded as the low point of Manchester United’s season when he declared that Ten Hag should be sacked, that his job has become untenable.
United’s current regime remains steadfast in its insistence that Ten Hag is under no pressure, that there are no discussions about replacing a manager who, on a seemingly weekly basis, is setting new benchmarks for a future unseen by his supporters for many years.
Part of the reason for his team’s uncanny ability, one based on his chronic inconsistency, is to extract good results from difficult situations.
The other comes from the ownership stasis that has been at the top at Old Trafford for over a year now, since United’s ill-fated American owners, the Glazer family, put United up for sale in November 2022.
It took 11 months, until mid-October, to confirm a buyer, although it came in the form of the 25 per cent stake agreed by lifelong supporter, billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a deal costing around £1.35 billion on it. .
With him, Ratcliffe is expected to take over football operations, the key decisions that determine the fate of any football club on a daily basis but, in particular, when it comes to the two transfer windows – one of which now opens in less than three weeks. – and the support, or sack, of managers.
But, despite exciting reports, seemingly on a weekly basis, that the deal is to be formalized and announced within a few short days, the deal has not been completed and United are facing a strange ownership risk – not in terms of finances , perhaps, but in terms of football operations.
Richard Arnold has already resigned as Chief Executive, with reports that he was under no pressure to do so but that he felt the writing was on the wall in terms of what Ratcliffe had done, and the men who hope to run his football operations, under the leadership of former British Cycling. Guru Sir Dave Brailsford, do on arrival.
Patrick Stewart has stepped in as interim CEO, ensuring the club runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis, and director of football John Murtough is hopeful that he will survive whatever radical changes Ratcliffe may or may not decide to make to football. a club that is clearly not fit for purpose for the stated goal of competing for the top four in the Premier League.
Ten Hag, open and honest after the Bournemouth win, admitted that his squad is “not good enough to be consistent” – a damning indictment of a team raised on huge sums of money and with, almost surprisingly, a record of 11 win, 11 wins and one final in 23 league and cup games this season.
If the logical conclusion of that analysis is that United have to spend big in the January window, then those who will be taking over the club’s football business will be hoping to be in place by then, even though there will already be deals. in real life. being discussed in the background across Europe.
As for the manager’s job, in the normal course of football, there would be screams that Ten Hag would have “two games to save his job” at the start of a week that could eliminate his team from Europe completely and on the receiving end . another humiliating end to Anfield.
Captain Bruno Fernandes has already made his feelings known about the latter by picking up a needless booking for dissent, late on against Bournemouth, which suspends him from returning to the ground where Ten Hag’s side were beaten 7-0 nine months on since then.
But should the worst happen – and everything about United’s inconsistent season suggests it won’t, with one of those games most likely to be a spectacular result – the current state of uncertainty will be bewildering. regarding the exact ownership structure of the club.
Not only is the question of who would be responsible for the decision to remove a manager and potential new minority owners, who will have a majority say in football, still waiting in the wings to finalize their arrangement?
Conversely, if Ratcliffe were to push through the deal within the “days” time frame that has now been promised for two months, would he reasonably be expected to make his first move as a new minority owner to be sacked as manager , despite often. miserable season, it seems that the support of the United supporters or the majority of the dressing room has not yet been lost.
There are many other footballing – and even more non-footballing – issues that the new regime must tackle with determination and speed when they finally collect the “keys” to Old Trafford.
But for now, the most average teams – 11 wins, 11 losses – are likely to be left to continue in the same vein.
