by Buy low: always a good start in any market. With 25 minutes gone at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s players appeared to be reading their investment information, skimming the manual, highlighting the right parts.
Eighth in the league and out of Europe, the corporate scythe is about to swing, even the stadium is threatened with a righteous bulldozer. Add to that a 2-0 deficit to a well-trodden Aston Villa side, and at best this felt like a timely pitch for a little new investment; at worst like an act of self-harm, United’s players on the pitch like unwanted furniture, like a hastily scribbled redundancy list, like the Roy brothers trying to complete a takeover deal.
At that point, enter, of all things, hope. A moment for this team to find their best half and their win of the season so far. Maybe all it takes in the end is to reduce the threat a little corporate, and just the bald man frowning right in the stands.
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There was even something beautiful in the sight of Rasmus Højlund scoring the final goal to make it 3-2. Here is a 20-year-old representative whose signing was an act of brutality in itself, a footballer of raw ability and talent, out there flashing the brightest lights at the most debilitating sports club in the world, where steal your shadow, the original meat grinder. But it was Højlund who turned in a fine finish from the post, his first goal of the league and the final minute with a superb second-half recovery surge.
Alejandro Garnacho, still only 19, led the charge. Eventually United had brought in five academy players, among the usual cut-and-dried stuff. And of course there will be no shortage of casualties and trimmed fat now as the Glazer-Ineos era kicks in.
There is already the promise and talk of a full inspection of the club’s staff. This is the playbook of advanced capitalism. Cut it back, do less, do more, get the edges.
In the midst of that, the most obvious question is whether Erik ten Hag has any part in that future.
With United 2-0 down and facing their eighth league game of the season without a score you could almost hear the keyboards pounding, the forebodings coming to life.
One win won’t change much. No one spends a billion pounds on a minority stake without making some big changes.
Dave Brailsford was in the Old Trafford seats for this game. How much marginal gain does the maximum gain make? Football is full of people trying to get an edge. Maybe someone can finally get on the roof of the main stand with some flashing and a caulk gun. On the other hand, one clear voice can make a huge difference in a world of endless energy.
Zoom out, though, and the post from here is still huge. In his statement on the night before this game, Jim Ratcliffe asked for time and patience. Seriously? Who else gets that around here?
Football is the most overheated entertainment industry in the world. This is the only reason the deal really makes sense, because football is volcanic, addictive and giddy in its possibilities. Welcome to the inferno, the box of delights, the global mania. Huge success can be made here, the glory is turning down. But you don’t need to ask for patience either.
The deal itself is still a head-scratcher. Outsourcing football operations (of a football club) to a rival billionaire: no one has ever done this before. It’s not hard to see why. Who gets the say on summer trips or transfer spending? Everything is a football operation, in the end. And these are classic billionaire egos that we’re dealing with. No one will be around here to say “after you, old boy.”
Related: Jim Ratcliffe could cut 300 jobs at Manchester United in relation to streamlining
And yet, the question remains. Is there anything left to lose here? Why not disrupt your disruption yourself? Why don’t you actually import some form of sports expertise? There’s so much low-hanging fruit to be had after 15 years of mud, so many easy fixes. As ever with Manchester United the only problem is the gravity of the air, loss of traction in the executive ranks, local people and minds in positions of influence. Just watching those revolving doors turn around will be another note in this endless psychodrama.
As ever the players in that heavy red shirt are not as bad as they seem. Ten Hag is still a good manager, as he was last season, let’s not forget, and it’s time to make some kind of pitch for the future. Højlund ended his own night by handing the man of the match award to Garnacho, both of them glistening, beaming, loving the scene. This is the talent, this is the youth, energy, hope. The question remains the same. Will it be allowed to breathe?
