by After running the London Marathon in 4 hours 30 minutes 52 seconds at the age of 71, Sir Jim Ratcliffe was entitled to collapse. Instead, he looked to his Manchester United players to do it for him. As he enjoyed a restorative post-race ice bath at the Royal Automobile Club on Pall Mall, could Britain’s richest man have imagined that the worst part of his Sunday was yet to come.
But this is the way of a perpetually dysfunctional club, when, even in a rarely deserved victory that threatened to separate Coventry City fans for life, they managed to plumb new depths of ineptitude and chaos.
The expression of Ratcliffe, who was sitting next to the rare Avram Glazer in the VIP seats, expressed either confusion or a silent scream of despair that he had only ever agreed to put on such a horror show. Although he has known for months about United’s internal flaws, and although he has pleaded with his supporters to show patience, this is the moment when his ruthlessness as a businessman must come to the fore.
United’s season could be in limbo for another five weeks, until the FA Cup final with Manchester City, but for relentless manager Erik ten Hag there will be no turning back.
The case of the Dutch, long and precarious, is now unconscious. There should be no respite for United, with an annual wage bill of £200 million 20 times that of Coventry, looking to throw away a 3-0 lead against a Championship side that has lost three of its previous four. Their humiliation was almost even more obvious, but because of the ruling ACCursed out Coventry’s 121-minute winner after Haji Wright’s toenail was ruled offside.
Have no doubt that result would have been celebrated by far more than the 36,000 supporters in the sky-blue, toasted as a triumph of perseverance and a nod to entitlement and waste.
It is remarkable that Ten Hag wanted to discuss United’s “great achievement” and reach the final for the second year in a row, not realizing that he was a dead man walking. This was a game where the status gap between the teams left no choice but for his players to win sensibly, with a win.
Everyone was deciding his future here, from Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford, his dating guru, to Avram and Joel Glazer, the brothers who were watching a United game together in person for the first time since 2019. It felt like with his last one. chance, which he translated brilliantly. After 71 minutes of relative control, he presided over an unmitigated riot.
Yes, there were culpers on the pitch who deserved their share of the blame. Marcus Rashford was so despicable as he finished that United fans were laughing at him. Rasmus Hojlund showed all the horror of a striker without a goal in two months. Aaron Wan-Bissaka put away a penalty and let Callum O’Hare’s shot curl out for Coventry’s second, the defensive malaise he embodied.
But Ten Hag is responsible for this systemic crisis. “Follow the process,” he likes to tell his critics, except that United provides cast-iron proof that there is no process.
“You’re going to the job this morning,” claimed the Coventry traveling band, calling Wright’s leveler for 3-3. In reality, Ratcliffe might be tempted to stay a little longer. United are 16 points clear of their Champions League glory, and have little desire to recruit a keeper who only lasts a month.
The looming prospect is that Ten Hag will be put out of his misery in the same way as his compatriot Louis van Gaal, who led United to the 2016 FA Cup final and found himself sacked 48 times After that. But where Van Gaal would often be criticized for his autocratic leadership, the problem with Ten Hag is that he rarely looks like a leader of any kind.
Take Antony for example. In 2022, Ten Hag were desperate to bring the Brazilian across from Ajax, praising the winger’s “extremely beautiful development”. United have agreed to give their manager an £86million boost, despite concerns that Antony has not hit double figures in goals in either of his league campaigns in the Netherlands.
We see today, all too vividly, why there was so much trepidation. Antony’s returns for United have not only been patient, with two goals and two assists all season. It’s such an unfortunate arrogance that, after Hojlund’s decisive penalty, he had the nerve to go to the Coventry end and shake that spoiled fan while cupping his ears. After another tough performance as a substitute, it was his most impressive performance of the day.
Not in a million years would a scrap like Antony be let through the door under Sir Alex Ferguson. So what does it say about Ten Hag’s judgement, his instincts about what’s best for United, that he convinces his employers to pay almost a club fee for one of the worst players of all time?
Faith among United disciples is on the wane. Even in the grim final game of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign, they cheerily chanted: “Ole’s at the wheel.” But the spectacle of Ten Hag driving this team clown car is nothing to celebrate.
The reaction that followed the penalty was unmistakable: far from crying foul, most of the red’s fans simply let out a sigh of relief, embarrassed by standards after they had slipped so low as to call for a retreat VAR from them to beat Coventry.
It is no mean feat that Ratcliffe, with his record as a captain of industry, can stick to it. Once the stress of this marathon day wears off, he should waste no time in deciding to run the Ten Hag race.
Anatomy of Manchester United’s extraordinary failure
By Mike McGrath
It was one of the most dramatic collapses in FA Cup history. How did Manchester United go from 3-0 down against a Championship team to ending up, in less than half an hour, going to extra time at Wembley?
Garnacho’s substitution changes momentum
Everything seemed to be going in United’s favor when Sir Jim Ratcliffe sat down in his Wembley seat. The United co-owner completed the London Marathon in four and a half hours and came to see his team add their third goal. But little moments can change the mood of the game and that was the case when Alejandro Garnacho was sent off in the 66th minute.
The forward from Argentina was clearly not happy as he continued at a walking pace, shaking his head. His handshake with Erik ten Hag was awkward. A few days ago he apologized for “liking” a post on social media saying the manager threw him under the bus. It may have been the smallest of morale boosts for Coventry, but it was a morale boost nonetheless.
Coventry get some hope
Ellis Simms was in good form going into this semi-final, with 14 goals in 13 games, and his finish to make it 3-1 was aimed at a player full of confidence. He came close in the first half when he came so close to tapping in and only denied Diogo Dalot’s brilliant block. To reduce the deficit in the 71st minute he took a Fabio Tavares cross first time on the volley, sweeping it home at Andre Onana’s near post. Game on? Maybe. If they could get one more United might start to fall apart.
Underdogs get a slice of luck
The statistics will be in the notebook of any Premier League opposition analyst – United will have more shots per game than the other big teams in the Premier League for a long time. More chances increase the likelihood of a goal, so why not take a look and hope for a deflection or a rebound?
Callum O’Hare got lucky just outside the penalty area and got a goal, his shot hit the back of Aaron Wan Bissaka and curled into the top corner. The look on the faces of United’s players indicated that they knew the momentum had shifted.
Looks like Onana United got out of jail
Climbing part of the way up the mountain may have been too much for some teams but Coventry showed they meant business with another chance that could easily have been an equaliser. It was Victor Torp again, in the middle of everything after coming off the bench, who volleyed home when United failed to clear a corner. It was a great save from Andre Onana, leaping to his left to keep it out of the top corner. But it meant United knew they were in tough territory.
Hojlund forgets to shoot
Still leading 3-2, United had a great chance to seal the tie but Rasmus Hojlund missed the big time. It’s hard to miss as the Danish striker only ever got his shot eight yards from goal.
Holding onto Bruno Fernandes’ pass, Hojlund’s first touch put him in the perfect position to finish, but a player who hasn’t scored since February showed his lack of confidence in front of goal. It took a touch, and another, and allowed Victor Torp to get back and fight.
Reduce well and truly full
United’s capitulation was ended when Luis Binks stretched to keep the ball in play and pull back into the danger area. Wan Bissaka’s hand was out and the ball hit him – penalty awarded. With all the momentum swinging towards Coventry, it was no surprise that Haji Wright kept his cool to score from the penalty shootout. In less than half an hour, United took the lead.
