by Welcome to the new world. Which looks, at first glance, a little like the old world. There could be a new and extremely rich sheriff in town. But even with the midweek FA Cup in the bag Manchester United have taken chances in recent days to return to a more common state of disarray.
Erik ten Hag talks about TikTok videos, with all the easy commands of your uncle who teaches Latin trying to understand grime music. The new Marcus Rashford has fallen (themes: pain and longing; mentions trying hard or supporting the manager: nil).
Related: ‘How nice’: Pep Guardiola enjoying three of City’s title-defining fixtures
A visit to the Etihad, now also known as The Perch, is about to take place on Sunday evening and because of all the combined messages there is still the impression of an institution that is in the habit of feasting on its own insides.
At that point it will be tempting to look away from everyday life, and towards the medium term future. Sir Jim Ratcliffe made one thing abundantly clear during his revealing interview round last week. Above all, he is very good at giving revealing interviews. So much so that his skills extend to an amazing ability to say exactly the same thing to different people in different rooms.
So Manchester United’s new minority owner told the BBC “it’s not flipping a light switch. We have to walk towards the right solution not towards the wrong solution.” Later, Ratcliffe told the national press that “it’s not a light switch. We don’t want to continue to the wrong solution instead of walking to the right solution.” Finally, he could be heard telling the in-house media channel, perhaps still concerned at this point, “it’s not a light switch, we can’t just change a switch”.
The script was comprehensive on every point, from the United origin story verbatim, to the politics of a stadium on a north-south cultural bias, verbatim over and over again, and of course the keynote speech of these briefings, an issue the perches.
“There’s nothing I’d like better than to knock them both off their perch,” continued the BBC mix – “I’d like to knock them all off their pitch” – and the club’s website “of course I would us. knock them out of their field”.
This is in no way a criticism. Being across your remit while revealing a £1bn investment: this is a good thing. It was also solid house stuff, hot buttons, keynotes, Ferguson memories, Stone Roses guitar shimmer. After decades of silence and cranky official communication, it looks like slick PR is also part of the new deal.
It leaves a trace. Since these lines are intended, they also demand that we take them forward, that the boiler plate is also telling us something. Decoding Sir Jim’s corporate messages: there are two main points of interest with that derby game.
First of all, what does that pre-edited script actually tell us about Ten Hag’s situation? Things are not very good, the answer is clear. When asked to pass judgment on Ten Hag, Ratcliffe gave the triple response that it would be “inappropriate” to comment, which – imagine for a second that this is your own hard nose speaking – sounds like a story in itself.
It doesn’t take a great deal of insight to see that this is an organization whose main skill is putting in its own people and finding margins in recruitment. The selection of a new head coach is the most obvious lever to improve performance, almost part of the corporate mission statement. But Ratcliffe still talked about Ten Hag between the lines, setting out a very clear structure for retention or dismissal.
It has been repeatedly mentioned that Manchester United must qualify for the Champions League this season; put, to avoid suspicion, between talking about the need to hire the best people. The message is simple. Allow the four highest coefficients, the highest five coefficients, and Ten Hag can keep his job. It seems unexpected and there has also been some brutal talk about the main ability to make “brutal” decisions.
It still might not be enough. The style of play was a big topic of discussion, as well as the idea – klaxon alert! – romping style, gambling spring lamb as part of the marketing plan. On the negative side of the ledger there has also been a lackluster view of recent recruitment. Was this the manager’s fault? “I’m thinking more about recruiting in a good place going forward.” So perhaps the sound of defensive positions being taken, Ten Hag speaking mid-week about the “unstoppable” Antony, is a leap of faith that even the Unstoppable Antony himself might find a bit difficult to bridge.
The message seems clear. United must chase down Tottenham and Aston Villa to have any hope of keeping the current coaching arrangement in place. Three of their 12 league finals are against Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal. A win at the Etihad could leave them 11 points behind fourth-placed Villa.
None of which is made easier by the fact that Perch’s stuff came loaded with incredibly strong language about enemies, and the catchphrase – look away, please Erik – “I just want to smash them on the football field”.
Again this is playing the hits for the fans, purging the indifference Glazer. But it is hardly ideal pre-match noise against opponents who have beaten United five times in their last six (18-7 aggregate score). Pep Guardiola will not be posting Sir Big Jim’s video message to the dressing room wall before kick-off. Rather, it will be providing data-driven information on half-spaces. But that gap is so large that even the three-season time frame seems optimistic.
Of course, the plinth itself is a distant plateau, a mountain fortress of an infinitely ambitious sovereign wealth fund. Is this really possible? Fenway Sports Group took eight years for Liverpool to catch up, and three with Jürgen Klopp, the absolute perfect appointment, to make that leap. Abu Dhabi did it in five years of heavy spending, then two with Pep to go fully nuclear. Manchester United took six years under Alex Ferguson, with a significant increase in revenue.
On the positive side plans to address all three problems are very clear. The presence of internal appointments therefore in important positions. Terrible transfer record. And the underperforming stadium, a critical element of the financial balance. Competition talk is also a cover for a very clever attempt at imitation. The hard details of Ratcliffe’s tapes suggest an attempt to emulate the City model, from a partially publicly funded stadium, to the best people in the right positions, to style of play, to low-key regeneration talk.
There are other obstacles. Most impressive is Guardiola himself, who remains the absolute alpha of management, now operating in a field of absolute clarity. The window for every other team in the Premier League remains the same: every time Guardiola leaves the league.
The other question is about scale. Ratcliffe is the perfect front man. He also owns 27.7% of the club, and is basing his ability to bring the Glazers with him on “the right amount, I think, between those two parties”. In one of his rare unscripted moments Ratcliffe revealed that he only met Joel and Avram Glazer. “As long as we’re doing the right things I’m sure the relationship will go very well.” Next, to the Park.
