Off the pitch at Old Trafford there is the unmistakable sense of ambition in the air. After more than a decade of stagnation under the Glazer family, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in a hurry to start turning
Manchester United back into Manchester United. The recruitment of Omar Berrada from
Manchester City as chief executive was a clear signal that Ratcliffe wanted to bring in the best-in-class to start running this
Football club. Dan Ashworth has been identified as sporting director and an approach has been made to recruit Jason Wilcox. Both Ashworth and Wilcox are highly regarded within the game. Berrada’s gardening leave doesn’t allow him to start at United until the summer and negotiations to bring in Ashworth and Wilcox are ongoing, but Ineos are ripping up the football structure and changes are afoot. The one department as yet untouched is the manager’s office but change is coming, not least in terms of the plaque that sits on the door. ALSO READ: Mason Mount might get the chance to respond to
Chelsea chant for United ALSO READ: United weakness has pointed them to £47m solution to problem position Head coach is going to be a more likely title as Ineos settles on a structure more commonly associated with clubs on the continent. They have finally found success at Nice this season and they aren’t the only
Premier League owners or investors trying to wean English clubs off a system that hands significant power to the manager. That restructuring is bound to have an impact on Erik ten Hag one way or the other, whether he accepts staying on in a role with a slightly different power dynamic, decides to walk away or fails to come up with the performances to convince Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford he is the man for the
Job. The thrilling FA Cup win against
Liverpool was a day to remind Ineos of the upside around Ten Hag. The 53-year-old can get supporters’ on side and is capable of producing results like that quarter-final triumph. But then came the dreadful draw at Brentford and a display that must have made Ratcliffe and Brailsford question the credentials of the man in charge of the club they are now overseeing. Not only were United outplayed and outthought at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Ten Hag’s public comments are starting to sound out of kilter with the ambition being aired by Ratcliffe, both in public and in private. Instead, excuses have become a regular occurrence at United press conferences and the claim on Saturday night that Manchester City had similar trouble with the Bees was the latest example. It sounded like an attempt to buy United some leeway, but it was patently untrue. Brentford had 31 shots against United. In two games against City this season they have had 15. Their xG on Saturday was 3.2 in 90 minutes, while against City it stands at 1.4 across 180 minutes. Ten Hag was talking about City’s 3-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium in February when Brentford took the lead in the first half and caused Pep Guardiola’s side a few problems. But City responded, had 25 shots of their own, racked up an xG of 2.1 and won 3-1. That was during a run of 12 defeats in 14 Premier League games for Brentford but, according to Ten Hag, they should have had more. That might be true, but that night wasn’t one of them. "Don't lower the performances from Brentford," Ten Hag said. "I have seen them against Man City and City was also lucky to win that game.” City weren’t lucky to win that game. Once they worked Brentford out and got control of it, they were dominant and Phil Foden scored a hat-trick. United were certainly lucky to avoid defeat on Saturday. They never found a way to stop the hosts. Maybe Ten Hag’s comparison with the City game was intended to offer praise to Brentford and it’s certainly the case that they've had some games where performances have made recent results look like an anomaly. But it was a clumsy way of trying to make the point and only served to sound like another excuse being offered for a desperate United performance - something that is happening all to often of late. Indeed Ten Hag claimed the defeat at the Etihad was down to “small margins” when Manchester City won the derby 3-1 and had 27 shots to United’s three. Having looked and sounded the part as a Manchester United manager last season, Ten Hag is conveying the wrong message now. He has found it harder to strike the right balance in a season of struggle. Last term he was critical of his team every time standards dropped significantly, an approach that didn't always go down well in the dressing room. He has taken a conscious decision to tone down that criticism this season, but has now gone too far the other way. The performance on Saturday was among the worst of the season, but rather than an acceptance of that the United manager only offered up tame excuses and attempts to overstate how difficult an assignment this was. Since
Christmas and the Ineos investment the parameters have changed at Old Trafford and the current manager has to reflect that. More ambition is required, and fewer excuses.