Sir Jim Ratcliffe just needs a simple majority at Thursday’s Manchester United board meeting for his £1.4billion offer for 25 per cent of the club to be accepted by the Glazer family.
Then the hard work well and truly gets underway.
The petrochemicals billionaire and lifelong United fan, who plans to take over the Football operations side at Old Trafford, inherits one of the most bulging in-trays in the game.
United have been in decline on the pitch for over a decade now since Sir Alex Ferguson‘s retirement, the occasional cup success unable to conceal a dramatic slump from the pinnacle of English and European football.
Most disgruntled United fans pin the blame for this squarely on the Glazers, who have taken millions of pounds in dividends out of a club they saddled with enormous debt.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are closing in on the £1.4billion purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United, which will see them take control of football operations at Old Trafford
Manager Erik Ten Hag appears to be secure in his post despite the changes to the hierarchy
Those United fans who wanted rid of the Glazer family’s ownership have been disappointed
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While there has been considerable outlay on new players over this time, United have frequently over-paid and a coherent transfer strategy has all-too-often been lacking.
Even if Ratcliffe focuses only on the football side – and the Glazers are unlikely to allow him too much control at this stage – there is so much to put right and no time to waste.
Here’s a look at just some of the priorities Ratcliffe and his team will have to deal with when they come in at United.
JANUARY SIGNINGS
Any United fans believing that Ratcliffe will walk into Old Trafford and present a blank chequebook for a host of star signings in January are going to be sorely disappointed.
United were right up against it with Financial Fair Play restrictions back in the summer, when they overspent their original budget by some distance, and that will reduce the scope for January reinforcements.
Which is unfortunate because a spate of injuries to senior players during the opening weeks of the season has exposed the soft underbelly of Erik ten Hag’s squad and led to calamitous results and performances.
United entered the international fortnight sitting 10th in the Premier League table, having lost as many matches as they’ve won so far. They have also lost both their Champions League games.
Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund, who could cost them £72m, was the main signing last summer
McTominay’s dramatic stoppage time double against Brentford lifted pressure on Ten Hag
If not for Scott McTominay’s two stoppage time goals against Brentford last time out, Ten Hag would have been under severe pressure – if not specifically in danger of the sack but to put things right immediately.
The injuries to Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have left United reliant on Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and 35-year-old Jonny Evans at the back.
In midfield, Casemiro seems to have aged about five years overnight following an outstanding debut season, while an unfortunate pile-up of left-back injuries has seen midfielder Sofyan Amrabat pressed into action in a very unfamiliar role.
£72million summer arrival Rasmus Hojlund has hit the ground running but any injury to him – and he has back issues to manage – would leave the team depending on the wholly unreliable Anthony Martial again.
Ideally, United would reinforce their midfield, central defence and attack in January but the chances of that are slim.
Ratcliffe will almost certainly make the promise of investment in the squad – which will excite the fans – but he would be unwise to set a time frame.
Injuries to key defenders have left United reliant on Harry Maguire and 35-year-old Jonny Evans in central defence
Brazilian midfielder Casemiro has struggled to replicate the form of last season for United
JANUARY SALES
The FFP pressures mean incomings won’t happen without outgoings and United may have to further trim their squad when the next window opens.
In the summer, they raised a modest amount of money – just under £50m – to help balance the books from the sales of Dean Henderson, Anthony Elanga, Fred, Matej Kovar and Alex Telles.
But many other players who had been available for sale at the right price – such as Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho – went unsold.
Maguire has played just 206 minutes of football so far this season and has his England place at next summer’s Euros to think about, while McTominay proved his value to United with those two dramatic goals against Brentford.
But a couple of player sales would raise much-needed funds to bolster the team in January and signal the start of a transformation under Ratcliffe.
However, as the summer window showed, actually getting these players out of the door is often easier said than done.
Could Maguire depart United in January in pursuit of increased game time before the Euros?
FAITH IN TEN HAG
It hasn’t been the best start to the season but all indications are that Ratcliffe will be placing their trust in manager Ten Hag.
Indeed, as Mail Sport revealed, the Dutch coach with the ruthless streak will welcome the radical overhaul of the football department Ratcliffe is proposing.
Ten Hag has shown signs of frustration during his 18 months in charge when it comes to recruitment, with the Glazers failing to provide clarity over targets and budgets.
The habit of paying well over the odds for targets – a trap United have fallen in to time after time in recent years – has also irked the manager.
The new investors have indicated the poor start to the season won’t impact on Ten Hag, with the huge injury list seen as a mitigating factor.
Indeed, Ten Hag is aware of the way Ratcliffe and Ineos operate and is thought to be enthusiastic at standards being raised.
The feeling will be that if a clear transfer strategy and budget are set in good time ahead of each window, plans can be made accordingly.
Ten Hag does tend to gravitate to players he knows well and has worked with before – such as Martinez, Antony and Andre Onana – so it remains to be seen if the expected new data-driven approach grates against his own gut feelings.
Ten Hag is understood to be enthusiastic about the raised standards Ratcliffe could bring
CHANGES IN PERSONNEL
Ten Hag may be safe but that doesn’t apply to other prominent figures in the United hierarchy.
Ratcliffe’s arrival poses questions over the future of football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher should he wish to bring in his own personnel.
A new sporting director role could be created with Paul Mitchell, who has held such a position at Southampton, Tottenham, RB Leipzig and Monaco, one of the names in contention.
His brief would be to improve United’s recruitment, whether talent spotting the best young players or simply paying less for more established stars.
Ineos may also want to add greater sporting expertise to the club’s executive with chief executive Richard Arnold’s small management team completed by owners Joel and Avram Glazer, and chief financial officer Cliff Baty.
None would be considered football experts and it may help to explain where United are going wrong.
United’s chief executive Richard Arnold (left) and football director John Murtough (centre) could see their jobs at risk if Ratcliffe chooses to bring in his own personnel
Sir Dave Brailsford, who works closely with Ratcliffe, could have a role to play at Old Trafford
Paul Mitchell, who has worked as a sporting director at several top clubs, could be brought in
There may potentially be an involvement for Sir Dave Brailsford, the ex-Team Sky and British Cycling supremo, who works closely with Ratcliffe.
As Mail Sport reporter Mike Keegan said on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast, behind the scenes at United there was a hope that the rival bid from Qatar and Sheikh Jassim would prevail and complete a full buy-out of United.
‘They thought that if the Qataris won, their methods of operations is that they’d allow everybody to make a case for themselves to learn about the business,’ Keegan said.
‘There is a belief that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s team have their expertise there, they have a plan for what they want to do and people ready to come in.
‘So if it is the football operation, I’d have thought people like John Murtough and Richard Arnold will be looking over their shoulders.’
STOP OVERPAYING FOR PLAYERS!
There seems to have been a price tag for United and a price tag for everyone else when it comes to some of their top transfer targets in recent times.
As Mail Sport’s Matt Hughes pointed out, Atalanta’s asking price for Hojlund leaped by £27m in the space of a day during the summer.
Murtough and chief transfer negotiator Matt Hargreaves arrived at the crunch meeting on July 28 expecting to pay no more than £45m for the Dane.
By the time of the handshakes, United had agreed a deal that could see them eventually pay £72m, but thought that was good because Atalanta’s original asking price was £86.5m.
The most telling recent indication of United’s approach to transfers was their final offer for Rasmus Hojlund increasing by around £27million in one day
United previously agreed to pay Ajax £82m for Antony despite widespread reservations at the size of the fee
It was then discovered that Hojlund has a back issue that will need to be carefully managed and could limit his game time.
Quite a few rivals have seen United coming – Ajax rinsed them for every penny when they bought Antony last year for £86m, knowing Ten Hag desperately wanted the Brazilian winger.
They paid Real Madrid £60m, plus £10m in potential add-ons, for Casemiro, a player already into his thirties and now he looks woefully off the pace.
Jadon Sancho quickly came to look like a colossal waste of £73m and isn’t even playing at the minute because he refuses to reconcile with Ten Hag.
Donny van de Beek was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s costly folly in the same way Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba were to Jose Mourinho and Angel Di Maria was to Louis van Gaal.
United’s football director John Murtough (right) is one of the key personnel responsible for providing Erik ten Hag’s squad with the reinforcements he wants
United went on to splash £47.1m on Andre Onana with the goalkeeper struggling to settle
Research by the CIES Football Observatory found United have spent £1.67billion on new players since 2014, while their net spend of £1.19bn is over £300m higher than second-placed Chelsea.
As well as spending too much on players, United are also poor at selling them at the optimal moment.
Manchester City and Chelsea in particular are adept at getting substantial sums for academy graduates who won’t quite make the grade in the first-team.
The money is reinvested into the transfer kitty and also helps them comply with FFP. United, meanwhile, are selling the likes of Zidane Iqbal to Utrecht for less than a million.
Ratcliffe and Ineos need to put a stop to this and adopt a more sensible approach to transfer business. Their data-led team will try and make sure recruits offer good value for money.
They will hopefully push the Glazers to offer more clarity on budgets after the distraction of the takeover led to uncertainty at the start of the summer.
Ten Hag wanted Harry Kane but there was a reluctance to negotiate with Tottenham, while potential moves for Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo were also dismissed on financial grounds.
United really need to be smarter with their money going forward.
FIX THE OLD TRAFFORD ROOF!
This certainly falls within the Glazers’ remit, at least for the time being, but Ratcliffe could gain immediate favour with United fans by paying for the Old Trafford roof to be repaired.
As happened again at the recent home game with Crystal Palace, fans are getting wet because of leaks that have been a problem known about for some years now.
For many, it just symbolises the club’s decay under the Glazer ownership and a contempt for those who pay high ticket prices to loyally follow their team.
United fans are still getting wet at Old Trafford despite the roof issues being well known
Man United are in a dilemma over what to do with the notoriously leaky roof at Old Trafford, which has previously left supporters drenched when attending matches
While the cost of such a project isn’t known, it’s clear a major upgrade or complete rebuild of Old Trafford is going to be required in the years ahead.
As a venue in which to watch football, Old Trafford has long been surpassed by stadiums such as Arsenal’s Emirates and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
There is very little confidence the Glazers have the will or the finances to carry this redevelopment work out.
Back in February, Mail Sport reported an upgrade to Old Trafford will come in at north of £1bn, while a complete rebuild would cost close to £2bn.
