Once upon a time Manchester United fans would have faced a dilemma when hosting Arsenal in their penultimate home game on Sunday. The fear of handing Manchester City the title by beating their championship rivals would have left some contemplating forfeit. Better to chuck it in against Arsenal than hand a fourth consecutive title to “The Bitters”.
After the laying down of arms at Selhurst Park on Monday few would back United to beat Arsenal’s bench let alone the first XI. Reports suggest morale under Erik ten Hag is approaching Ralf Rangnick 2.0 levels. It would appear Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s forensic attack on squad quality, on the overpayment of older players and the investment in overpriced youngsters has sucked the life out of the end-of-season party. Crikey, even Bruno Fernandes is considering his future.
The news that all but the ringfenced trio of Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund, which itself feels like a guestimate, were available in a fire sale sent the team south to Crystal Palace with lead in their boots. Fernandes didn’t take the field, citing a “knock”. I’ll bet he was hurting. The result was a 4-0 pasting for which Ten Hag could not find any excuses.
The discontent felt by the undervalued in the dressing room is shared by administrative staff reeling from Sir Jim’s equally ruthless treatment of them. The love story imagined when Ratcliffe assumed control of football matters was always headed for the rocks because it was never that. Rather the £1.3bn paid for his 27 per cent stake was an investment seeking a return.
Ineos, the petrochemical company Ratcliffe owns, is a mergers and acquisitions monster that specialises in sweeping up vulnerable targets and extracting the value. This is neither good nor bad from the amoral perspective of a capitalistic powerhouse. It’s simply business.
Almost six months since his Christmas Eve declaration of purchase, Ratcliffe’s motive is revealed for what it always was, a business opportunity aimed at deriving value from a fading asset even more than the hated Glazer regime he diluted.
At least when Joel and Avram were running the show, staffers were entitled to free travel with their cup final tickets. And no one ever asked how many emails rattled through your inbox. The efficiency drive is not unexpected.
No well-run organisation carries unnecessary weight. However, the idea that Sir Jim was some kind of benevolent local lad acting on a romantic impulse to rebuild the club he supported as a nipper was torched the moment he sent in the consultancy hounds.
What did they find? Overstaffing, private chauffeurs for privileged staff, company credit cards. United’s payroll of 1,200 souls is 20 per cent greater than City, Liverpool or Arsenal.
The audit of the club’s administrative complex is said to have left staff bewildered and dispirited. Much like the team. Now they face being marched back into the office from their work-from-home idylls or finding new jobs.
A lost decade of mismanagement and underachievement is all the justification Ratcliffe needed to unleash the time-and-motion beasts. At least he understands the primacy of the team, unlike the Glazers; who, until last year’s sale notice went up, were happy to let the world’s greatest wealth generators go through the motions as long as the dividends were there at year’s end – which they always were.
The arrival of Ratcliffe in what is effectively a joint venture, was an admission by the Glazers that, perhaps, something needed to be done to keep the profits rolling in. The Glazers are still the majority owners and Ratcliffe needs their sanction to get big ticket items through. Sir Jim retains the goodwill of the fans as long as the drive for profit coincides with an upswing in performance.
Ratcliffe has already made management changes that deal with the paucity of expertise in previous incumbents. A football structure featuring a chief executive with a background in football, former City executive Omar Berrada, a director of football soon to be extricated from Newcastle United, Dan Ashworth, and a technical director, Jason Wilcox, is a considerable step in the right direction.
Ten Hag’s position in the new order is clearly under review. He accounts for United’s appalling downturn this season largely through injuries. A total of 32 different defensive alignments, 30 changes to the centre-back pairing. No recognised left-back for much of the season.
Though Ratcliffe initially expressed sympathy for the manager, and was encouraged by the post-Christmas bounceback when Hojlund scored eight in eight, there has been no commitment made for next year.
The supporters who travelled to Palace cheered more out of defiance at the final whistle. But there were boos following the home draw with Burnley a fortnight ago. Meteorologists warn of a thunderous weather front hitting Manchester on the day of the match. In the context of Sunday’s meeting the storm might be named Arsenal, an audit of potentially ruinous proportions for Ten Hag.