BIRMINGHAM, England — If Sir Jim Ratcliffe invested £1.25 billion in Manchester United for the thrills and spills that come with being associated with one of the world’s biggest football clubs, he might just want his money back … unless he gets his kicks out of firing a manager.
As Erik ten Hag’s United walked off the field at Villa Park on Sunday having secured a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa, they did so having recorded the club’s worst start to a Premier League season on eight points from seven matches. You have to go back to 1989 in the old First Division to find a more troublesome start, when Alex Ferguson’s team only earned seven points. There will have been no enjoyment for Ratcliffe as he watched from the stands, just anguish over what to do with his underperforming coach.
United are winless in five games and have scored just five Premier League goals — only Southampton (four) have managed fewer — and they have already suffered humiliating 3-0 home defeats against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
This draw at Villa might keep him in a job for now, but if Ratcliffe and his Ineos team decide to show yet more patience, the reality is they would surely only be delaying the inevitable. Ten Hag simply isn’t up to the job, and results and performances are the ultimate proof of that. Yes, his forwards are nowhere near good enough for a club of United’s stature, but Ten Hag has been involved in the signings of Rasmus Højlund, Antony and Joshua Zirkzee, so he can’t escape responsibility for the toothless nature of his team.
Ratcliffe, who took charge of United’s football operations in February after his investment made him a minority owner alongside the Glazer family, opted against removing Ten Hag at the end of last season after the former Ajax boss delivered the FA Cup via a shock win against Manchester City at Wembley. Ten Hag had just guided United to their worst Premier League finish of eighth and the club were openly speaking to possible successors, including Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Roberto De Zerbi and Kieran McKenna. Gareth Southgate was also under consideration.
But Ten Hag survived, after a two-week wait, to be told he was still United’s man, with promises that things would start to get better.
Yet here United are, in the first week of October, with the team languishing in 14th position in the Premier League with just two wins, against Fulham and Southampton.
Two days ago, Ratcliffe was celebrating the success of his Ineos Britannia boat becoming the first British crew to qualify for the final of the America’s Cup since 1964, but he left Villa Park with his football team sinking fast and all eyes on him and his four senior directors – Dave Brailsford (Ineos head of sport), Omar Berrada (United CEO), Dan Ashworth (director of football) and Jason Wilcox (technical director) – looking as gloomy as a Soviet-era Politburo in the directors’ box.
But there’s no indication that United’s dismal start to the season will be enough to convince Ratcliffe and his team to change the manager. Financial considerations are a big part of their dilemma, with United posting annual losses of £113 million last month, but at some point, sporting matters will take prominence, especially as qualification for next season’s Champions League becomes increasingly unlikely.
Yet after the game, Ten Hag was defiant. He believes things are getting better and has no fears over his job.
“We [Ten Hag and Ratcliffe] always speak, every week we speak,” Ten Hag said. “We are all on board together, on one page, we know what we are working through it’s a long-term process.
“We have come through two very tough away games. This is a team, we showed the belief and faith we have. I don’t have any idea that is different [to the board backing him]. We communicate very openly and transparently.”
Ratcliffe and his Ineos team have a preplanned board meeting at United on Tuesday, so Ten Hag’s position will undoubtedly be a matter for discussion. But at this stage, the most likely outcome will be that Ten Hag limps on in the hope that results and performances improve.
The lack of an obvious replacement is another issue that plays in Ten Hag’s favour right now. Tuchel, Southgate and former Chelsea boss Graham Potter are all out of work and available, but each has as many negatives as positives, so the view may be that throwing Ten Hag overboard in favour of any of those might be counter-productive.
But Ratcliffe made himself Britain’s richest man by making big decisions and smart investments — he knew when to take a risk and when to sit tight.
If he thinks that sticking with Ten Hag is the smart option right now, games like the one he witnessed at Villa Park will do little to bolster that viewpoint.
United are drifting along, playing boring football and offering no threat to the teams they would once have classed as their rivals.
So Ten Hag may survive for now, but Ratcliffe’s patience won’t last forever.