From transfers to Marcus Rashford: key issues now facing Manchester United

Jim Ratcliffe needs to get matters right on and off the pitch now he had decided to stick by Erik ten Hag.

ERIK THE RED: Erik ten Hag is to remain as Manchester United manager following a performance review. Photo credit: Nick Potts/PA Wire.

Back the manager

If Jim Ratcliffe really means, as he posits, that “two or three years” are needed to revive Manchester United, the 71-year-old now needs to stick by Erik ten Hag barring only an apocalyptic run of form. 

Related here is the issue of Ten Hag’s position having been in jeopardy despite a yield of a trophy in each of his two seasons in charge.

When the Dutchman was essentially asked to re-interview for his post during Ratcliffe’s end of season review, he would have surely pointed to this ratio of honours, particularly in the context of the businessman’s own judgment regarding the time required to return United to the top.

Particularly, too, as the FA Cup triumph was pulled off against a Manchester City side that has a claim to be the greatest this country has ever seen.

Transfers

To have Dan Ashworth on (prolonged) gardening leave and unable to begin as sporting director before the summer window opens on 14 June is hardly a shiny emblem of Ratcliffe’s brave new world. 

While Manchester United and Newcastle wrangle over compensation a vacuum remains where his expertise should be. Jason Wilcox, the new technical director, is filling this so the upcoming market is a test of his smarts as the club seek to halt the iffy signings of the post Alex Ferguson era that include Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Ángel Di María, André Onana, Mason Mount, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and copious others.

A War and Peace-length tome is required to document how and why these serial blunders occurred and, essentially, prevented even one credible title challenge in the 11 years since Ferguson retired. 

Under Ratcliffe can United, at last, do what City, led by their sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, do every window and buy shrewdly?

Medical department

Gary O’Driscoll became head of sports medicine in September and by the close of the season 60-plus injuries had ravaged Ten Hag’s ability to enjoy any continuity of selection and administer recognisable patterns of play.

Is this O’Driscoll’s fault? Did he inherit an outmoded medical operation? Is Ten Hag’s documented bent for training his squad to the limit the reason? The club’s stance is that O’Driscoll required time to assess his department and they point positively to his role in the recovery of Raphaël Varane and Lisandro Martínez from injury to be part of the triumphant FA Cup final XI and believe next season there will be a vast improvement.

Dave Brailsford is the director of sport for Ratcliffe’s company Ineos and as the pioneer, in cycling, of “marginal gains” is focusing on aiding O’Driscoll during this close season. Last season Ten Hag fielded 15 central defensive combinations, his first-choice left-back, Luke Shaw, was missing for most of the campaign, and Shaw’s deputy, Tyrell Malacia, throughout.

Martínez, whom Pep Guardiola bills as one of the top five defenders in the world, was limited to 14 appearances. Not good enough for a supposed elite football operation.

The messaging

Ratcliffe, the billionaire entrepreneur, and Brailsford, the former cycling supremo, are proven innovators, so how about this as a left-field(ish) suggestion: why not put up a different high-ranking executive once or twice each season to take the heat off the manager, who has to answer for absolutely everything?

Example: when it was determined that Mason Greenwood would be loaned to Getafe, perhaps the then chief executive, Richard Arnold, who made the final call, might have held a media conference to explain why.

Or, with regard to the injuries, how about Ashworth, when finally in place, offering a briefing to explain why? Football can be a luddite industry, so come on Jim and Dave, bring your blue-sky thinking to the sport and make a move that could be as revolutionary as Guardiola’s inverted full-backs.

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford celebrates after his team won the English FA Cup. AP Photo/Ian Walton.

Marcus Rashford

In this correspondent’s experience the forward can be a remote presence, so the tears shed after United’s 2-1 FA Cup final victory over City hit as a jolt after a dismal season of eight goals and offered a reminder Rashford is no automaton.

The 26-year-old’s dire return followed a career best of 30 goals in the previous season. Inconsistency is Rashford’s achilles heel, so faith at United surely has to begin to waver seriously as to whether he can overcome this.

If he is not to be sold this summer Rashford – who plans to “reset mentally” having been omitted from England’s squad for the European Championship – has to prove, finally, that he can be a season-after-season force.

The 2024-25 campaign, then, must be last-chance saloon time. If he is a menace to defences and prolific the challenge is to repeat that in 2025-26. If he is not, it is time to say adieu to the boy from Wythenshawe.

Guardian