Erik ten Hag (left) and Manchester United face another stern test when they visit Manchester City on Sunday. Photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images
When Sir Jim Ratcliffe addressed Manchester United staff at a meeting in early January, he drew applause from the assembled audience for his candid assessment of the problems that have dogged the club for many years.
However, it was only when a popular and long-standing United employee of 20 years' service approached him after a meeting and explained why his words had resonated so strongly that the Ineos founder fully realized how much the staff had been pining for someone to lead the company. and inspire them. “The last time I felt like this,” Ratcliffe was told, “was in 2008, just before we went to Moscow for the Champions League final, when Sir Alex [Ferguson] came and spoke to all the staff. Just like then, I wanted to tear off my shirt and shake it over my head. It was delicious. Thank you.”
United, of course, beat Chelsea on penalties in the Russian capital to claim their third European Cup, 10 days after the same team won the Premier League title. By the end of that year, Ferguson's side would be on top of the world, having won the Club World Cup in Japan.
Little did they know then that the seeds had already been sown for a change of power in Manchester so dramatic that Ratcliffe — the man to whom the Glazers had effectively handed over control of the club arrived at Old Trafford and unabashedly talked about how United had a lot to learn from our noisy neighbor across the road.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe's harsh assessment of United struck a chord with club insiders. Photo: Holly Adams/Bloomberg
Twelve months after Abu Dhabi's takeover of Manchester City, Ferguson sits at a table in United's academy building under photographs. of the players who helped build his empire snorted derisively when asked if City could ever dominate, if his own club would one day face them as underdogs. “Not in my lifetime,” replied Ferguson, his face as straight as Deansgate’s.
But that's exactly what happened, and the difference now is that the gulf has become so sharp, so wide, that no United figure is likely to be too vocal these days when people like Ratcliffe talk about the club strives to become more like City, and City providing a «blueprint» for how to do things.
David Moyes, the former United manager, was blasted for daring to suggest this ten years ago after a devastating 3-0 defeat to their rivals at Old Trafford. But then City were still relative upstarts and Ferguson's shadow still loomed over United.
United were at the wrong end of a huge turnaround in fortunes.
Now City are champions of England, Europe and the world with the best coach and the best players. and Ferguson recognizes the aura better than most. United are having to come to terms with the part they played in facilitating one of the most extraordinary role reversals the modern game has witnessed.
And here's the thing: no matter how impressive what they have built » City — aside from the alleged financial improprieties, which they deny but which may still aid Ratcliffe's bid to return United to the top — their rise has been fueled by United's staggering level of self-confidence. sabotage.
Just as an alcoholic or drug addict can't hope to get their life back on track without first admitting they have a problem, it took Ratcliffe coming in and directly assessing how bad things were for United to truly begin the rebuilding process. after all those helpless claims of a “reset” under previous regimes.
So has the moment come for the empire to strike back? Well, it won't be a quick fix, that's for sure, just as few will be surprised if things go wrong for United again on the pitch at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. United lost there last season 6-3, and even that scoreline flattered them.
Only three Premier League teams — relegation-threatened Sheffield United and Luton Town and Moyes' West Ham — have conceded more shots on average per game in all competitions this season than United. While City are averaging just 7.1 shots per game this season, United's average is a mammoth 15.2 — more than double that — and if Erik ten Hag's side stay the same open, as in the previous league match, the score is 2–1. defeat to Fulham, they still have a very long day ahead of them.
The disparity between the way United defend and attack (low blocking meets high pressing, with huge spaces in between for opponents to exploit) has been an issue all season, and Ten Hag's suggestion that the defeat to City » will not mean the end of United's top four. hopes seemed quite achievable.
Missing a Champions League match at Old Trafford next season will be an early blow for Ratcliffe and his Ineos side, but not as damaging as maintaining existing structures. That's why Ratcliffe, having gone out and lured Omar Berrada from City to become United's new chief executive — and also hopes to hire Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, also once of City, in the recruitment department — feels such a dramatic jump after years of isolated appointments. and weak fixes. «There seems to be a fear of the outside world,» one source said of United's continued failure to recruit from outside under the Glazers.
In many ways, Ineos had a history of mirroring City's approach. in their latest stint at Nice, where only now, with the appointment of a suitable CEO, sporting director and head coach, they feel they are starting to make progress at the French club. .
As one source put it: «The understanding that the relationship between those three key positions and the players in the dressing room was absolutely critical.»
None of this guarantees United will fall apart. will knock City off their perch in the coming years, but for the first time in a long time the staff have something tangible to stand behind and believe in.
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