As far as locations for Manchester United ownership meetings go, there can be few as luxurious as Barcelona during what its sponsors will have you call the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup.
Joel and Avram Glazer were spotted at the event in which Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a team, INEOS Britannia, competing, and the American brothers were not just there to witness sailing’s most prestigious competition.
The two Glazers and Ratcliffe, plus Sir Dave Brailsford, Jean-Claude Blanc, Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth, and Jason Wilcox also gathered for a scheduled board-level meeting to discuss United, according to people familiar with the matter, with the September international break providing space for reflection on the summer transfer window and the first three games of the new season.
Perhaps those key figures at the top of the club will have drawn parallels between the fortunes of INEOS Britannia, skippered by Ben Ainslie, and circumstances at Old Trafford, where Erik ten Hag is the man in charge. INEOS Britannia had a mixed start to the round-robin stage of the series — where each team twice goes one-on-one against the others — winning four and losing three of their opening seven races.
But they finished strong, taking the final three races and winning a sail-off against the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team to finish second overall behind holders Emirates Team New Zealand and head into the semi-final phase with momentum. In between the racing, there was a chance for Ainslie and the football people to chat and discuss ideas.
United, meanwhile, have experienced mixed results of their own this season, beating Fulham in the opening match but losing to Brighton and bitter rivals Liverpool, inviting fresh public discussion around manager Ten Hag’s position.
People familiar with the situation, speaking like others in this article on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say there was some concern among United personnel that gaps in midfield were once again evident in the 3-0 loss to Liverpool. Questions were raised internally about whether this is a problem with the players or the instructions they are being given. Given similar issues occurred last season, there are people at the club who feel the roots are systemic and that a remedy should be sought on the training pitches at United’s Carrington base.
But having gone through the process of searching for potential replacements for Ten Hag before and after the FA Cup final in May, eventually concluding he was still the best person for the job, executives want to continue to support the manager. Signings were made this summer with his influence and three new coaches arrived, all chosen by him.
There is acknowledgement of better application to pressing in the games against Fulham and Brighton, as well as during the pre-season Community Shield game against Manchester City. United have the fifth-highest expected goals figure in the Premier League at 5.22, behind champions City (7.11) but ahead of Arsenal (4.25). That United have only actually scored twice, the joint-second-lowest total in the division, points to finishing being an issue.
Conversely, having been forthright during the Ibiza summit at which his status was confirmed, Ten Hag has adjusted to the new regime, picking up their term of “game model” and showing more of his personality around Carrington. Results dictate sentiment, but there is no appetite for change.
Chief executive Berrada and sporting director Ashworth going on the record to state that position should be given credence. “Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely,” said Berrada before kick-off against Liverpool. “We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.”
At any club, there is always an element of risk when directors speak publicly on managers who are facing scrutiny, especially before a big game like that one, but United’s top two employees on the footballing side did so because they have clarity on the matter.
Ashworth’s modus operandi throughout his career has been to take time assessing working practices before making significant moves — he waited three months at previous employers Newcastle United, for instance — and he is described by several former colleagues as very process-driven and methodical.
He started working at Carrington on July 1 and to this point his overwhelming priority has been transfers. He is now broadening his focus and was instrumental in the appointment of Sam Erith as performance director until the end of the season.
Ashworth’s place at the apex of the football organisation at Carrington has become clear during this period, and there is conviction internally that the compensation paid to Newcastle, placed at about £2.5million to £3m by people briefed on the matter, is money well spent. He has brought a sense of stability and professionalism.
That is not to say he will be the arbiter on Ten Hag, should that become a real topic of debate in future.
Ultimately, that kind of call comes from the ownership, with Ratcliffe, Joel Glazer and Brailsford forming a three-person committee. They would, though, base their conclusions on recommendations from those on the ground, notably Berrada, Ashworth and technical director Wilcox.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks,” Ashworth said ahead of the Liverpool game. “I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can. Whether that’s operationally, whether that’s with recruitment, whether that’s with medical, whether that’s with psychology, whether that’s training-ground flow, it’s just to take as much of that off him to allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.”
Brailsford, as INEOS director of sport, has a close working relationship with both Ashworth and Wilcox, and is the conduit for regular dialogue, ensuring there is a flow of information to the owners. Ashworth’s appointment has lessened the need for Brailsford to be ever-present at Carrington, as he was in the early days of the INEOS investment at the start of this year, but he still normally spends from Tuesday until after the game at the weekend at the club.
He has told people his approach is to install a highly skilled group of people to run United’s football operations and enable them to do their jobs. Brailsford is expected to take a step back and use his experience of elite performance in the world of cycling to challenge and support them. As a club board member, and Ratcliffe’s main representative at United, his role is considered active. Brailsford is based in Monaco, the location for the Europa League draw last month, meaning he attended that event, alongside Ashworth, on the afternoon of transfer deadline day.
Blanc, the other INEOS representative involved in the sporting side of United, is a step removed but does engage at a macro level.
He held face-to-face talks with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), over the transfer of Manuel Ugarte to United in Monaco in the days before the Champions League draw there on the evening of August 29. Blanc and Al-Khelaifi, who worked together at PSG for 11 years and have a strong relationship, agreed the payment terms of the move.
On September 4, Blanc was appointed to the boards of the European Club Association (ECA) and UEFA’s Club Competition (UCC) board of administration, and is viewed as United’s powerbroker in the corridors of the continental game.
Back in Manchester, Wilcox’s role is to work closely with the first team, watching sessions and providing assistance to Ten Hag. He was also across the summer signings of Chido Obi-Martin, the 16-year-old striker from Arsenal, and Sekou Kone, the 18-year-old midfielder from Mali side Guidars.
Obi-Martin’s arrival was triggered by Luke Fedorenko, United’s head of academy recruitment, who spoke with the player and his family, with assistance from director of academy Nick Cox. Matt Hargreaves, director of football negotiations, got the deal over the line.
Christopher Vivell, the interim director of recruitment, was a driver behind the transfer of Kone, who starred at the Under-17s World Cup in Indonesia last year, where Mali beat Argentina in the third-place play-off. The player was known to Steve Brown, United’s head of scouting operations but it is felt that, previously, recruitment staff may have been unable to execute a difficult deal.
Kone will go into the academy initially with a view to first-team involvement in the medium-term, given Ten Hag’s need for a No 6, the kind of “bridge” transfer United have not typically done. It was an aim of the new leadership team to assign a good budget to the pursuit of such players, with Ashworth providing oversight.
Hargreaves emerged into a position of prominence during the recent window. Appointed last summer, there was some scepticism about his ability to transition from doing commercial deals at Adidas. But several sources say his work should be recognised as being clear and effective. He was pivotal to all the transactions. Brown also laid groundwork, with Andy O’Boyle, deputy football director, involved too.
Over the summer, all the key figures met daily to discuss moves via Microsoft Teams. That multi-pronged approach enabled United to progress several deals at once. “Dan and his team have done an excellent job executing the ins and outs,” Berrada said.
Berrada has set a tone for good communication and emphasising accountability among staff, but ways of working and lines of delineation, are not fully in place. It is still considered to be early days for the new team.
O’Boyle’s departure is a sign that the structure is yet to be finalised. John Murtough’s exit as football “director” meant the deputy title had become obsolete but rather than force a new role, as may have happened in the past, the decision was taken to part ways. O’Boyle had been very involved in all aspects of the sporting operation towards the end of last season and into June, particularly overseeing the revamp of the academy and women’s building at Carrington to accommodate the men’s first team, alongside director of football operations David Harrison, but Ashworth’s arrival, followed by that of Erith, meant space for such work shrunk.
A performance director had been sought by United, and Erith arrives with a good reputation having spent 11 years at neighbours City before two at Madison Square Garden Sports Corp in New York as player performance and science lead, covering the New York Knicks of basketball’s NBA. It remains to be seen what Erith’s appointment means for the requirements of Richard Hawkins, who was made director of football insights and innovation 18 months ago.
United want a chief business officer to report in to Berrada, and Marc Armstrong, currently PSG’s chief revenue officer, is a contender.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
