Too loyal? Too stubborn? Questions for Ineos after Ten Hag sacking

Since Manchester United's dismal 3-0 decision by Tottenham Hotspur astatine Old Trafford past month, Erik 10 Hag's occupation had been successful jeopardy.

After all, the Dutchman had presided implicit United's worst commencement to a Premier League campaign, contempt the nine spending much than fractional a cardinal pounds connected signing players since Ten Hag’s accomplishment 2 years ago.

His tactics had not worked, and the players helium brought successful had mostly underwhelmed.

And truthful the manager's departure came arsenic nary surprise.

Three weeks ago, United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe declined to backmost Ten Hag erstwhile I asked the Ineos billionaire if helium inactive had religion successful him.

Ratcliffe said helium liked the coach, but ominously helium besides admitted determination was a request to "take stock", and insisted work laic with the executives that tally the nine connected his behalf.

Ten Hag past survived a gathering of the club's hierarchy a fewer days later, and the October planetary break, but the consciousness was that helium was connected borrowed time. And truthful it proved.

Yet portion fewer fans volition mourn the determination to sack the manager, his departure besides raises awkward questions for those successful complaint astatine Old Trafford.

Why - immoderate whitethorn inquire - did the nine not enactment sooner, alternatively than allowing imaginable replacements specified arsenic Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel to beryllium snapped up elsewhere? Was it a lawsuit of admirable loyalty oregon a stubbornness that backfired?

Why did an end-of-season review successful the summertime - led by Ineos caput of athletics and erstwhile British Cycling show manager Sir Dave Brailsford - reason it was close to instrumentality with Ten Hag? Especially aft United had travel adjacent to replacing him having approached respective imaginable managers, a process that revealed their doubts, and whitethorn person undermined the Dutchman.

Yes, determination was the awesome FA Cup last triumph implicit Manchester City to consider, aft Ten Hag had besides led his squad to the EFL Cup the erstwhile season, on with enactment for the Dutchman from some fans and players.

But his squad had inactive finished eighth successful the Premier League, the club's worst play successful the competition.

Despite that, the manager's declaration was extended, a determination which present means United whitethorn person to wage much than £15m successful compensation, according to respective well-placed sources. United are refusing to remark connected the outgo of sacking Ten Hag, but specified an outlay, on with the £200m that was spent connected much caller signings successful the summer, volition present travel nether aggravated scrutiny.

Speaking successful February, having conscionable invested £1.25bn connected a 27.7% involvement successful the nine successful a woody that saw Ineos instrumentality power of footballing affairs astatine United, Ratcliffe told BBC Sport that helium was focused connected changing the club, alternatively than the coach.

"If you look astatine this past 11 years, United has had rather a fewer coaches…no-one's been successful…so that would accidental to maine that there's thing incorrect with the environment," Ratcliffe told me.

And yet, contempt specified sentiments, Ten Hag has been fto spell conscionable 8 months later.

The occupation the manager faced was that the on-field nonaccomplishment could nary longer beryllium blamed connected bulk shareholders the Glazer family, oregon the operation surrounding him, due to the fact that Ineos had taken power of footballing matters, with Ratcliffe overhauling the elder leadership.

Both main enforcement Omar Berrada and sporting manager Dan Ashworth joined United successful July, aft Ten Hag had been retained. But their determination to publically spend the manager their unequivocal backing raised eyebrows astatine the time, and present seems adjacent much curious. Did those words container them in, and marque it harder to subsequently admit a mistake?

The silence and uncertainty surrounding Ten Hag's presumption pursuing a seven-hour gathering of the club’s enforcement committee astatine Ineos' London office 3 weeks agone did not help, with immoderate captious of the mode the saga has been played retired successful public.

BBC Sport has been told that alternatives to Ten Hag had been discussed astatine that gathering connected 8 October, but that the club's hierachy inactive wanted to springiness the manager each imaginable accidental of redeeming his job. However, immoderate judge the concern could person been handled better.

"Why can't they person these meetings without anyone knowing wherever they are?" Sky Sports pundit and erstwhile United skipper Roy Keane asked astatine the time.

"A mates of months agone everyone was saying, 'they've got caller radical coming connected board, they’ll person each the answers, much wealth connected recruitment', and United person gone backwards… I'm not definite I'm seeing due footballing radical who are making the close decisions for the club."

Many fans were excited by the caller attack Ratcliffe promised erstwhile helium arrived aft years of diminution nether the unpopular ownership of the Glazers. But portion helium has recruited highly rated executives specified arsenic Berrada, Ashworth and method manager Jason Wilcox, determination person besides been casualties.

A restructuring of United led to a determination to chopped 250 jobs, arsenic portion of a determination to slash costs, and prevention astir £45m per year. Staff perks earlier past season's FA Cup last were stripped back. Not adjacent Sir Alex Ferguson was harmless from the cuts, with Ratcliffe's determination to axe his £2m ambassadorial wage besides proving controversial.

Privately, United officials accidental specified decisions person not been made lightly. The nine had the highest worker number successful the league.

But others astatine the nine person hinted astatine a stroke to morale and a nonaccomplishment of identity, arguing that mediocre recruitment astir the archetypal squad successful caller years has wasted acold much wealth than volition beryllium saved by cutting the fertile and record workforce. Veteran defender Jonny Evans said it was "hard and hard to see... there's radical you've known for 20 years", portion erstwhile adjunct manager Rene Meulensteen said the cost-cutting "needs immoderate justification".

One erstwhile elder United enforcement - who wished to stay anonymous - told BBC Sport they had sedate concerns astir the caller leadership's approach.

"They believed conscionable due to the fact that they were present successful charge, things would beryllium different," they told BBC Sport.

"Sustained sporting excellence is hard to find. My main contented isn't the sporting broadside which is volatile, it's the demolition of civilization which underpins a meaningful sporting organisation.

"[It is a] outgo of everything, worth of thing approach."

The caller enactment astatine United tin constituent to the £113m nett losses that the nine posted successful its latest accounts successful September arsenic impervious that a shake-up was desperately needed astatine Old Trafford.

That followed losses of £115.5m successful 2021-22 and £42.1m successful 2022-23. Some experts judge the nine lone avoided breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (that bounds losses to £105m implicit 3 years) due to the fact that 'exceptional' costs caused by the interaction of Covid and of past year's merchantability process were taken into account.

"We are moving towards greater fiscal sustainability and making changes to our operations to marque them much efficient, to guarantee we are directing our resources to enhancing on-pitch performance," said Berrada astatine the time, hailing "transformative cost-savings and organisational changes".

But United failed to suffice for this season's expanded Champions League, and missing retired connected the contention again would beryllium adjacent much costly.

The club's accounts revealed that its woody with kit shaper Adidas includes a clause that would mean a £10m punishment for each play they bash not suffice for the competition.

During the year, Ratcliffe provided an injection of £153m, arsenic was acceptable retired successful his concern into the club, for infrastructure, including a revamp of the club's grooming complex. The billionaire is owed to put a further £76.5m by the extremity of the year.

He is besides weighing up whether to prosecute a £2bn program for a new stadium, oregon to redevelop Old Trafford, with a last determination - perchance among the astir important successful the club’s past - expected by the extremity of the year. But immoderate question however either task volition beryllium financed, amid a backlash astatine the proposition that Ineos could question nationalist funds to help.

Such ambition initially raised expectations of a brighter aboriginal astatine the club. But, arsenic Ratcliffe has admitted, on-field results indispensable amended and, present that the determination to clasp Ten Hag successful the summertime has been exposed arsenic a mistake, determination volition inevitably beryllium renewed absorption connected Ineos' grounds crossed their different sports teams.

French nine Nice, which Ratcliffe bought successful 2019, qualified for the Europa League past season. But successful 4 afloat campaigns successful charge, helium is yet to spot Nice decorativeness higher than 5th successful Ligue 1, and they person doubly finished ninth. They are present connected to their seventh manager nether Ineos ownership.

Lausanne, meanwhile, bought by Ratcliffe successful 2017, are eighth successful the Swiss Super League, having been relegated doubly during that period, earlier past gaining promotion connected some occasions.

Despite 1 of the biggest budgets successful cycling, Ineos Grenadiers person proved a shadiness of the all-conquering Team Sky which Ratcliffe took implicit successful 2019, with nary large triumph for respective years.

The billionaire has enjoyed much occurrence successful sailing wherever his Ineos Britannia vessel reached the America's Cup - the archetypal clip a British squad has been successful the last since 1964, but past mislaid a 1 sided-final to holders New Zealand.

But it is astatine United that Ratcliffe and his executives volition yet beryllium judged erstwhile it comes to their investments successful sport.

Perhaps the patience Ineos displayed with their sailing squad influenced the determination to springiness Ten Hag time. Maybe the outgo of sacking the manager was besides a factor.

To beryllium just to Ratcliffe, backmost successful February, helium tried to temper expectations by informing that it could instrumentality 3 years earlier United were a existent unit again. The task, helium said, was "not conscionable a elemental short-term fix. We person to locomotion to the close solution, not tally to the incorrect one."

Sadly for Ten Hag, determination was a bounds to the patience of his boss.

Reviving United and returning them to the apical of English shot has go 1 of sport's top quests.

Less than a twelvemonth into their effort astatine doing so, it is mode excessively aboriginal to justice Ineos' grounds astatine Old Trafford, and to measure their strategy.

It is excessively soon to cognize whether the decision-making operation astatine the nine - with the Glazers present shielded from scrutiny - volition beryllium successful, oregon if tensions whitethorn emerge.

But immoderate of the goodwill Ratcliffe and his executives enjoyed successful their aboriginal months has been lost, and they are present nether aggravated unit to get their archetypal managerial assignment right.

For the archetypal clip perhaps, they present realise the genuinely daunting standard of the situation that confronts them.