Man Utd next manager: If Ten Hag can’t bring Ratcliffe his ‘razzmatazz’, which coach can?
Erik ten Hag is at risk due to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment and Man United’s continued decline.
But who is the accessible manager who can bring ‘power’ back to Old Trafford?
If Gary Neville is right and Sir Jim Ratcliffe has given ‘electricity and If he was hoping for ‘sparkle’, the billionaire will have left Old Trafford on Sunday in a pretty bad mood.
Ratcliffe would not have been alone.
The majority of United fans shunned the 2-2 draw, feeling uninspired and perhaps quite bored.
Their team put in another lackluster performance but could have beaten a Spurs team that offered fans a little more excitement to wake up from Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte’s Mogadon season .
But United were badly beaten.
Ratcliffe, flanked by Sir Alex Ferguson, couldn’t help but notice that the whole atmosphere – the atmosphere, the performances, the tactics – had become seriously subdued.
This was Ratcliffe’s first opportunity to see for himself the magnitude of the task he had undertaken.
The INEOS boss has already had his minions Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc inspect the exterior of the club he claims to have supported as a boy.
And the feedback is likely already focused on the need for major changes.
Perhaps the most attractive candidate on this list is Roberto De Zerbi.
The Brighton manager is not yet at the level claimed by United, but he seems ready for a chance to shine.
De Zerbi is a pioneering coach and appears to have the confidence and personality to master his life at Old Trafford.
But I thought about his last five as well.
Whoever Ratcliffe appoints to manage his team, he will need a number of new players.
No manager can expect this team to outperform Manchester City, Liverpool, and perhaps even Arsenal and Tottenham.
Ten Hag’s team had an identity even before he arrived at Old Trafford.
The same goes for Ralph Rangnick.
Just under 90 minutes into the game against Crystal Palace, he realized that the selfish players at his disposal were either unable or unwilling to play that way.
There have been changes since the German claimed only “open heart surgery” could revive United, but they are far from the numbers they really need.
For Ratcliffe, the main focus going into the summer will no doubt be on leveraging the expertise of any manager, even more than that of a manager.
This process, coupled with a review of United’s recent failures, could give ten Hag the chance to make his mark on the team without taking on the burden of some of the characters that have separated him from United.
It’s just as likely, if not more likely, that the changes will extend from the boardroom to the locker room to the dugout.
For Ratcliffe and the new government, getting rid of Ten Hag would be simple and easy to explain.
The task of finding a suitable successor seems much more risky.
