{"id":302352,"date":"2023-12-13T23:26:31","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T23:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=302352"},"modified":"2023-12-13T23:26:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T23:26:31","slug":"five-issues-on-ratcliffes-to-do-list-after-sealing-man-united-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/five-issues-on-ratcliffes-to-do-list-after-sealing-man-united-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Five issues on Ratcliffe&apos;s to-do list after sealing Man United deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Back or sack\u00a0Erik ten Hag, clean up a \u00a328m black hole and revamp an underachieving squad&#8230; the five burning issues on Sir Jim Ratcliffe&#8217;s to-do list after sealing Man United deal<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Glazer family have agreed to let Ratcliffe take charge of football operations<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>It could be another two months before his \u00a31.25bn investment is confirmed\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Back off Erik ten Hag! Insipid Man United performances are on the players \u2013 not the manager &#8211; Listen to why on\u00a0It&#8217;s All Kicking Off<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It could be a while before Sir Jim Ratcliffe is pulling the strings at Manchester United.<\/p>\n<p>Even when the Ineos owner\u2019s \u00a31.25billion investment is confirmed, it may be a further two months before Ratcliffe passes the Premier League\u2019s fit and proper persons test, and the process of acquiring A-shares in United on the New York Stock Exchange is complete.<\/p>\n<p>Once the British billionaire\u2019s investment is given the green light, however, he will have more power at United than could be expected of a 25 per cent shareholder after agreeing with the Glazer family to take charge of football operations at United.<\/p>\n<p>Mail Sport takes a look at the most pressing issues in Ratcliffe\u2019s in-tray when he finally assumes control at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/13\/22\/78935665-12861209-image-m-73_1702506207440.jpg\" height=\"356\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Glazer family have agreed to let\u00a0Sir Jim Ratcliffe take charge at Manchester United<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<h2>MANAGER<\/h2>\n<p>Erik ten Hag\u2019s position has never looked more uncertain after United\u2019s meek exit from Europe on Tuesday night. The defeat at Old Trafford by Bayern Munich means that United have lost half their games this season. They finished bottom of their Champions League group with the club\u2019s lowest-ever points total.<\/p>\n<p>Ten Hag\u2019s side are sixth in the Premier League but face leaders Liverpool and third-placed Aston Villa in two of their next three games, as pressure builds on the manager once again.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming Ten Hag survives long enough, Ratcliffe and his director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford face a huge decision over whether to stand by the Dutchman or start the search for United\u2019s sixth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired a decade ago.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/13\/22\/78935669-12861209-image-a-74_1702506222954.jpg\" height=\"428\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ratcliffe and his director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford face a huge decision over\u00a0Erik ten Hag<\/p>\n<h2>RECRUITMENT<\/h2>\n<p>INEOS are known to be concerned over United\u2019s recruitment policy, which has led to \u00a3400million being spent on the squad since Ten Hag arrived 18 months ago. Antony and Rasmus Hojlund were singled out against Munich, having cost a combined total of nearly \u00a3160m, but other signings will come under scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>Mason Mount has made little impact since joining from Chelsea for \u00a360m in the summer, while Casemiro\u2019s move from Real Madrid has not aged well after United paid \u00a370m for the Brazilian, who was 30 at the time, and handed him a four-year contract. Christian Eriksen was also 30 when he joined United.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to ditch goalkeeper David de Gea and spend \u00a347.3m on Andre Onana has not paid off so far, and Jadon Sancho\u2019s value decreases by the day after the \u00a373m winger was frozen out by Ten Hag.<\/p>\n<p>United\u2019s football director John Murtough continues to play an active role and wants to work under the new regime. However, appointing a new director of football has to be a possibility.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/13\/22\/78935737-12861209-image-m-76_1702506274863.jpg\" height=\"531\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>United&#8217;s\u00a0underachieving squad has been assembled under a number of different managers<\/p>\n<h2>SQUAD<\/h2>\n<p>Ratcliffe will have to oversee a revamp of an underachieving squad assembled under a number of different managers.<\/p>\n<p>Some players may have left before he arrives, with Sancho and Donny van de Beek set to go out on loan in January. Anthony Martial, Casemiro and Raphael Varane could also be sold in the transfer window as United try to balance the books after going out of Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Former United interim boss Ralf Rangnick famously said that United\u2019s squad needed \u2018open-heart surgery\u2019 and Ratcliffe will have to oversee that operation.<\/p>\n<h2>FINANCES<\/h2>\n<p>UNITED budgeted for reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League, so going out at the group stage \u2014 and missing out on the Europa League as well \u2014 has left a \u00a328m black hole in their finances.<\/p>\n<p>It means Financial Fair Play rules will squeeze even tighter next summer, when United may have to sell more players and make fewer new signings than anticipated.<\/p>\n<p>In theory, Ratcliffe\u2019s investment will pump extra funds into the club, and United also have an additional \u00a3200m through a revolving credit facility, but they can\u2019t access either due to FFP regulations.<\/p>\n<p>There is a feeling that United\u2019s overspending off the pitch, and lack of success on it, will lead to a day of reckoning next summer, and Ineos will be left to clean up the mess.<\/p>\n<h2>STADIUM<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/13\/22\/78935805-12861209-image-a-77_1702506302025.jpg\" height=\"424\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ratcliffe has pledged an extra \u00a3250m to improve Old Trafford and Carrington training base<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Old Trafford is falling down, according to the song heard from visiting fans at the crumbling Theatre of Dreams these days, and the Bayern supporters who bounced up and down in unison on Tuesday night probably didn\u2019t know just how big a risk they were taking.<\/p>\n<p>Ratcliffe has pledged an additional \u00a3250m to improve the stadium and Carrington training base, but it will cost around \u00a32bn to redevelop the stadium completely.<\/p>\n<p>It is 20 months since United appointed master planners to oversee the project, and it is one that the Glazer family seem happy to hand over to the next generation of owners.<\/p>\n<p>Qatar\u2019s Sheik Jassim was prepared to foot the bill if the Americans accepted his offer for 100 per cent control of United, and it looks as though the thorny issue will land in Ratcliffe\u2019s lap now he has bought a quarter of the club.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12861209\/Back-sack-Erik-ten-Hag-clean-28m-black-hole-revamp-underachieving-squad-five-burning-issues-Sir-Jim-Ratcliffes-list-sealing-Man-United-deal.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Back or sack\u00a0Erik ten Hag, clean up a \u00a328m black hole and revamp an underachieving squad&#8230; the five burning issues <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Five issues on Ratcliffe&amp;apos;s to-do list after sealing Man United deal - Sportstons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/five-issues-on-ratcliffes-to-do-list-after-sealing-man-united-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five issues on Ratcliffe&amp;apos;s to-do list after sealing Man United deal - Sportstons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Back or sack\u00a0Erik ten Hag, clean up a \u00a328m black hole and revamp an underachieving squad&#8230; 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