Tag Archives: ineos

Start Again

So my prediction last month that he’d last until the November international break proved optimistic in the end. I’m disappointed for Erik, but I’m sure that he knew it was coming the same as we did. He was on borrowed time since the Ineos takeover and was only spared the axe in May due to the unexpected FA Cup success. Other than that, our league form was utterly abject and despite the influx of new players in the summer, showed little sign of improvement.

When some time has passed I think his tenure might be looked upon more favourably. During his first season in charge, after a terrible start we actually looked like a decent side for a few months. That period saw him dispense with Ronaldo and culminated with the league cup win at Wembley. For a few weeks it genuinely felt like bald was indeed best and that something might be happening. Then Casemiro lost form through injury and suspension and De Gea started chucking it in his own net every week. The moment had gone and we never recovered.

Last season saw us go from bad to worse. Sancho took on Ronaldo’s mantle of disrupter-in-chief, Rashford virtually gave up trying and injuries across the whole squad decimated any chance of him picking a settled side. There was also the ongoing saga of the takeover resulting in a brand new management structure to contend with. Amidst all that Ten Hag successfully eased out serial underperformers and replaced them with several promising kids which was all a huge positive, but unfortunately didn’t lead to an upturn in league form.

The FA Cup win bought him a couple of months but if he was going to survive, this summer’s intake had to gel instantly and he needed results. That obviously didn’t happen but I still believe we’re in a better place now than when he first took over. Ten Hag wasn’t entirely blameless by any stretch and you could reasonably argue the job ultimately proved too big and that he’d run out of ideas. But I’d also contest that he needed more time. Unfortunately though, with Ineos ultra-keen to be seen as aggressively pursuing best-in-class, Erik was never going to be given the additional year or two needed to complete the jigsaw.

It didn’t take long for Ten Hag’s successor to be identified, and it wasn’t a name many would have predicted given his absence from the shortlist that was doing the rounds in the summer. An unfamiliar figure to most, the new man was to be Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP. He’s young, speaks good English, distinct playing style, highly rated coach, successful in a ‘lesser’ league and universally loved by his players. Basically, he possesses the exact same set of credentials that made Ten Hag the standout candidate in 2022.

It’s a shame that amidst the upheaval we’ve also lost ravishing Ruud after just a few months back at the club. I hadn’t really considered this a possibility given he was an Ineos-approved appointment, wrongly assuming it was part of a wider strategy that would see Ashworth/Wilcox take charge of the coaching structure from now on. One can only assume that Amorim made it a condition of the deal that he was only interested if his trusted deputies (the Amorimettes?) were allowed to accompany him.

Amorim arrived at Carrington looking tanned, relaxed and with a beaming smile plastered across his face – the Moncler jacket and hoodie giving off groovy 6th form tutor aesthetics. Also notable was a distinct lack of grey hair (give it 6 months) and a jeans/ trainers combo so appalling it brought to mind those strange rig outs City’s squad choose to wear on match day. Based off the MUTV-released footage, Amorim spent his first day in the country shaking hands with every single person within a 2 mile radius of OT. Receptionists, ground staff, chefs, random museum punters, the lot.

When I read that our new man is committed to playing 3-4-3 my immediate thought was there’s no way he can even attempt that with our lot. Successive United coaches have struggled to impose a distinct style of play and previous attempts at high intensity pressing lasted about 5 mins before the idea was abandoned. One of Ten Hags problems is that he was slow to recognise it was nigh on impossible to play out from the back once he was missing Martinez and half his midfield wouldn’t show for the ball.

Having pondered it for a while, I’d tentatively suggest it might possibly have a chance of working now. Martinez and De Ligt are both very capable of adapting and Mazraoui continues to impress on the ball. If Luke Shaw is nearing full fitness again (a big ‘if’, I know), then the idea might not be as outlandish as it first seemed. I still feel that Amorim has his work cut out if he’s expecting the entire squad to happily embrace a new formation and fresh ideas. One player in particular should be counting his blessings at the fact he’s survived yet another managerial cull whilst continuing to stink the place out with both his attitude and general demeanour.

As for his overall chances of success? We’ve been at this juncture so many times in recent years so who knows. I don’t think the squad’s a million miles away now but he definitely needs a new LB and another centre half. A top quality striker remains a must and a midfielder to replace Casemiro and Erikson when they depart in the summer. As well as that he could do with a decent start, regular doses of good fortune and most crucially of all, he needs consistent results. A magic wand would be nice too, of course.

In his first interview he made all the right noises, correctly pointing out that results buy time and for now, his immediate priority is giving the team an identity – something that completely eluded his predecessor. Amorim claims to be relaxed and not feeling “the weight” as he described it, but I don’t expect that to last. He’ll quickly discover (he should really know already) that the United gig comes with levels of scrutiny and pressure that don’t apply to almost any other job in football. The refs aren’t your friend and the media can’t wait for you to screw up.

The message has surely been relayed to Amorim that the expectation is the club needs to be challenging for the title next season otherwise he’ll be moved on. Ineos’ treatment of Ten Hag has made that perfectly clear – cup wins won’t save you, they’ll only delay your departure. As for the brains trust at the OT helm, they have their own man in now so they need to back him properly and show some patience. I won’t be happy if we’re having this same conversation again in a couple of years’ time.

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Mmm… Skyscraper I Love You

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Being the nosey bleeder I am, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to attend the OT Regeneration Town Hall that took place in the International Suite a couple of weeks back. This was billed as an opportunity for fans to hear the latest on the future of Old Trafford, and I was hoping might provide some indication whether the club are leaning towards re-developing the existing stadium or building a new one from scratch.

After being held outside waiting in line until the permitted entry time and passing through security (slightly OTT I thought), we made our way into the suite where there were a few display boards set up accompanied by fancy 3D models detailing potential construction plans. There was seating for approximately 200 people facing several screens and a small platform from where the presentation would take place. The choice of music was a bit weird. I personally wouldn’t have opted for a disco-infused selection including Macho Man by Village People at 6.30pm on a Tuesday night, but then that’s just me.

The club’s Chief Operating Officer Collette Roche was the first to speak, welcoming guests and detailing the progress made since initial feasibility assessments commenced in April 2022. Since that date a strategic review has been taking place and an OTR Task Force (including the likes of Gary Neville, Andy Burnham and Seb Coe) formed in April this year. September 2024 saw stakeholder engagement begin (tonight’s meeting the first of many planned) and Foster & Partners appointed as the principal architects behind the project.

Aside from the ground re-development, the review has concluded that the project could potentially create a staggering 92,000 permanent jobs and 17,000 homes. There was little detail shared at exactly how they’ve arrived at these numbers, but they’re clearly thinking big. One of the main jobs of the Task Force is to seek outside investment to support the wider development with Roche acknowledging funding the stadium bricks and mortar falls on the club itself, “that’s on us”.

Transport infrastructure was brought up with Roche admitting that despite 3x Metrolink stops and a railway station in place within minutes of the ground, current facilities are unsatisfactory and there is huge room for improvement. This, of course, would require TfGM to be fully on board as well as the railway line operators. I wondered to myself how realistic plans for new facilities were bearing in mind it was the club’s choice to suspend services from the train station in 2018, the poor tram service despite multiple stations within walking distance and the 255F bus service on Chester Road only running intermittently since 2019.

Next up was Patrick Coleman from Foster & Partners who presented a series of expensively commissioned drawings on how the future state OT might look (predictably, lots of kids running around lovingly-curated green spaces amidst the steel, glass and concrete). Patrick was keen to stress that protecting the history and heritage of the club was of optimum importance, so we can rest assured the statues will be moved and the Munich clock won’t end up in a skip. Also, it’s perhaps worth noting that Foster & Partners designed new Wembley which was delivered years late and came in hugely over-budget.

The final speakers were Rick McGagh, a familiar face persisting with his Shed 7 haircut despite wearing a club suit these days and Dan Jones, a member of the OTR Task Force. Rick and Dan went through some of the findings of the fan survey that was circulated in September, although there was no opportunity to challenge them on some of the scarcely believable data it threw up. The claim that most season ticket holders are in favour of a new ground doesn’t match my personal experience, nor does the claim that desire is stronger amongst older fans with younger fans leaning towards redeveloping the current stadium.

A short Q&A session followed that barely scratched the surface of the wide range of questions submitted via an online portal. The club are keen to “invest in the atmosphere” (whatever than means), will “temperature check potential pricing” (before doubling them, no doubt) and “naming rights are under consideration”. Of course they are, and that honestly should be the least of our concerns. Given they’ve got 2 billion quid to raise from somewhere the fact we’ll likely be playing in the Ineos Bowl or the McDonalds Arena at some stage seems patently obvious.

In conclusion, whilst the scale and ambition of the plans are undoubtedly impressive, I just don’t see how they can possibly make this happen within the next decade. This isn’t like the other end of town where you had Abu Dhabi literally pouring money into the Eastlands development in an attempt to make as big a statement as possible. Getting national and local government, planning permission, housing, retail and transport infrastructure in perfect alignment seems a monumental task, and that’s before you even consider how the actual stadium will be funded.

One of the questions asked during the Q&A was how the club plan to balance this task alongside the financial burden of keeping the football team competitive, ie the regular multi-million £ signings that are required on an annual basis. All Collette Roche could offer was that the club were “exploring all funding options” and the chosen pathway was “ultimately the owners’ decision”. Other club’s have funded ground moves through a combination of loans and grants, but MUFC’s lines of credit are already stretched with debts approaching £800M.

Roche admitted the club was still at the start of this journey but was obliged to explore all possibilities given this was a “once in a generation opportunity”. I guess it is, but the reality is the old PLC drew up plans for building over the railway line over 20 years ago and presumably they’ve been left in a drawer untouched ever since. My gut feeling is we’ve got another few years of talking ahead of us before they’ll commit to anything tangible. In the meantime, the focus groups, task forces and Town Hall sessions can’t hide the fact that despite giving the impression they’re fully engaged with this project, it just doesn’t appear viable with the club’s finances in their current state.

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Not Like Us

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The long, frustrating slog of last season was forgotten in an instant. I’d anticipated a summer not thinking about United but instead I’ve spent weeks floating round in a contented daze, thoughts constantly cycling back to the unbridled joy that was triggered by the final whistle at Wembley. What an incredible tonic it was. Mad how something so insignificant to the majority of people can send thousands of us into a state of near delirium. It’s been a long time since we last experienced a day like that. Absolute perfection. Football, bloody hell.

The good vibes continued when it was eventually confirmed that ETH would be staying on as manager. I’m still to be convinced that he’s the right man for the job long term, but given the lack of credible alternatives and the manner of the cup win, sacking him would have been incredibly harsh. Against a backdrop of the takeover, disciplinary issues in the dressing room and a never ending injury crisis, delivering a trophy and European football was a fine achievement. Merely extending his current deal can hardly be interpreted as a vote of confidence, however – it’s more of a stay of execution.

It’s pretty grim that the manager’s future is being questioned before a ball has been kicked, but clearly the new regime isn’t messing about. Anything resembling a repeat of last season won’t be tolerated. And, quite frankly, nor should it be. Unless Ten Hag can deliver a marked improvement in both consistency and results, he’ll be lucky to last until the end of the season. United have to do better, and fresh changes to the coaching staff indicate there’s a clear pathway for someone (hello, Ruud) to step up and replace him as an interim the moment Ineos decree that enough is enough.

Nevertheless, all that is hopefully some distance off. The club were unusually proactive early in the window (another welcome change) although there’s still lots of work to do if we’re going to see anything resembling the squad overhaul that’s needed. At the moment we still look short considering Martial, Varane, Amrabat, Van de Beek, Greenwood and Kambwala have all left the club. We need at least 3 more in before the end of the window otherwise it’s difficult to see how Ten Hag has any hope of improving on last season’s position – especially given the additional Europa fixtures this year and the fact the number of injuries shows no sign of abating.

With Ten Hag citing fatigue as a factor at the end of another jaunt to the USA, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a case for these fixtures being in anyway helpful to preparations ahead of a new season. For the umpteenth year in a row we’re set to begin the campaign missing players through injury and with others still at various stages of recovery from the Euros/Copa America. Flying 5,000 miles around the globe to play some meaningless friendlies might be commercially astute, but it seems detrimental to the squad’s conditioning if there are multiple casualties to contend with by the time the tour has concluded.

Obviously, such concerns didn’t stop me booking flights as soon as Los Angeles was announced. I’d never visited the West Coast before and this seemed like as good an opportunity as any. LA is absolutely massive and unlike when visiting NYC, the public transport links are bafflingly insubstantial. If you aren’t hiring a car then Uber is a must when travelling late at night if you don’t fancy taking your chances on the Metro, where you’re highly likely to encounter some of the city’s more eccentric inhabitants.

As for what it’s actually like, well it’s a culture shock. I stayed in Santa Monica on the coast and you quickly realise that whilst the streets feel very safe, there’s a not-insignificant homeless population – many of whom are in the throes of fentanyl addiction which makes their actions unpredictable to say the least. You just have to accept that amidst all the boutique shops, Michelin-starred restaurants and miles of golden beaches you’re highly likely to stumble across a sizeable number of people with their entire earthly possessions in a shopping trolley… and they might decide to stop and drop their kecks at any moment.

I got chatting to an Irish ex-pat who has been out there for 25 years and we were discussing the contrast to living over here. He said the year-round sunshine never got old and that his life consisted of regular, ‘pinch me’, LA moments. I think the most LA thing I experienced was whilst walking through Palisades Park on a Friday afternoon. You had a group of a dozen or so well-to-do women striking Yoga poses and there was a bloke with a massage table enthusiastically offering his services to anyone passing. Meanwhile, just a few feet away you had a couple of homeless guys arguing over the contents of a bin. It was quite a scene. Talk about opposite ends of the California lifestyle happily co-existing.

The United game was being played at the SoFi in Inglewood, an outrageously opulent $5.5 billion NFL stadium that opened its doors in 2020. It’s absolutely incredible, both the architecture and the facilities – little wonder it’s being cited as one of the inspirations behind the decision to build Old Trafford 2.0 as opposed to developing what we have now. Although it’s hugely impressive, I’ll still be disappointed if United commit to such a move in the coming months. Yes, it’s shiny and new and looks great on the photographs but ultimately it’s just a high-end, soulless Enormodome. I certainly wouldn’t want to play there every week.

I’m not just being contrary for the sake of it, but undertaking a project like that would be a disaster in my eyes. Any new stadium would arrive years late, hugely over budget and bearing no resemblance to the place we’ve considered home for decades. I know the YouTube lads are ecstatic at the prospect, but I’m more concerned with United remaining accessible to my friends and I as we hurtle through middle age. Make no bones about it, if we go down this road expect your ST renewal to come in at a couple of grand minimum. I don’t want a 200% increase in ticket prices for the sake of a padded seat and a cup holder. That isn’t scaremongering or shortsightedness, it’s simply the reality of what will happen.

Everything we’ve grown up with would quickly be eroded. Some will cling on because they can still just about afford it, but the bulk of our core support will be sacrificed in the name of progress. We’re going to be told a lot of lies in the coming months when the decision is inevitably greenlit, about how it’s necessary for the club to be competitive and sign the best players and all that nonsense… please don’t buy into it. One of the main drivers behind this is that it will accelerate a purging of our traditional fanbase so they can milk additional millions from an entirely different breed of MUFC supporter. Ineos might appear preferable the Glazers, but their motivation for being here is ultimately the same.

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