Man Utd meeting Q&A – Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s demand, Erik Ten Hag stance and potential replacements

Manchester United’s key players were all there at a meeting earlier this week with rumors of change in the dugout, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe has, so far, stood by Erik ten Hag.

Manchester United’s situation remains unchanged, despite the fact that its key players met earlier this week.

Erik ten Hag is still in command, and with the international break nearly halfway through, any change appears increasingly improbable. The Dutchman survived his challenging series of away assignments, drawing against Porto and earning a point against Aston Villa.

Neither performance inspired, with Manchester squandering a two-goal lead in Portugal and failing to score in a goalless draw at Villa Park. After seven games, they are still in the bottom part of the standings.

That is their worst start to a Premier League season, and following more negative history last year, many are asking the same question: has anything changed?

Over the last eight months, the hierarchy has been drastically changed, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS joining. Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth, and Jason Wilcox are among the notable hires at Old Trafford. They all convened in London earlier this week for a seven-hour discussion that yielded no results thus yet.

Despite the tumult off the pitch, little has changed on it. Ratcliffe has expressed a desire to return United to the heights they achieved under Sir Alex Ferguson, but they have really gone in the other direction, necessitating some difficult decisions.

Mirror Football responds to your queries following crunch meetings earlier this week.

Who makes the choice of Ten Hag’s future?

Ratcliffe recently stated that it wasn’t him, but the final decision would be up to the INEOS billionaire and Joel Glazer. Ratcliffe arrived in Manchester and took over football operations, but when questioned by the BBC recently, he insisted it “wasn’t my call”.Instead, he wanted the individuals he employed, such as Berrada and Ashworth, to make the final choice. “It’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects,” he went on.

However, it has subsequently been stated that he and Glazer, two of the club’s most senior members, will be the ones to make the decision on the manager.

Was the meeting only regarding Ten Hag’s future?

The meeting in Mayfair earlier this week drew a lot of interest, owing to the possibility of another managerial change in Manchester. The gathering, however, had been planned for a long time and took place a day after significant individuals met to debate the stadium’s future.On Tuesday, Ratcliffe and his team were in the capital, with Ten Hag’s future in the forefront of their minds. However, it was not a spontaneous gathering held out of urgency to decide whether or not to make an early-season change. Other topics on the agenda were preliminary preparations for the January transfer window, Old Trafford redevelopment, and commercial and sponsorship agreements.

What is Ten Hag’s stance?

He remains stubborn, as he has been when the pressure first became apparent. He insisted for most of last season that he was the right man to take the club forward, and despite finishing ninth, he considered his FA Cup final victory as confirmation that he should be kept in the position.

Ten Hag survived a summer review, securing a contract extension in the process, and has subsequently stated that he and the club’s administration elected to move forward together. He has not heard anything to dispute this. The Dutchman was also supported in the summer for well over £100 million, but few of his new signings have made an impact.Ten Hag is currently on holiday. He frequently leaves during the international break, and despite the club’s top brass meeting without him, he is convinced that he will be in charge of United’s next game, against Brentford, a week from Saturday.

How will Man United make a decision?

Well, it will not be without some serious consideration. Ratcliffe and co. may be extremely aware of the optics. Ten Hag is a man they supported in the summer; to fire him so soon would be an acknowledgment that their first big call as an ownership group was completely incorrect.

According to the Independent, Ratcliffe wants United’s key decision-makers to continue utilizing his INEOS firm’s “evidence-based” approach to guarantee that all choices are consensual and based on facts and statistics. The INEOS head requested the “forensic” approach during the crucial meeting in London.One person is said to have advocated for a modification to be made immediately in the digout. However, another participant in the discussion cautioned of the “disruption” that a change this early in the season may produce, as well as concerns about a shortage of potential replacements.

So, who could succeed Ten Hag?

Former England manager Gareth Southgate, Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi, and former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel are among those being considered for the Dutch job. Southgate has just publicly ruled himself out, but never say never.

If the United leadership decides to fire Ten Hag, the club’s former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is presently on the first-team coaching staff, will be called upon to take over on an interim basis.

Van Nistelrooy, who was only employed this summer, is said to have qualms about taking on the post. He does not want to be known as the man who came in to assist Ten Hag just to return to his work if he was fired.