Manchester United under Glazers can broadly be divided into two different times- During Sir Alex and Post Sir Alex.
In the earlier era, Glazers piled on the dirt but Sir Alex Ferguson‘s magic management kept putting a lid on it so the results didn’t deteriorate.
The latter era was when the lid didn’t just come off, it blew away, laying bare the two decades of mismanagement for all to see.
Results promptly deteriorated and United haven’t come close to replicating their earlier glories for the last 12 years.
That was Ineos’ biggest challenge when they came to the club and the most long-term one- resetting the narrative and culture around the club. They’ve just taken a major step towards doing that.
Ineos’ statement of intent
Restoring a football club near the top of the footballing hierarchy doesn’t just happen by winning games, although nobody is denying how important a factor that is!
However, it is a combination of on and off-field factors that contribute to the image of the club changing, a culture of competence in and around the club.
This lack of competence was perhaps the most visible in the transfer market, where United’s interest in a player was always looked at as a giddy opportunity by selling clubs.
Who can forget Ed Woodward’s “We can do things in the transfer market that other clubs can only dream of”, before promptly buying Marouane Fellaini for more than his release clause?
That set the tone in the first summer after Sir Alex’s departure, and that is the stench of incompetence United haven’t been able to shake off. Until now.
United walking away from Manuel Ugarte’s deal is a major step towards resetting the club’s image in the market. Doing so with what is effectively a brief to one of world football’s most trusted journalists, David Ornstein, sends a message- The days of “United tax” are over.
A long overdue statement
If United now manage to actually pivot to another target, someone they haven’t been linked to incessantly, it would send a long overdue statement.
The transfers now will be done on their terms, and they won’t shy away from using their pull in the market to strong-arm other clubs.
For too long, they’ve been taken on a ride by pretty much every club they have tried doing business with. The list of blunders pre-Ineos is enough to put an accountant to shame.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe even identified that as one area where United needed to improve the most, hence his focus on installing a competent executive team as first priority.
That is already bearing fruits. United have got the first part right- walking away by sending a message when terms were exorbitant.
Now to the second part- doing the deal on their terms or pivoting to a different player who’s available on what they consider fair terms.
Notice the common factor in those two parts. “Doing the deal on our terms” has been just lip service earlier, Ineos are trying to make it a reality.
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