NO ONE can accuse Sir Jim Ratcliffe of not being true to his word – he insisted from the start it was a three-year plan, writes Phil Thomas.
But perhaps he should have said that this was not the deadline to turn Manchester United into title challengers once again.
Clearly, United’s would-be savior was talking about how long it would take to decide who he wanted as manager.
It would seem so, at least in a week when the against-the-odds FA Cup final victory over neighbors City was barely mentioned alongside the debate over Erik ten Hag’s future.
So much so that if – as is looking increasingly likely – he gets a vote of confidence rather than a P45, Sir Jim will have made it look like exactly the opposite.
You have to hand it to United and their new investor – when it comes to finding a cloud in every silver lining, they are in a league of their own.
Eight days have passed since Bruno Fernandes lifted the most famous national knockout trophy in the world.
Eight days since Ten Hag finally gave back a little to all those who judged the work he did and whether he should keep it.
Eight days since he gave Sir Jim a metaphorical poke in the ribs to make a decision, insisting he would be happy to win cups elsewhere if he wasn’t liked.
And eight days since Ratcliffe didn’t even have the decency to mention by name the man who had just won United’s first FA Cup in eight years, whilst name-checking so many others.
No wonder there has been a definite, if not decisive, change of mood among fans since last week’s triumph.
Not necessarily a flood of support for Ten Hag, mind you. The memory of beating City will last long, but so will seven hidden goals at Anfield, six at the Etihad, four at Palace.
Frustration with wasted leadership, a season of 19 defeats, an eighth place finish with a negative goal difference. Only Wembley can’t erase all that.
It’s not so much a show of faith in the manager as it is a show of shrinking from Sir Jim and his promises of a red resurrection.
Bold promises that United would no longer be laughingstocks, spending money like a drunken lottery winner. Instead, they would dig up their own stars.
Old Trafford would once again become a cathedral of excitement and entertainment. They would demand this from the manager, whoever he was.
Immediately after winning the FA Cup you would have taken a huge toll on being Ten Hag – so the fact he is still in charge at the start of next season proves what a fiasco it was.
Ratcliffe may be an expert at tidying office desks and sweeping youth team changing rooms, but it’s a different story when it comes to the biggest decisions.
It’s an open secret that Sir Jim and his team have been keeping an eye on potential new con artists for months and you would imagine there would be no shortage of buyers or candidates.
Graham Potter was an early candidate, but Sir Dave Brailsford and co weren’t convinced he was a sexy – or big – enough name.
Then it was Gareth Southgate, but managing England’s Euro attack was always going to make that complicated – and there are also rumors that he is now distancing himself from it.
The next taxi to leave the queue was Thomas Tuchel, but despite a toe-dipping investigation, the German was a long shot from the start.
Very volatile, very expensive and very difficult to manage. There was no way he would meekly accept someone telling him how his team should play. Even the kingmakers at United realized this.
So the search passed to Kieran McKenna, a former United manager and assistant manager who knew the club better than the person doing the interview.
A perennial Ipswich hero after taking them from League One to the top flight in two years. But compared to one of the elite jobs in world football? It was a no-brainer.
But it wasn’t. . . the Northern Irishman’s chosen contract was an extension at Portman Road rather than a new one at Old Trafford.
Of the others who have been mentioned, that leaves only Mauricio Pochettino – but if Ratcliffe and the crew like him, why are they taking so long to name a free agent?
It’s been a farce from the start, with stories of United even picking the heads of other clubs. That would really be a sign of desperation.
You couldn’t blame Ten Hag if he held up two fingers to Sir Jim and told him where to stick it. It’s been obvious for months that he wasn’t liked.
And it is equally clear that if he remains manager, it will effectively be by default. So if this happens, don’t insult everyone with statements of support. Don’t bother us to keep quiet to avoid disturbing the build-up to Wembley. It was your silence that brought chaos, when a sentence would have meant calm.
Any public support now would be as credible as the increasingly fading idea that United were getting a savior on a white horse when Sir Jim arrived in town.
A man returning to his Northern roots with the intention of rebuilding an empire – but showing more interest in the bottom of the balance sheet than the top of the table.
Mike Ashley with a Failsworth accent, you might say – and at least the former Newcastle owner didn’t try to disguise it.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
