CHANGE IS SET TO BLOW THROUGH OLD TRAFFORD

AT a club where some have become a part of the furniture, the table that Erik ten Hag sits at every Friday for his press conference is the same one David Moyes barely got his feet under.

- SAMUEL LUCKHURST

That desk has survived four permanent United managers, two caretakers, and one interim. A United staff member confessed last year they were sick of the sight of the black cylindrical table.

And it is still there, on the upper floor of the Jimmy Murphy Centre. The club employee has resisted recreating the fictional passage in David Peace's The Damned United where Brian Clough takes an axe to Don Revie's desk and holds a bonfire in the Elland Road car park.

The Carrington canteen and pool have undergone plush refurbishments but there are unwanted reminders of United's stagnation under the Glazer family's uncaring ownership. On the lower floor of the main building, the security clearance pad has been installed without the use of a spirit level.

Change is coming at United.

There were changes to key departments last year, for the better. Richard Arnold empowered departments, relics from the playing and non-playing staff departed, United became more communicative, cooperative and reconnected with the fanbase.

Arnold's tenure unravelled with the abandoned reintegration of Mason Greenwood into the squad.

Arnold was furious United's intention was leaked and he is understood to have initiated a mole hunt. Educated guesswork by colleagues pointed to an individual who is still currently employed by the club.

United misjudged how principled their matchgoers are. The climbdown was reminiscent of the abandoned Super League venture when United tried to pull up the drawbridge and the fans invaded the castle,  forcing the postponement of the home fixture with Liverpool.

Ed Woodward fell on his sword. Arnold’s impending departure is not directly enforced by the moral maze United got stuck in over Greenwood but his approval ratings have not recovered.