Amorim enters the theatre of dangerous assumptions

In February, newly furnished with a 27.7 per cent stake in Manchester United but some £1.3bn poorer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe outlined the ethos that he hoped would end 11 years of “complete misery” and take his club to back “where it should be”.

- RICHARD JOLLY

He spoke of knocking Liverpool and Manchester City off their perch, realised it would not happen quickly but said: “Our thinking is all about how we become first in class in recruitment going forward.”

The following few months cast Ratcliffe’s intent to be “best in class” in all aspects in a different light, and not merely because they sit 14th in the Premier League. Take the case of staffing at United. The Ineos regime contrived to fire 250 people, but not the man they should have done. Until now, and Erik ten Hag’s severance package will swallow up much of the supposed savings from dispensing with lower-profile employees, many longserving and blameless. United’s recruitment involved spending a further £200m on players, some with Ten Hag’s imprint. The arrival of Ruben Amorim, the co-owner’s first managerial appointment, raises the question if Ratcliffe has found a manager who is indeed best in class, 10 out of 10 or any of the other corporate phrases that the Ineos brains trust hope defines them.

Because thus far, the Ratcliffe regime’s first eight months at Old Trafford have been a footballing failure. United have won the FA Cup, but that may have deceived them to persist with Ten Hag. They might have laid the platform for future success with the appointments of sporting director Dan Ashworth and chief executive Omar Berrada, who have the pedigree to suggest they should be excellent appointments. But since Ratcliffe’s words eight months ago, they have only won 12 of 32 games.

In February, the aim was to qualify for this season’s Champions League. Now the target is to reach next season’s. United believe they will require 70 points for a top-four finish: after only taking 11 in nine games under Ten Hag, this means Amorim has to average over two per match. Even if the Portuguese brings substantial improvement, the risk is this becomes another wasted year.