Broken promises, bad choices: how INEOS have failed Man United since taking charge

It’s clear Manchester United have a bigger problem to solve than just who is the manager in the hot seat at any given time, even if Michael Carrick turns around their poor start to the season. INEOS have proven to be problematic and not the smooth problem solvers they wanted to paint themselves as in comparison to the Glazers.

It all goes back to Dan Ashworth and the whole debacle around both the hiring and the firing of him at crucial times for United. One of INEOS’ main tasks after succeeding in their part-ownership of the club was being able to bring in the best in class in a sound structure that has been missing ever since Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill left the club.

They set out to do exactly that by going after the reputable Ashworth, who had great success in roles for Brighton, Newcastle United, and the English FA.

It was an appointment that excited everyone, made all the more enticing by the drama surrounding the actual hiring process. Ashworth went on garden leave with Newcastle, who insisted United should pay £20 million to release him early.

Newcastle eventually conceded months later to a reported £3 million fee in order to help with complying with their PSR and perhaps to avoid a lengthy independent arbitration.

Jason Wilcox was hired before Dan Ashworth, having been immediately released from his role with Southampton, agreeing to join the Red Devils as a Technical Director. He was clearly going to report to Ashworth as his right-hand man.

Wilcox’s early arrival let him lay the groundwork, even completing some transfer business alongside Manchester United’s new CEO Omar Berrada. Their strong relationship from their Manchester City days set up the scene for the eventual dramatic breakdown.

The tipping point in this strange dynamic between the trio of Berrada, Ashworth, and Wilcox (which should have been a straightforward CEO, Sporting Director, Technical Director relationship) came about when Erik ten Hag was to be replaced. Wilcox and Berrada probably had Ruben Amorim lined up as Pep Guardiola’s successor and threw their weight behind the Portuguese manager to the United.

Ashworth reportedly disagreed, feeling the squad was not set up for Amorim’s tactics (a point that would ultimately be proven true) and paid the price for it by being abruptly sacked. Wilcox subsequently absorbed Ashworth’s role and responsibilities, tried to make the former Sporting Clube de Portugal manager’s new reign work at a heavy cost, and only opted to pull the plug when faced by an outburst.

It is entirely possible fans would still be having to watch Amorim-ball to this day if he had kept his cool, possibly still watching the Red Devils battle for mediocrity. This whole saga should have been a bigger red flag than perceived at the time, and the more time passes, the more it is showing to be a more concerning sign of all things that are wrong with the club.

Wilcox does not possess the Midas touch he probably feels he has in the same way Ashworth had proof of consistently building towards a vision in many different roles. The former Southampton man, meanwhile, has continued the sporadic approach of the past, with not much changing at Old Trafford between Glazer and INEOS ownership other than perhaps some slightly smarter spending, albeit without actually completely solving squad building issues.

This pattern will likely continue until Wilcox is gone or demoted, and United actually have one figurehead at the helm as a Sporting Director with experience of uniting and building towards one single vision. Otherwise, managers will constantly find themselves between squads and being unable to fully commit to their grand idea without paying the price for it—a path Michael Carrick seems to be going down full steam ahead.

Questions must also be asked of Berrada, but as a CEO his role is a little more forgiving with what fans witness on a week-to-week basis on the pitch. The Glazers and INEOS are both culpable for giving out roles to those they favour and do not disagree with rather than those with experience and evidence of good work.

Let us not even talk about the club’s Director of Football Negotiations, Matt Hargreaves, who has a background in legal and was taken from Adidas where he was working as Marketing Director; it is too depressing to even get into and is just more evidence of favouritism and poor hiring.

Whether Carrick succeeds or not this season should be irrelevant—if he succeeds, it will be in spite of and not because of the support structure around him. Fans will never know how Manchester United would have been in the alternate universe where Dan Ashworth was still at the club and actually trusted in the role he was so coveted for.

Until these core culture and structural issues are resolved at Old Trafford, fans will likely never see a consistent return of the glory days again.