Erik ten Hag won’t be Man Utd ‘manager’ next season as Sir Jim Ratcliffe changes tack
Erik ten Hag’s role at Manchester United will be significantly reduced if he is to last beyone this season as Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to change the job title of the man leading the team.
United are undergoing a strategic review on the back of Ratcliffe puchasing a 27.7 stake in the club which has given him control of football operations.
Manager to head coach
Along with a revamp of the recruitment department, the appointment of a new CEO in Omar Berrada and a new sporting director, almost certain to be Dan Ashworth, Ratcliffe wants to move away from the traditional model of a manager overseeing several departments.
That system brought United great success under Sir Alex Ferguson, but giving Ten Hag control of recruitment has proved less than successful since his arrival at the club in the summer of 2022.
The Dutchman pushed for Brazil internationals Antony and Casemiro, both of whom have been missteps despite the latter’s impact last term, and he was also heavily involved in their bid to land Mason Mount, who has been injured for much of the season but has no obvious place in the team.
Ten Hag has been under significant pressure all season, but a dramatic FA Cup quarter-final win over fierce rivals Liverpool offers hope of further silverware after he won the Carabao Cup in his debut campaign, and The Telegraph report that ‘no decision has been made’ on his future.
Related video: Why The Manchester United Takeover Isn’t What It Seems (FourFourTwo)
So First off, Sir Jim Radcliffe,
He would though essentially be demoted were he to remain at Old Trafford despite ‘impressing Ratcliffe’ thus far, with any potential replacement also set to be named head coach rather than manager.
Ratcliffe spoke earlier this week on the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast where his comments on finding “the next Kylian Mbappe” made headlines, but he also spoke about his plans to change the structure of the club.
“It’s where you start. You need the right organisation and structure. In the old days of Sir Alex Ferguson he was the manager,” said Ratcliffe.
“Well, we don’t have managers today, we have a coach. And a coach would normally report to a sporting director and a sporting director would report to the chief executive. Where do you put recruitment? Strategy? All that kind of stuff. You need to get your organisation right and then need to populate it with the people who are best in class.”
Southgate not ‘number one choice’
Gareth Southgate is someone who appeals to Ratcliffe and INEOS, particularly given his strong links with Ashworth, and reports earlier this week claimed he was their ‘number one choice’ to replace Ten Hag.
But journalist Ben Jacobs told the mufcMPB YouTube channel that there is no current frontrunner, with links to various managers merely part of a succession plan typical of most clubs.
READ MORE: Premier League sack race: Kompany, Wilder, Pochettino, Ten Hag not safe
England home kits ranked: New instant classic featuring ‘playful’ flag straight in at No.1
Nike have unveiled England’s new kits for Euro 2024. We’re still on the fence about the away kit, which has some nice bits but is also not red like it should be and from the pictures we’ve seen maybe not even blue, the only other even vaguely acceptable choice? Controversial.
Anyway. The home kit is a spectacular return to form with lovely details on the sleeves and – very importantly – all the right colours in all the right places and proportions. That’s right, isn’t it?
So what we’ve done is rank it alongside all England’s major tournament home shirts of the 21st century, because what else are we supposed to do with our time in an international break where no Premier League manager is about to get sacked?
11) Euro 2016
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Blue sleeves, Nike? Blue? That’s insane
The sleeves are blue. Why are the sleeves blue? WHY ARE THE SLEEVES BLUE, NIKE? HMM? England’s home shirt should not have blue sleeves.
It’s a shame, because this was a genuinely decent Nike template and it could have been a huge success if they’d just knocked that ‘ice blue’ on the head. The darker blue that makes up the rest of the trim is arguably a bit too royal and not sufficiently navy, but it’s not a disgrace. The lightness of the blue on those sleeves is a massive giveaway that Nike knew what they were doing was wrong. Had they the courage of their convictions, this would have had much darker sleeves.Related video: England’s Euro 2024 kit should be recalled over change to St George’s Cross, says Starmer (Dailymotion)
It would have been a worse shirt, but at least there’d have been an honesty to it. “We think blue sleeves are good, so we’ve given you properly blue sleeves.” Not this ‘ice blue’ nonsense. Fitting really that the ice blue got knocked out by Iceland, when you think about it.
The problem of the sleeves was also exaggerated by players wearing white baselayers under the blue sleeves, which looked a right mess. It’s no wonder England made such a mess of the tournament, frankly.
Anyway, what really annoys us not that this shirt is rubbish – sometimes shirts just are rubbish and that’s fine. What annoys us is how close this was to being good. There were options. The accompanying away kit in which the body and sleeves were two different shades of red showed one way; if Nike were absolutely adamant the sleeves couldn’t be exactly the same as the rest of the shirt they could have gone with an off-white that might have saved it?
Euro 2016: The incredibly vital statistics
10) Euro 2012
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Ashley Young in action against Italy at Euro 2012
A shirt that can only be explained by some absolute prick at Umbro going “What if the 2010 shirt, which managed to be both unacceptably plain and have too much red, was in fact even plainer but somehow even redder?” and instead of getting punched in the face they got promoted.
The all-red badge still makes us feel violently sick all these years later. Just an absolute pig’s arse of a thing, this. The worst of all worlds. Offensive for both its abject laziness and for the wrongheadedness of what tinkering they did bother with. Umbro will always be associated with some absolutely wonderful England kits, and it’s a genuine source of lasting national shame that the final two they produced for major men’s tournaments were completely sh*t.
9) World Cup 2010
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Jamie Carragher is booked for wearing a boring shirt
Umbro were basically checking out by this point. This represented a low point of the lazy white-polo-shirt-with-an-England-badge-that’ll-be-60-quid-please era, and it was made worse by the Umbro badge being in red rather than blue. Red is a very correct accent colour on an England shirt, but it is the third not second accent colour behind navy blue. It may also be the players’ names and numbers, but again, we really do need to see some navy before we’re going to allow that.
The very similar shirt Umbro released for the Women’s World Cup the following year was no less lazy, but did have the Umbro badge in blue and looked far better for this minor but vital tweak.
8) World Cup 2022
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Harry Kane in action at the 2022 World Cup
There is a strong case that sky blue belongs only on an England goalkeeper or third shirt, but there is precedent from Euro 96 and we’re happy to allow it. But only if used judiciously and carefully. Had that light blue been restricted to the sleeve cuffs, all would be well. Even the little flashes at the hem were okay.
But those shoulders are an absolute nightmare. Far too much blue and far too many blues. All of the blues are here.
England shirts can – nay, must – have blue detailing but they absolutely must not have blue sleeves or shoulders and it’s genuinely staggering that Nike apparently needed to be told this again after the 2016 debacle.
7) World Cup 2014
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Frank Lampard at the 2014 World Cup
A forgettable World Cup for England in a suitably forgettable first tournament effort from Nike. It was probably wise to go for a subdued, plain opening attempt but if anything, Clive, they might have done that too well.
The problem as ever with a nearly entirely plain white England shirt is that no matter how many design hours have gone into every element of it the end result just looks lazy. The white-on-white shield for the Three Lions doesn’t quite work, either, and what little blue there is here is insufficiently dark. Apparently it’s not royal blue but is in fact ‘sport royal’ which we’re sure is very different in important ways we quite simply do not care to understand.
6) World Cup 2018
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World Cup despair for Stones, Dier and Dele
Offensively bland. The Ed Sheeran of England shirts. We can’t even be bothered to talk about it. Thank heavens England didn’t actually win the thing wearing this. It would have been mortifying.
READ: England’s 2018 World Cup: Rating all the players
5) World Cup 2006
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England at the 2006 World Cup
The red cross on the right shoulder instantly transports us back to Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo and miserably inept penalties. None of that is really the shirt’s fault if we’re honest, and we must try to remain objective here.
It’s okay, this one. Bit of asymmetry is always a gamble on a football shirt but a welcome one and in all our kit rankings we will generally come down harsher on kits that are too plain rather than those that are too busy. We have slightly different feelings about national team home shirts in this regard, with purity given greater weight, but a stylised nod to the country’s literal flag cannot be inherently a bad thing unless you’ve got 15 of them on your house and four on your car.
There’s also just enough navy knocking about on this one to justify the red. That piping at the hem of the shirt? Absolutely key.
4) Euro 2004
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Frank Lampard celebrates a goal against France
A tournament when all things seemed possible and England had a solid kit. Really, this kit should evoke instant thoughts of a young Wayne Rooney tearing it up but for some reason when we see it our first thought is always of Frank Lampard. Not sure what that says about us, but we’re certain it’s not good. Now we’ve stuck a great big picture of him there too, so you’ll have the same wrongheaded thoughts.
Lampard in the 11 shirt to accommodate Paul Scholes in 8 with Steven Gerrard wearing number 4 really does also feel like it’s a pretty perfect encapsulation of England’s problems squishing all three of those very excellent players into the same team. We’re on a tangent here. Let’s get back on track lest we accidentally reopen that old debate, which nobody wants.
If we were minded to nit-pick we might question the red:blue ratio here but that’d be quite wrong of us. The ‘white, blue, red – in that order’ can only be a guide rather than a hard and fast rule and the red sits well here. The risky preponderance of the red means blue for names and numbers was a smart choice here. Balances it out nicely, does that.
3) Euro 2020
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Raheem Sterling celebrates in a good kit
More than a hint of Euro 88 about the red pinstripe on navy background for the collar. The red on blue details certainly fit our preference for colour priority and the amount of blue on display makes red an obvious and correct choice for names and numbers in this instance.
But the stacking of England badge on top of Nike badge on top of shirt number looks odder and odder the more we look at it. We can’t remember being this bothered by that at the time, and now we’re judging ourselves quite harshly because now it just looks seriously amiss.
2) World Cup 2002
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The Golden Generation in a Golden (not literally) kit
A bold and risky triumph, that takes just enough of a gamble to stand out but knows to play safe with the rest of the design having made its point. The asymmetric red stripe behind the badge pays off handsomely, with the solid amounts of lovely navy trim and piping to be found all around the place meaning a more than acceptable balance of the three colours is achieved.
A simple white and navy v-neck was a perfect collar choice here; anything fussier would’ve been too busy and undoubtedly interfered with that red feature element.
We’d make a strong argument for the overall kit package at 2002 being England’s best of the 21st century by quite a long way, because the red away kit was another absolute triumph, with the England flag subtly incorporated into the collar and cuffs.
England’s away kit should always be red, of course, which is just yet another obvious point of principle that we’ve allowed to become eroded because we simply are not French enough about taking to the streets in the face of this kind of arrant nonsense. You want to make a blue England kit? You go right ahead and we’ll all agree it’s a third kit. But you will never take away our red away kits.
Is what we should have insisted, but no, we’re too bloody meek aren’t we? Now it’s apparently acceptable to alternate between red and blue away kits because absolutely nothing is sacred in this godforsaken age.
- Euro 2024
Long overdue lovely stuff, this. Finally Nike have landed in the precise sweet spot between too plain and too busy, producing a shirt that has just the right amount of navy accents and a very acceptable dash of red that nevertheless stops well short of veering towards the Bolton.
It occurs to us that this might be the definitive guide to a proper good England shirt. It needs to have enough navy to look like it might be a Spurs shirt, enough red to not look like a Spurs shirt, but not so much red that it looks like a Bolton shirt. There you go, Nike. There’s your blueprint for the rest of time. Invoice enclosed etc.
The collar is a gamble. Not because of the flag – let’s be honest, the St George cross is long overdue for some zhuzh-ing up, isn’t it? Rather because it looks a bit like they couldn’t decide between a full collar and a v-neck and ended up doing both and neither. Somehow, though, this horse designed by committee has produced a very handsome camel indeed. And unlike far too many recent England shirts it is also unashamedly a football shirt rather than something overtly and irritatingly designed with polo shirt wear-it-with-jeans thoughts in mind. Some will feel the navy side panels are too much, but f*** those fools, they’re wrong.
But we are once again asking for England to stop being ashamed of their one World Cup star. Stop making it white on white. There are a great many countries who would be enormously proud to have a single World Cup star on their shirts. It’s not like we don’t enjoy banging endlessly on about 1966, so this faux modesty can do one.
Read next: Other nations would never stand for what Nike have done with England kit…
Harry Kane among England trio out for Brazil clash as Southgate opens up on Watkins vs Toney
Harry Kane has been ruled out of England’s glamour friendly against Brazil and manager Gareth Southgate says he is “extremely doubtful” to face Belgium.
Already without a number of injured regulars for March’s Wembley double-header, the Euro 2020 runners-up saw Bukayo Saka withdraw through injury on Thursday.
Trio out of Brazil clash
England vice-captain Jordan Henderson and Cole Palmer remain with the camp but they too are sidelined for Saturday’s sold-out friendly against the Selecao, along with Kane.
The skipper sustained an ankle injury sustained playing for Bayern Munich last weekend and also faces the possibility of missing Tuesday’s game against Belgium – the final match before Southgate names his Euro 2024 squad.
“Tomorrow no Harry Kane, no Jordan Henderson, no Cole Palmer,” England boss Southgate said.
“I would say Cole and Hendo have a better chance of Belgium than Harry. He’d be extremely doubtful for that.”
Asked what it says about Kane that he wants to be with the camp despite likely missing both matches, Southgate said: “It has increasingly become the culture.
“Bukayo had a couple of days with this as well. Hendo is obviously doing everything he can to be available.Related video: Southgate gives team news with Kane, Henderson and Palmer out for the Brazil match (English Football Channel)
struggling for a few days.
“Sometimes I think people think, ‘oh, they’re not fit, they’re ruled out of both games’ but you have a few more days until the second game and you always want to try to use that time if we can.
“So, we’ll see where those boys get to, but it’s of course great when your captain sets that example.”
READ MORE: Southgate responds to Man Utd links and England kit fiasco – ‘It’s not the cross of St George’
Toney or Watkins?
England’s all-time top scorer Kane’s absence is a blow but offers a chance for Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney to fight it out to be his back-up at the Euros.
The former has scored three goals in nine international appearances, while Toney’s one England appearance came off the bench against Ukraine this time last year.
The Brentford striker began an eight-month Football Association ban shortly after and was recalled at the first opportunity.
“Well, that is a decision we will have to make because clearly a nine is a specialist position,” Southgate said when asked if three out-and-out strikers is too many in a 23-man squad for the summer.
“They have different attributes and that would depend a little bit on injury status in other positions in the squad and also having perhaps players that can play more than one role.
“I think both of them are aware that the opportunity is a big one. But they’re both in good form, they’ve both had time with us.
“Ollie’s been with us more recently, of course, and has done well in the games he’s played. He’s had a fabulous season for his club.
“Ivan since he’s come back into Brentford’s team has had the impact we expected him to, so they are two very, very good players.”
Despite the absentees, England are favourites to beat rebuilding Brazil in their first match under head coach Dorival Junior.
The Selecao have won 10 of their last 11 friendlies against European opposition but are looking to avoid losing four matches in a row since 2001.
“I’m reading that we’ve only been in Brazil four times out of 26 games, something like that,” Southgate said on the eve of the Wembley friendly.
“There are lots of matches against big opponents that we don’t have outstanding records against that this team have managed to beat – Italy twice being an example, Spain.
“So, it’s another opportunity for us to put a marker down, create a little bit more history for these boys.
“But also we’re going to be tested in every aspect of our game, and that’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
READ MORE: England home kits ranked: New instant classic featuring ‘playful’ flag straight in at No.1
