Man Utd owners Joel Glazer and Jim Ratcliffe to hold crisis meeting just hours after Ten Hag’s must-win game vs Villa
MANCHESTER UNITED’S hierarchy are scheduled to meet up just 48 hours after the crunch clash with Aston Villa, reports suggest.
It comes amid growing uncertainty surrounding manager Erik ten Hag‘s position at the club.
Ten Hag had the Porto and Aston Villa games to convince bosses he was the right manager to lead the team forward.
The Red Devils drew 3-3 at Porto on Thursday, and will face Unai Emery‘s Villans at Villa Park in a do-or-die clash tomorrow.
And two days later, United’s executive committee are set to hold a meeting in London, according to The Athletic.
This committee is comprised of the club’s newly-appointed decision makers; Omar Berrarda, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, as well as Ineos chiefs Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford.
Co-chairman Joel Glazer will also be in attendance after flying in from the United States, while United’s chief financial officer Roger Bell and chief operating officer Collette Roche will also be present.
There is also scheduled to be a stop closer to home in Manchester as well.
However, it is not yet clear whether the club’s performance on the pitch will be an item on the agenda.
Ratcliffe now owns 27.7 per cent of Man Utd,which he paid £1.3billion for earlier this year.
The Glazer family own 41.3 per cent, with the rest of the shares being held by private investors.
Ten Hag was handed a contract extension in July before being backed with a new set of coaches and recruitment that included his former players.
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But with results currently failing to justify that decision, Ten Hag’s position may be in some peril without immediate improvement.
It is understood that Ratcliffe will be in attendance at Villa Park on Sunday ahead of the meeting.
The British billionaire failed to publicly back Ten Hag earlier this week, saying the decision over his future was “not my call”.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach but at the end of the day it’s not my call.
“It’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.
“But that team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July.
“They weren’t there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [sporting director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.
“They’ve only been there… you can count it in weeks almost – they’ve not been there a long time, so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.
Manchester United executive committee
Co-chairman – Joel Glazer
Minority owner – Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Head of sport Ineos – Sir Dave Brailsford
CEO – Omar Berrada
Sporting director – Dan Ashworth
Technical director – Jason Wilcox
CFO – Roger Bell
COO – Collette Roche
“Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously – that’s very clear.”
The ultimate decision will lay in the hands of a three-person ownership committee of Ratcliffe, Brailsford and Glazer.
However, it will come based on the recommendation of those working more intimately at the club, including chief executive Berrada, sporting director Ashworth and technical director Wilcox.
Man Utd have won just three of their opening nine games in all competitions this season and sit 13th in the Premier League.
Other managers linked include Gareth Southgate and Thomas Tuchel, while it’s been reported that Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has rejected an offer.
Man Utd ratings vs Porto
MAN UTD ended up with a 3-3 draw after throwing away a 2-0 lead away to Porto.
Here’s how SunSport’s Dylan Terry rated the Red Devils’ stars performances in Portugal
Andre Onana – 6/10
Reacted brilliantly the first time he was called into action with a flying save, only for Porto to score the rebound.
Porto then scored with their next shot on target too – Omorodion’s header – and Onana could do little about the excellent finish for Porto’s third.
Made two great stops to keep Man Utd in the game.
Noussair Mazraoui – 4
Looked fairly stable in the first 45 minutes but waned as the game went on.
All at sea at the start of the second half as Porto cut through the right-hand side of Man Utd’s defence with ease.
Matthijs de Ligt – 4
Looked imposing in the air as he dealt with Porto’s crosses from both sides, but then failed to get in front of Omorodion for the hosts’ second goal.
Like most of the Man Utd side, his performance dropped as the game went on and he was bullied by Porto’s No9.
Lisandro Martinez – 4
Should have reacted quicker for the first Porto goal as Pepe got ahead of him to nod into an empty net – with Martinez static on the six-yard box.
There is clearly not much of a partnership with De Ligt as Porto pulled them apart all evening.
Diogo Dalot – 4
Porto enjoyed a lot of success down Man Utd’s left-hand side and Dalot looked all at sea on several occasions.
Had little help from Martinez but still looked exposed.
Casemiro – 3
Anonymous yet again in Man Utd’s midfield – the ball just passes him by.
Could not even manage one of his customary fouls.
Christian Eriksen – 5
Looked leggy out of possession but produced an impressive run before laying it off to Hojlund for Man Utd’s second goal.
Then failed to make much more of an impact and his delivery from wide areas left a lot to be desired.
Bruno Fernandes – 4
A damning indictment of Man Utd’s current predicament as Fernandes was shown a red card for a second successive game.
Two high boots, two yellow cards, and another early bath for the Portuguese playmaker – who had worked tirelessly prior to his dismissal.
Amad Diallo – 5
Very quiet aside from one burst through the middle as Rashford received all of the ball over the other side.
Replaced by Antony who arguably created even less.
Rasmus Hojlund – 7
Made his case for starting ahead of Joshua Zirkzee with a goal, firing beyond Costa at the near post.
Held it up and then showed his strength and pace to run at Porto before the break – showing little rustiness in his first start of the season.
Marcus Rashford – 8
Rashford showed his directness for the opening goal, driving at the Porto back line and forcing the error from Costa.
A constant threat in the first half as he assisted Hojlund’s strike.
But he was then surprisingly hooked at the break, a decision that will need an explanation from Ten Hag.