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Manchester United’s capitulation at the hands of Manchester City only further illustrated the gulf in class that exists between the two clubs at present.
Despite what manager Erik ten Hag claimed at the end of the game, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a herculean task to knock City off their perch and return United to the top of English football.
The club has been left to rot by the Glazers, with a clear lack of direction in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. That is why fixing the structure behind-the-scenes has been INEOS’ first port of call.
Omar Berrada is set join as the new CEO, much to the disappointment of the City Football Group and he has already begun conducting meetings during his gardening leave.
Structural changes
Dan Ashworth is set to join as sporting director but when his stint will start will depend on the compensation package agreed between both clubs.
The Peoples Person has already relayed reports that Dougie Freedman of Crystal Palace is set to join as recruitment chief while the club also wants to bring in Jason Wilcox from Southampton.
While Freedman’s name was recommended by Sir Alex, Wilcox’s work while at City has been highly appreciated and as per The Daily Telegraph, he could become either the new technical director or performance director.
A raft of jobs cuts are expected to take place across the board with Richard Arnold already quitting from his post of CEO while John Murtough and Darren Fletcher are in danger as well.
Murtough is currently the football director while the former star is the technical director and as James Ducker put it, the former midfielder’s role has been given the wrong designation!
As incredulous as it stands, the Glazers seemed to have given random names to posts and hired people as INEOS are finding out since their audit started.
Job cuts, reorganisation on the cards
Sir Jim is eager to keep Fletcher on board who mainly doubles up as a coach but Murtough’s future remains up in the air. Head of contract negotiations, Matt Hargreaves is also expected to depart once the structure is in place.
“It remains to be seen if United’s existing football director John Murtough is offered a redefined role and whether he would accept as much, although Murtough has been assisting the transition under Ineos.
“There is thought to be a willingness to keep Darren Fletcher at the club but recognition from all sides that his current title of technical director is misleading and does not reflect his role as a coach and academy first team liaison.
“A number of EFL clubs have previously shown an interest in speaking to Fletcher for the role of manager but he has remained committed to United under manager Erik ten Hag.”
Soccer2day 