Inside Manchester United’s powerhouse and how Erik ten Hag’s fate will be sealed

As one of two Ineos representatives alongside Sir Dave Brailsford on United’s football club board, Blanc’s long-term involvement at Old Trafford will be in a more advisory capacity. But without Berrada and Ashworth physically working the field alongside Wilcox at this critical juncture, Blanc will provide an important bridge in the interim. Not only will it give Berrada more eyes and ears on the ground, but the 61-year-old Frenchman can provide him with a trusted voice, there to provide expert insight, make recommendations and tap into a network wide range of contacts established over 16 years working in seniors. roles at Juventus and Paris St-Germain.

Blanc, who has a reputation for calm in a crisis and strong interpersonal skills, knows all too well what it’s like to be thrown into turmoil after taking over as CEO of Juventus in 2006 with the Italian club embroiled in a match-fixing scandal from Calciopoli. New leaders of a business or organization often talk about the importance of the first 100 days and Blanc, inheriting what he described as a “mountain of problems to solve immediately” at Juventus, would later admit how decisive that period was for club. . “In those 100 days, we made many good decisions,” he said, which included tempting Didier Deschamps as coach and convincing star players such as Alessandro del Piero, Pavel Nedved and Gianluigi Buffon to stay at the club and play in Italy. the second division.

United don’t have a match-fixing scandal to contend with, thankfully, but they don’t shy away from the challenges at hand, on and off the pitch. Eighth in the Premier League and in ever-increasing danger of missing out on European qualification altogether with little money already to spend, plenty of overpaid, under-performing players to move on and a manager whose credibility and authority is waning by the week , United’s new hierarchy had their work cut out for them.

It has been 78 days since Ratcliffe’s deal for a 27.7% stake in United was officially completed and they will reach that 100-day mark in the days following the FA Cup final against Manchester City on the 25 May.

As reported by Telegraph Sport, United have no intention of sacking Ten Hag before the showdown at Wembley, but by then should have established a thorough dossier of information on the manager, his general approach, relationship with the dressing room and credentials and his availability. potential replacements from which they will make a final decision after careful and careful reflection.

There are various components to this, which is where Wilcox really comes to the fore. One of his main tasks as technical director was to establish the right ‘model of the game’ – in other words, a coherent playing style and identity – from which managerial decisions, signings and sales would flow – not the other way around. Linked directly to that, Wilcox effectively audits Ten Hag and his set-up and will report on where he thinks United’s problems lie this season and whether the Dutchman – all things considered – is right for them going forward or if his position. is considered unbearable. Armed with all this information, Ashworth as sporting director would usually be the one to make the final recommendation to the board, but as the wait for his arrival continues, Wilcox, Berrada and Blanc will be key to determining Ten’s fate Hag, though it’s hard to believe that Ashworth won’t be consulted in some form.